An author co-citation analysis of 37 years of iMetrics

Purpose This research aims to examine the intellectual structure of iMetrics through author co-citation analysis. Design/methodology/approach This research uses common techniques in bibliometrics and social network analysis. It analyses 5,944 records from the Web of Science in the field of iMetrics that are published between 1978 and 2014. Findings Findings indicated that researchers including Garfield, Egghe, Glanzel, Leydesdorff and Price have received many co-citations. The author co-citation analysis in iMetrics resulted in eight thematic clusters, including theoretical foundations and citation analysis, sociology of science, science mapping and visualization, network analysis, classic laws of bibliometrics, webometrics, technometrics and miscellaneous. Theoretical foundations and citation analysis is the biggest cluster which comprises 59 authors. The results suggest the crucial role of price medallists in shaping the intellectual structure of knowledge in iMetrics. Originality/value Extracting the patterns embedded in the knowledge structure of iMetrics studies provides beneficial information for both researchers and policymakers. This research study is valuable that used an appropriate set of records regarding both recall and precision. Furthermore, this study helps us better understand the characteristics of iMetrics, its subject areas, and the prominent authors in those areas.