Mapping Scientific Frontiers: The Quest for Knowledge Visualization

Mapping Scientific Frontiers examines the history and the latest developments in the quest for knowledge visualization from an interdisciplinary perspective, ranging from theories of invisible colleges and competing paradigms, to practical applications of visualization techniques for capturing intellectual structures, and the rise and fall of scientific paradigms. Containing simple and easy to follow diagrams for modeling and visualization procedures, as well as detailed case studies and real world examples, this is a valuable reference source for researchers and practitioners, such as science policy analysts, funding agencies, consultancy firms, and higher education institutions. It presents 163 illustrations, 111 in colour, including maps, paintings, images, computer visualizations and animations.

This is an examination of the history and the state of the art of the quest for visualizing scientific knowledge and the dynamics of its development. Through an interdisciplinary perspective this book presents profound visions, pivotal advances, and insightful contributions made by generations of researchers and professionals, which portrays a holistic view of the underlying principles and mechanisms of the development of science.
This updated and extended second edition:

• highlights the latest advances in mapping scientific frontiers
• examines the foundations of strategies, principles, and design patterns
• provides an integrated and holistic account of major developments across disciplinary boundaries

“Anyone who tries to follow the exponential growth of the literature on citation analysis and scientometrics knows how difficult it is to keep pace. Chaomei Chen has identified the significant methods and applications in visual graphics and made them clear to the uninitiated. Derek Price would have loved this book which not only pays homage to him but also to the key players in information science and a wide variety of others in the sociology and history of science.”

– Eugene Garfield

“This is a wide ranging book on information visualization, with a specific focus on science mapping. Science mapping is still in its infancy and many intellectual challenges remain to be investigated and many of which are outlined in the final chapter. In this new edition Chaomei Chen has provided an essential text, useful both as a primer for new entrants and as a comprehensive overview of recent developments for the seasoned practitioner.”

– Henry Small

Chaomei Chen is a Professor in the College of Information Science and Technology at Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA, and a ChangJiang Scholar at Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Information Visualization and the author of Turning Points: The Nature of Creativity (Springer, 2012) and Information Visualization: Beyond the Horizon (Springer, 2004, 2006).