Historical analysis: a new approach comparing publications from inside and outside the discipline over time.
One new way of analysing a discipline is to track the major ideas it produces over time (outputs). This can also be done with the texts which the discipline acknowledges through citations (inputs). Using the criteria of citations in peer-reviewed journals and frequency of citation, it is possible to chart trends and even make predictions. A table for the discipline of general practice over 150 years is shown. This historical analysis suggests that the discipline of general practice was essentially clinical and primarily concerned with physical illness until 1965 and has since then been more concerned with psychosocial factors.
Bibliometrics↗