CONTRASTING ASSESSMENTS OF INTERDISCIPLINARITY IN EMERGING SPECIALTIES - THE CASE OF NEURAL NETWORKS RESEARCH

The degree of interdisciplinarity observed in the analysis of a resear ch literature can depend on the analytical approach. Subject assignmen ts of highly cited journals and those frequently publishing topic-rele vant articles are compared with data from a recent survey of neural ne tworks researchers. Publication subject patterns parallel the survey r esults-concentrating heavily in the physical sciences and engineering- while the biological and psychological literature is more visible in c itation patterns. This finding may reflect both discipline-specific di fferences in size and publishing patterns and cross-boundary problems in the perceived usefulness of and access to published information.