Charting pathways through science: Exploring Garfield's vision of a unified index to science

Garfield's invention of the Science Citation Index (SCI) made possible for the first time the study of the global communication network of science, in cluding the critical linkages between disciplines. Using the SCI, pathways can be formed that traverse many scientific fields. The relationship of pat hs to the discovery process is explored, and how pathways defined by citati on links can be used as a tool for understanding the discovery process and perhaps even aid in making discoveries.