How to Investigate the Historical Roots and Evolution of Research Fields in China? A Case Study on iMetrics Using RootCite

TL;DR

This study introduces RootCite, a Python-based tool extending RPYS, to analyze the historical development of research fields in China, exemplified through iMetrics, revealing key publications and the field's dual roots in Chinese and English scholarship.

Contribution

The paper presents RootCite, an open-source software that enables analysis of research field evolution using citation data from Chinese and international sources, with a case study on iMetrics in China.

Findings

First CR in the field dates back to 1882, in English.

Majority (64.2%) of references are Chinese publications.

Identified 17 peaks with 18 seminal works from 1900 to 2017.

Abstract

This paper aimed to provide an approach to investigate the historical roots and evolution of research fields in China by extending the reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS). RootCite, an open source software accepts raw data from both the Web of Science and the China Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI), was developed using python. We took iMetrics in China as the research case. 5,141 Chinese iMetrics related publications with 73,376 non-distinct cited references (CR) collected from the CSSCI were analyzed using RootCite. The results showed that the first CR in the field can be dated back to 1882 and written in English; but the majority (64.2%) of the CR in the field were Chinese publications. 17 peaks referring to 18 seminal works (13 in English and 5 in Chinese) were located during the period from 1900 to 2017. The field shared the same roots with that in the English world but has its own characteristics, and it was then shaped by contributions from both the English world and China. The five Chinese works have played irreplaceable and positive roles in the historical evolutionary path of the field, which should not be ignored, especially for the evolution of the field. This research demonstrated how RootCite aided the task of identifying the origin and evolution of research fields in China, which could be valuable for extending RPYS for countries with other languages.