Persuasive Communities: A Longitudinal Analysis of References in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1665-1990

Abstract

References from a single scientific journal were analyzed to show how the persuasive communities created by scientific references change over time. Articles that appeared in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London were sampled over the journal's 325-year history of publication, to identify and characterize the references made in them. The data highlight changes in the practice of scholarly reference, and provide quantitative measures of the evolution of scientific publication. Types of publications, and the origin, language and age of the materials cited, were analyzed for the period studied. These measures show how persuasive communities have changed, and provide insights into the character of the scientific communities in question.