Research Fronts 2014 : 100 Top Ranked Specialties In The Sciences And Social / quote 3 of 9
What a research front consists of
To summarize, a research front consists of a group of highly cited papers that have been co-cited above a set threshold of similarity strength and their associated citing papers. In fact, the research front should be understood as both the co-cited core papers, representing a foundation for the specialty, and the citing papers that represent the more recent work and the leading edge of the research front. The name of the research front can be derived from a summarization of the titles of the core papers or the citing papers. The naming of research fronts in Thomson Reuters Essential Science IndicatorsSM relies on the titles of core papers. In other cases, the citing papers have been used: just as it is the citing authors who determine in their co-citations the pairing of important papers, it is also the citing authors who confer meaning on the content of the resulting research front. Naming research fronts is not a wholly algorithmic process, however. A careful, manual review of the cited or citing papers sharpens accuracy in naming a research front.