Patent citation data in social science research: Overview and best practices

The last 2 decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of patent citation data in social science research. Facilitated by digitization of the patent data and increasing computing power, a community of practice has grown up that has developed methods for using these data to: measure attribu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology Vol. 68; no. 6; pp. 1360 - 1374
Main Authors Jaffe, Adam B., de Rassenfosse, Gaétan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken Wiley Periodicals Inc 01.06.2017
Subjects
Citations
Communities of Practice
Digitization
Innovations
Patients
Social Science Research
Social sciences
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Summary:The last 2 decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of patent citation data in social science research. Facilitated by digitization of the patent data and increasing computing power, a community of practice has grown up that has developed methods for using these data to: measure attributes of innovations such as impact and originality; to trace flows of knowledge across individuals, institutions and regions; and to map innovation networks. The objective of this article is threefold. First, it takes stock of these main uses. Second, it discusses 4 pitfalls associated with patent citation data, related to office, time and technology, examiner, and strategic effects. Third, it highlights gaps in our understanding and offers directions for future research.
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ISSN:2330-1635
2330-1643
DOI:10.1002/asi.23731