Viewing Computer Science through Citation Analysis; Salton and Bergmark Redux

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the structure and growth of computer science literature over twenty years using citation clustering, revealing increasing publication scope and interdisciplinary interactions with fields like biological sciences.

Contribution

It introduces a method of analyzing computer science's evolution through citation and co-citation clustering aligned with subject categories.

Findings

Increase in computer science publications and scope

Presence of cross-category clusters involving external fields

Some clusters remain inward looking

Abstract

Computer science has experienced dramatic growth and diversification over the last twenty years. Towards a current understanding of the structure of this discipline, we analyze a cohort of the computer science literature using the DBLP database. For insight on the features of this cohort and the relationship within its components, we constructed article level clusters based on either direct citations or co-citations, and reconciled them to major and minor subject categories in the Scopus All Science Journal Classification (ASJC). We described complementary insights from clustering by direct citation and co-citation, and both point to the increase in computer science publications and their scope. Our analysis shows cross-category clusters, some that interact with external fields, such as the biological sciences, while others remain inward looking.