Do civil engineering fronts emerge from interdisciplinary research?

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research is considered a source of innovativeness and creativity, serving as a key mechanism for creating recombination necessary for the evolution of science systems. The aim of this study is to quantitatively establish the connection between interdisciplinary research and the research fronts that have recently emerged in civil engineering. The degree of interdisciplinarity of the research fronts was measured by developing metrics from bibliographic analyses. As indicated by the consistent increase in the metrics of interdisciplinarity over time, research fronts tend to emerge in studies with increasing diversity in the disciplines involved. The active disciplines involved in the fronts vary over time. The most active disciplines are no longer fundamental but those associated with energy, environment, and sustainable development, focusing on solutions to climate change and integrating intelligence technologies.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

interdisciplinary research / research front / bibliographic analysis

References

[1] KleinJ T. The Sage Handbook of Rhetorical Studies. California: Thousand Oaks, 2008

[2] Upham S P, Small H. Emerging research fronts in science and technology: Patterns of new knowledge development. Scientometrics, 2010, 83(1): 15–38

[3] Wagner C S, Roessner J D, Bobb K, Klein J T, Boyack K W, Keyton J, Rafols I, Börner K. Approaches to understanding and measuring interdisciplinary scientific research (IDR): A review of the literature. Journal of Informetrics, 2011, 5(1): 14–26

[4] Lakhani J, Benzies K, Hayden K A. Attributes of interdisciplinary research teams: A comprehensive review of the literature. Clinical and Investigative Medicine, 2010, 35(5): 260–265

[5] Szostak R. The state of the field: Interdisciplinary research. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies, 2013, 31: 44–65

[6] Vajaradul Y, Aroonsrimorakot S, Laiphrakpam M, Paisantanakij W. Key steps and characteristics for successful interdisciplinary research: An analytical review. Journal of Behavioral Science, 2021, 16(2): 73–85

[7] Morss R E, Lazrus H, Demuth J L. The “inter” within interdisciplinary research: Strategies for building integration across fields. Risk Analysis, 2021, 41(7): 1152–1161

[8] Taylor P C, Abeysekera M, Bian Y, Cetenovic D, Deakin M, Ehsan A, Levi V, Li F, Oduro R, Preece R, Taylor P G, Terzija V, Walker S L, Wu J. An interdisciplinary research perspective on the future of multi-vector energy networks. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 2022, 135: 107492

[9] ProjectGroup of Global Engineering Fronts of Chinese Academy of Engineering. Engineering Fronts 2021. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2021

[10] Stirling A. A general framework for analysing diversity in science, technology and society. Journal of the Royal Society, Interface, 2007, 4(15): 707–719

[11] LeydesdorffL. Diversity and interdisciplinarity: How can one distinguish and recombine disparity, variety, and balance? Scientometrics, 2018, 116(3): 2113–2121

[12] Molas-Gallart J S A. Diversity and excellence: Considerations on research policy. IPTS Report, 2002, 66(5): 5–13

[13] Rafols I, Leydesdorff L, O’Hare A, Nightingale P, Stirling A. How journal rankings can suppress interdisciplinary research: A comparison between Innovation Studies and Business & Management. Research Policy, 2012, 41(7): 1262–1282

[14] Xing M, Qu K S, Huang Y, Xing Y R. A reflection on the 2017 nobel prize for physiology and chinese medicine. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, 2020, 26(11): 867–872

[15] Dutta B, Sarkar S, Majhi K, Bandopadhyay R. Interdisciplinary research of physics in biological field leads the nobel prize 2018. National Academy Science Letters, 2021, 44(2): 181–183

[16] Yegros-Yegros A, Rafols I, D’Este P. Does interdisciplinary research lead to higher citation impact? The different effect of proximal and distal interdisciplinarity.. PLoS One, 2015, 10(8): e0135095

[17] Kwon S. Interdisciplinary knowledge integration as a unique knowledge source for technology development and the role of funding allocation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2022, 181: 121767

[18] Abramo G, D’Angelo C A, Zhang L. A comparison of two approaches for measuring interdisciplinary research output: The disciplinary diversity of authors vs the disciplinary diversity of the reference list. Journal of Informetrics, 2018, 12(4): 1182–1193

[19] Porter A L, Roessner J D, Cohen A S, Perreault M. Interdisciplinary research: Meaning, metrics and nurture. Research Evaluation, 2006, 15(3): 187–196

[20] Rafols I, Meyer M. Diversity and network coherence as indicators of interdisciplinarity: Case studies in bionanoscience. Scientometrics, 2010, 82(2): 263–287

[21] Carley S, Porter A L, Rafols I, Leydesdorff L. Visualization of disciplinary profiles: Enhanced science overlay maps. Journal of Data and Information Science, 2017, 2(3): 68–111

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s). This article is published with open access at link.springer.com and journal.hep.com.cn