VISUALIZING A DISCIPLINE - AN AUTHOR COCITATION ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION-SCIENCE, 1972-1995

This study presents an extensive domain analysis of a discipline-infor mation science-in terms of its authors. Names of those most frequently cited in 12 key journals from 1972 through 1995 were retrieved from S ocial Scisearch via DIALOG. The top 120 were submitted to author co-ci tation analyses, yielding automatic classifications relevant to histor ies of the field. Tables and graphics reveal: (1) The disciplinary and institutional affiliations of contributors to information science; (2 ) the specialty structure of the discipline over 24 years; (3) authors ' memberships in 1 or more specialties; (4) inertia and change in auth ors' positions on e-dimensional subject maps over 3 8-year subperiods, 1972-1979, 1980-1987, 1988-1995; (5) the 2 major subdisciplines of in formation science and their evolving memberships; (6) ''canonical'' au thors who are in the top 100 in all three subperiods; (7) changes in a uthors' eminence and influence over the subperiods, as shown by mean c o-citation counts; (8) authors with marked changes in their mapped pos itions over the subperiods; (9) the axes on which authors are mapped, with interpretations; (10)evidence of a paradigm shift in information science in the 1980s; and (11)evidence on the general nature and state of integration of information science. Statistical routines include A LSCAL, INDSCAL, factor analysis, and cluster analysis with SPSS; maps and other graphics were made with DeltaGraph. Theory and methodology a re sufficiently detailed to be usable by other researchers.