Mapping the intellectual structure of decision analysis research in 1966–2007: An author co-citation analysis

Abstract

To map the intellectual structure of decision analysis research in the last four decades, this study identifi ed the most infl uential scholars as well as the correlations among these scholar's publications. In this study, author co-citation analysis and social network analysis techniques are used to investigate the intellectual pillars of the decision analysis literature. By analyzing 12,853 citations of 702 articles published in SSCI journals in decision analysis area between 1966 and 2007, this study maps a knowledge network of decision analysis studies. The results help profi le the knowledge network production in decision analysis and provide important insights on the change of research paradigm of current decision analysis studies.