Subject–method topic network analysis in communication studies

• Published in: Scientometrics Vol. 109; no. 3; pp. 1761 - 1787
• Main Authors: Lee, Keeheon, Jung, Hyojung, Song, Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Citation analysis; Communication; Communications technology; Computer Science; Human behavior; Identification methods; Indexing; Information Storage and Retrieval; Information technology; Library Science; Media; Network analysis; Social change; Social network analysis; Social sciences; User behavior; Text mining; Communication studies; ICT; Subject–method topic network analysis
• ISSN: 0138-9130; 1588-2861
• DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-2135-7

Communication studies depend on information and communication technology (ICT) and the behavior of people using the technology. ICT enables individuals to transfer information quickly via various media. Social changes are occurring rapidly and their studies are growing in number. Thus, a tool to extract knowledge to comprehend the quickly changing dynamics of communication studies is required. We propose a subject–method topic network analysis method that integrates topic modeling analysis and network analysis to understand the state of communication studies. Our analysis focuses on the relationships between topics classified as subjects and methods. From the relationships, we examine the societal and perspective changes relative to emerging media technologies. We apply our method to all papers listed in the Journal Citation Reports Social Science Citation Index as communication studies between 1990 and 2014. The study results allow us to identify popular subjects, methods, and subject–method pairs in proportion and relation.