Evolutionary exploration and comparative analysis of the research topic networks in information disciplines

Information Science and Library Science (LIS) and Computer Science (CS) are two information-related disciplines with similar academic context and culture, and their research topics are moderately associated. To uncover the differences and similarities of their research topics in the aspect of dynamic distribution, and explore the future development state of relevant research, this study collected a set of scientific papers from 2014 to 2019 on the Web of Science to construct the co-keyword network sequences for the disciplines of LIS and CS respectively. The networking topology and evolutionary context of research topics in recent research of these two information-related disciplines were analyzed through a self-developed visualization tool for network evolution analysis-NEViewer. This study suggests that CS pays more attention to the studies of information technologies, while LIS focuses more on the communication, organization, access, and use of information. Meanwhile, based on the perspective of discipline-comparative, the development patterns in these two disciplines were summarized. That is, the research connotation of CS is more concentrated while the research denotation of LIS is more extensive, and the research hotspots of LIS have shifted slightly faster, while the continuity of the research development in CS is slightly higher. The results reported in this study also show that there is moderate interdisciplinarity in the research and application of information technology between these two disciplines, which indicates that some increasingly mature technologies in CS will be more deeply applied in the future research of LIS.

Automated summary

Computer Science focuses more on information technology research, while Library Science is more concerned with information communication, organization, access, and utilization. The development patterns differ between the two disciplines, with Computer Science having a more concentrated research connotation, while Library Science has a broader research denotation. Additionally, the research hotspots in Library Science shift slightly faster, while the research continuity in Computer Science is slightly higher.