| Title |
Random Drift versus Selection in Academic Vocabulary: An Evolutionary Analysis of Published Keywords
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
PLOS ONE, August 2008
|
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0003057 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
R. Alexander Bentley |
| Abstract |
The evolution of vocabulary in academic publishing is characterized via keyword frequencies recorded in the ISI Web of Science citations database. In four distinct case-studies, evolutionary analysis of keyword frequency change through time is compared to a model of random copying used as the null hypothesis, such that selection may be identified against it. The case studies from the physical sciences indicate greater selection in keyword choice than in the social sciences. Similar evolutionary analyses can be applied to a wide range of phenomena; wherever the popularity of multiple items through time has been recorded, as with web searches, or sales of popular music and books, for example. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 33% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 33% |
| Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 67% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 70 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 5 | 7% |
| United Kingdom | 5 | 7% |
| Brazil | 3 | 4% |
| Spain | 2 | 3% |
| France | 1 | 1% |
| Germany | 1 | 1% |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 52 | 74% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 19 | 27% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 16 | 23% |
| Professor | 9 | 13% |
| Student > Master | 7 | 10% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 9% |
| Other | 9 | 13% |
| Unknown | 4 | 6% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 14 | 20% |
| Social Sciences | 12 | 17% |
| Psychology | 8 | 11% |
| Computer Science | 8 | 11% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 5 | 7% |
| Other | 16 | 23% |
| Unknown | 7 | 10% |