Qin Ye, Chen Rongrong
Shanghai Discipline Assessment Center, Office of Strategic Planning, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240 China.
Network and Information Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240 China.
J Shanghai Jiaotong Univ Sci. 2022 Dec 26:1-11. doi: 10.1007/s12204-022-2558-7.
Research in Information Science and interdisciplinary areas suggested the formation of a growing network of international research collaboration. The massive transmission of COVID-19 worldwide especially after the identification of the Omicron variant could fundamentally alter the factors shaping the network's development. This study employs network analysis methods to analyze the structure of the COVID-19 research collaboration from 2020 to 2022, using two major academic publication databases and the VOSviewer software. A novel temporal view is added by examining the dynamic changes of the network, and a fractional counting method is adopted as methodological improvements to previous research. Analysis reveals that the COVID-19 research network structure has undergone substantial changes over time, as collaborating countries and regions form and re-form new clusters. Transformations in the network can be partly explained by key developments in the pandemic and other social-political events. China as one of the largest pivots in the network formed a relatively distinct cluster, with potential to develop a larger Asia-Pacific collaboration cluster based on its research impact.
信息科学及跨学科领域的研究表明，国际研究合作网络正在不断扩大。尤其是在奥密克戎变种被发现后，新冠病毒在全球范围内的大规模传播可能会从根本上改变影响该网络发展的因素。本研究采用网络分析方法，利用两个主要学术出版物数据库和VOSviewer软件，分析了2020年至2022年新冠病毒研究合作的结构。通过研究网络的动态变化增加了一种新颖的时间视角，并采用分数计数法作为对先前研究的方法改进。分析表明，随着合作国家和地区形成并重新形成新的集群，新冠病毒研究网络结构随时间发生了重大变化。网络的转变部分可以由疫情的关键发展和其他社会政治事件来解释。中国作为该网络中最大的枢纽之一，形成了一个相对独特的集群，基于其研究影响力，有潜力发展出一个更大的亚太合作集群。
