Main path analysis: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:07, 13 August 2023

Latest revision as of 09:39, 14 April 2024

Line 1:

{{Short description|Mathematical tool}}

'''Main path analysis''' is a mathematical tool, first proposed by [[Norman P. Hummon|Hummon]] and [[Patrick Doreian|Doreian]] in 1989,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Hummon|firstfirst1=Norman P.|last2=Doreian|first2=Patrick|year=1989|title=Connectivity in a citation network: The development of DNA theory|journal=Social Networks|volume=11|issue=1|pages=39–63|doi=10.1016/0378-8733(89)90017-8}}</ref> to identify the major paths in a [[citation network]], which is one form of a [[directed acyclic graph]] (DAG). It has since become an effective technique for mapping technological trajectories, exploring scientific knowledge flows, and conducting literature reviews. [[File:Global key-route main paths for a citation network.svg|thumb|Main path analysis uncovers the most significant paths, or citation chains, in a citation network. The figure shows the global key-route main paths (in red) for a sample citation network (based on search path count and at key-route 1).|220x220px]]

The method begins by measuring the significance of all the links in a citation network through the concept of ‘traversal count’ and then sequentially chains the most significant links into a "main path", which is deemed the most significant historical path in the target [[citation network]]. The method is applicable to any human activity that can be organized in the form of a [[citation network]]. The method is commonly applied to trace the knowledge flow paths or development trajectories of a science or technology field, through bibliographic citations or patent citations.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Lu|first2=Louis Y.Y.|last3=Lu|first3=Wen-Min|last4=Lin|first4=Bruce J.Y.|title=Data envelopment analysis 1978–2010: A citation-based literature survey|journal=Omega|volume=41|issue=1|pages=3–15|doi=10.1016/j.omega.2010.12.006|year=2013}}</ref><ref name="Verspagen 93–115">{{Cite journal|last=Verspagen|first=Bart|date=2007-03-01|title=Mapping technological trajectories as patent citation networks: a study on the history of fuel cell research|journal=Advances in Complex Systems|volume=10|issue=1|pages=93–115|doi=10.1142/S0219525907000945|issn=0219-5259|url=http://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:1191}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Lucio-Arias|firstfirst1=Diana|last2=Leydesdorff|first2=Loet|date=2008-10-01|title=Main-path analysis and path-dependent transitions in HistCite™-based historiograms|journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology|language=en|volume=59|issue=12|pages=1948–1962|doi=10.1002/asi.20903|issn=1532-2890}}</ref> It has also been applied to judicial decisions to trace the evolving changes of legal opinions.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Chen|first2=Hsiao-Hui|last3=Ho|first3=Mei Hsiu-Ching|last4=Li|first4=Yu-Chen|date=2014-12-01|title=Citations with different levels of relevancy: Tracing the main paths of legal opinions|journal=Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology|language=en|volume=65|issue=12|pages=2479–2488|doi=10.1002/asi.23135|issn=2330-1643}}</ref> Main path analysis has attracted scholars attention recently. Academic research related to main path analysis saw a fast growing since 2007. A list of academic articles that introduce, explain, apply, modify, or extend the method originated in Hummon and Doreian<ref name=":0" /> can be found [https://davincierlab.weebly.com/list-of-main-path-articles.html here]. Nevertheless, there are issues not broadly discussed in applying the method, including the handling of citation data, choosing a proper traversal weight scheme, search options, and interpretation of the resulting paths.<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Lu|first2=Louis Y. Y.|last3=Ho|first3=Mei Hsiu-Ching|date=2019-04-01|title=A few notes on main path analysis|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03034-x|journal=Scientometrics|language=en|volume=119|issue=1|pages=379–391|doi=10.1007/s11192-019-03034-x|issn=1588-2861|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== History ==

Main path analysis is first proposed in Hummon and Doreian (1989)<ref name=":0" /> in which they suggest a different approach for analyzing a citation network "where the connective threads through a network are preserved and the focus is on the links in the network rather than on the nodes."<ref name=":0" /> They call the resulting chain of the most used citation links "main path" and claim that "It is our intuition that the main path, selected on the basis of the most used path will identify the main stream of a literature." The idea was verified using a set of DNA research articles. To make the method more practical, Liu and Lu (2012)<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Lu|first2=Louis Y.Y.|date=2012-03-01|title=An integrated approach for main path analysis: Development of the Hirsch index as an example|journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology|language=en|volume=63|issue=3|pages=528–542|doi=10.1002/asi.21692|issn=1532-2890}}</ref> extends the method to include the key-route search. The most useful feature of the key-route search is that one is able to view the different level of main paths by adjusting the key-route numbers.

== The method ==

Line 47:

== The Variants ==

In addition to the key-route search approach, variations of the method include the approach that is aggregative and stochastic,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Yeo|firstfirst1=Woondong|last2=Kim|first2=Seonho|last3=Lee|first3=Jae-Min|last4=Kang|first4=Jaewoo|date=2014-01-01|title=Aggregative and stochastic model of main path identification: a case study on graphene|journal=Scientometrics|language=en|volume=98|issue=1|pages=633–655|doi=10.1007/s11192-013-1140-3|issn=0138-9130}}</ref> considers decay in knowledge diffusion,<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Kuan|first2=Chung-Huei|date=2016-02-01|title=A new approach for main path analysis: Decay in knowledge diffusion|journal=Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology|language=en|volume=67|issue=2|pages=465–476|doi=10.1002/asi.23384|issn=2330-1643}}</ref> etc.

== Applications ==

Line 53:

=== Academic article ===

Academic citation databases such as [[Web of Science]] and [[Scopus]] include comprehensive digitized citation information. These information make it possible to apply main path analysis to examine the knowledge structure or trace the knowledge flow of any scientific fields. Some early applications explores the subject of centrality-productivity,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Hummon|firstfirst1=Norman P.|last2=Doreian|first2=Patrick|last3=Freeman|first3=Linton C.|date=2016-08-18|title=Analyzing the Structure of the Centrality-Productivity Literature Created Between 1948 and 1979|journal=Knowledge|language=en|volume=11|issue=4|pages=459–480|doi=10.1177/107554709001100405}}</ref> conflict resolution,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Carley|firstfirst1=Kathleen M.|last2=Hummon|first2=Norman P.|last3=Harty|first3=Martha|date=2016-08-17|title=Scientific Influence|journal=Knowledge|language=en|volume=14|issue=4|pages=417–447|doi=10.1177/107554709301400406}}</ref> etc. More recent applications include fullerenes,<ref name=":3" /> nanotubes,<ref name=":3" /> data envelopment analysis,<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Lu|first2=Louis Y.Y.|last3=Lu|first3=Wen-Min|title=Research fronts in data envelopment analysis|journal=Omega|volume=58|pages=33–45|doi=10.1016/j.omega.2015.04.004|year=2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liu|firstfirst1=John S.|last2=Lu|first2=Louis Y.Y.|last3=Lu|first3=Wen-Min|last4=Lin|first4=Bruce J.Y.|title=A survey of DEA applications|journal=Omega|volume=41|issue=5|pages=893–902|doi=10.1016/j.omega.2012.11.004|year=2013}}</ref> supply chain management,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Claudia Colicchia|last2=Fernanda Strozzi|date=2012-06-15|title=Supply chain risk management: a new methodology for a systematic literature review|journal=Supply Chain Management|volume=17|issue=4|pages=403–418|doi=10.1108/13598541211246558|issn=1359-8546}}</ref> corporate social responsibility,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Lu|firstfirst1=Louis Y.Y.|last2=Liu|first2=John S.|date=2014-03-01|title=The Knowledge Diffusion Paths of Corporate Social Responsibility – From 1970 to 2011|journal=Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management|language=en|volume=21|issue=2|pages=113–128|doi=10.1002/csr.1309|issn=1535-3966}}</ref> IT outsourcing,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Liang|firstfirst1=Huigang|last2=Wang|first2=Jian-Jun|last3=Xue|first3=Yajiong|last4=Cui|first4=Xiaocong|title=IT outsourcing research from 1992 to 2013: A literature review based on main path analysis|journal=Information & Management|volume=53|issue=2|pages=227–251|doi=10.1016/j.im.2015.10.001|year=2016}}</ref> medical tourism,<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Chuang|firstfirst1=Thomas C.|last2=Liu|first2=John S.|last3=Lu|first3=Louis Y.Y.|last4=Lee|first4=Yachi|title=The main paths of medical tourism: From transplantation to beautification|journal=Tourism Management|volume=45|pages=49–58|doi=10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.016|year=2014}}</ref> etc.

=== Patent ===

Patents referencing prior arts is a common practice. For example, each United States patent document includes a "References Cited" section that lists the prior arts of the patent. Patent databases such as [[Clarivate Analytics]] and Webpat provide digitized patent citation information. Verspagen (2007)<ref name="Verspagen 93–115"/> and Mina (2007)<ref>{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Mina|firstfirst1=A.|last2=Ramlogan|first2=R.|last3=Tampubolon|first3=G.|last4=Metcalfe|first4=J.S.|title=Mapping evolutionary trajectories: Applications to the growth and transformation of medical knowledge|journal=Research Policy|volume=36|issue=5|pages=789–806|doi=10.1016/j.respol.2006.12.007|year=2007}}</ref> are the two early works that apply main path analysis to the patent data.

=== Judicial document ===