Explore the research front of a specific research theme based on a novel technique of enhanced co-word analysis

Abstract

Discovering the research front of a specific topic remains a significant challenge for researchers in all scientific areas. Over the last decade, burst term detection (BTD) in text streams has become a useful technique for bibliometrics and science mapping. It has been argued that analytical methods based on BTD can indicate certain facets of a research front. To integrate BTD into the framework of traditional co-word analysis, association rule mining between keywords and burst terms (ARM-KB) is introduced to enhance traditional co-word analysis and present a new facet of the research front for a field of science. Based on ARM-KB, possible connections between keywords and burst terms are built, which can facilitate the exploration of a research front from a three-dimensional perspective, through co-word analysis, burst term clues, and association rules. In the case study, the research fronts of anticancer based on nanomedicine (ABN) are explored. Based on theoretical and empirical analyses, ARM-KB can be used as a valuable new technique or a supplement to traditional bibliometrics in the exploration of scientific frontiers.