To determine how scientific fields integrate over time, a study analyzed research article data from the Science Citation Index between 1950 and 2018 and found that the average distance between articles on citation networks decreased over time while citation ties between articles from different fields increased over time; the results suggest that citation networks depend on high-impact articles, and despite continuously expanding, the sciences have increased interconnectivity over time by bridging disciplines with new fields, according to the authors.
Article #19-05819: "Shorter distances between papers over time are due to more cross-field references and increased citation rate to higher-impact papers," by Attila Varga.
MEDIA CONTACT: Attila Varga, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; tel: 520-548-1992; email: attilavarga@email.arizona.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences