Summary
Clustering algorithms are used prominently in co-citation analysis by analysts aiming to reveal research streams within a field. However, clustering of widely cited articles is not robust to small variations in citation patterns. We propose an alternative algorithm, dense network sub-grouping, which identifies dense groups of co-cited references. We demonstrate the algorithm using a data set from the field of family business research and compare it to two alternative methods, multidimensional scaling and clustering. We also introduce a free software tool, Sitkis, that implements the algorithm and other common bibliometric methods. The software identifies journal-, country- and university-specific citation patterns and co-citation groups, enabling the identification of “invisible colleges.”
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Schildt, H., Mattsson, J. A dense network sub-grouping algorithm for co-citation analysis and its implementation in the software tool Sitkis . Scientometrics 67, 143–163 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-006-0054-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-006-0054-8