Detecting the historical roots of tribology research: a bibliometric analysis

TL;DR

This paper introduces Referenced Publication Years Spectroscopy (RPYS), a scientometric method, to trace the historical roots of tribology research by analyzing highly cited publications in the field.

Contribution

The study applies RPYS to identify landmark publications in tribology, demonstrating its effectiveness in uncovering the field's historical foundations.

Findings

RPYS successfully identifies key historical publications in tribology.

Most highly cited references are landmark papers in the field.

RPYS shows potential for historical analysis in scientific research.

Abstract

In this study, the historical roots of tribology are investigated using a newly developed scientometric method called Referenced Publication Years Spectroscopy. The study is based on cited references in tribology research publications. The Science Citation Index Expanded is used as data source. The results show that RPYS has the potential to identify the important publications : Most of the publications which have been identified in this study as highly cited (referenced) publications are landmark publications in the field of tribology.