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Understanding rapid theoretical change in particle physics: A month-by-month co-citation analysis

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Abstract

While co-citation analysis nas proved a powerful tool in the study of changes in intellectual foci in science, the technique has never been used to study very rapid changes in the theoretical structure of a scientific field. In this paper we present month-by-month co-citation analyses of key phases in the weak-electromagnetic unification research program within particle physics and show that these analyses capture and illuminate very rapid intellectual changes. These data provide yet another illustration of the utility of co-citation analysis for understanding the history of science.

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References and notes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carleton College, 55057, Northfield, Minnesota, (USA)

    D. Sullivan & D. Koester

  2. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, Long, 11973, Island, New York, (USA)

    D. H. White

  3. Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering, 03755, Honover, New Hampshire, (USA)

    R. Kern

Authors
  1. D. Sullivan
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  2. D. Koester
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  3. D. H. White
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  4. R. Kern
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Additional information

An earlier version of this paper was published inInformation Choices and Policies (Knowledge Industries Publications, Inc., White Plains, N. Y.: 1979), Vol. 16, Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science. Knowledge Industries and the ASIS have kindly given permission to us to seek a wider audience. This work was made possible by NSF Grant GS-41697 to the Research Program on Social Analyses of Science Systems (SASS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and NSF Grant SOC76-84482 to Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.

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Sullivan, D., Koester, D., White, D.H. et al. Understanding rapid theoretical change in particle physics: A month-by-month co-citation analysis. Scientometrics 2, 309–319 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02016351

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02016351

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