Discarding the ‘basic science/applied science’ dichotomy: A knowledge utilization triangle classification system of research journals

Abstract

This paper introduces a comprehensive system for classifying scholarly journals according to their degree of ‘application orientation.’ The method extends earlier models and journal classification systems that were designed to tackle the crude duality between ‘basic research’ and ‘applied research.’ This metrics‐based system rests on a ‘Knowledge Utilization Triangle’ typology, which distinguishes three types of coexisting knowledge application domains: ‘clinical,’ ‘industrial,’ and ‘civic.’ The empirical data relate to the institutional origin of authors who publish their research papers in the scientific journal literature. The case study applies indicators of ‘clinical relevance’ and ‘industrial relevance’ to 11,000 journals indexed by the Web of Science (WoS) database. The resulting multidimensional classification system of journals comprises six Journal Application Domain (JAD) categories. Macro‐level trend analysis of the WoS‐indexed research publication output by JAD category reveals redistributions within global science during the years 1999–2008, with a slight increase of output published in ‘industrially relevant’ journals.

The scientometric evaluation of the research on the production of bioenergy from biomass

“…It is notable that the most top publishing subject areas, such as "Energy & Fuels" "Engineering, Chemical", "Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology", and "Environmental Sciences" fall within the realm of the applied engineering sciences rather than the basic natural sciences, supporting a similar finding relating to the most publishing journals [44].…”

Guidelines for improving the contextual relevance of field surveys: the case of information security policy violations

“…Whereas basic science 'is performed without thought of practical ends' (Bush, 1945, p. 13), applied science is 'directed toward some individual or group or societal need or use' (Stokes, 1997, p. 8). Thus, relevance is a key criterion of good applied science (Tijssen, 2010).…”

Contribution of Journals to Academic Disciplines

“…VOS (Visualization Of Similarities) was first developed in the Netherlands in 2006. It has been progressively advanced by research and widely used by researchers in the field of biblimetrics (Van Eck & Waltman, 2010;Waaijer, van Bochove, & van Eck 2010;Waltman, van Eck, & Noyons 2010;Heersmink et al, 2011;Lee, 2011;Leydesdorff & Rafols, 2011;Lu & Wolfram, 2010;Su & Lee, 2010;Tijssen, 2010).…”