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| Diffusion Cycles and Structural Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge Across Disciplines: A Perspective of Theoretical Terminology Analysis |
| Zhang Weichong1,2, Wang Fang2,3, Zhao Hong4 |
1.School of Humanities and Social Sciences, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003
2.Center for Network Society Governance, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071
3.Department of Information Resources Management, Business School, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071
4.National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 |
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Abstract Unlike citations or keywords, theories as fundamental knowledge units, better reveal the structural connections and knowledge transfer pathways across disciplines. To uncover the diffusion dynamics and structural characteristics of theories within the scientific knowledge system, this study analyzes approximately 2.25 million articles published between 1985 and 2019 in the Web of Science Core Collection and 2,833 distinct theoretical terms extracted from them. A theory diffusion dataset was constructed through five steps: theory classification, term lexicon building, literature collection, automatic term extraction, and data integration. An S-shaped diffusion model was applied to characterize the cross-disciplinary diffusion cycle of theories, and a novel dual-indicator framework of “disciplinary exclusivity-disciplinary dispersion” was proposed to capture their interdisciplinary diffusion patterns. Furthermore, a multi-disciplinary relational map was generated based on theory co-occurrence networks to reveal the structural features of disciplinary interactions. The results show that: (1) the diffusion of theories across disciplines generally follows a logistic curve, with half of the diffusion process completed in about 12 years on average, reflecting distinct evolutionary stages; (2) a significant differentiation exists between disciplinary specificity and generality, with applied sciences serving as a critical bridge that facilitates translation and integration of theoretical knowledge; and (3) the scientific system as a whole exhibits a highly interconnected network composed of five tightly interwoven disciplinary clusters, indicating an overall trend toward integrated knowledge evolution.
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Received: 28 April 2025
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