Pretolesi Daniele, Stanzani Ilaria, Ravera Stefano, Vian Andrea, Barla Annalisa
Center for Technology Experience, AIT - Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria.
Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 14;20(1):e0315216. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315216. eCollection 2025.
In this paper, we explore the application of Artificial Intelligence and network science methodologies in characterizing interdisciplinary disciplines, with a specific focus on the field of Italian design, taken as a paradigmatic example. Exploratory data analysis and the study of academic collaboration networks highlight how the field is evolving towards increased collaboration. Text analysis and semantic topic modelling identified the evolution of research interest over time, defining a ranking of pairs of keywords and three prominent research topics: User-Centric Experience Design, Innovative Product Design and Sustainable Service Design. Our results revealed a significant transformation in the field, with a shift from individual to collaborative research, as evidenced by the increasing complexity and collaboration within groups. We acknowledge the limitations faced by this work, suggesting that the methodology may be primarily suitable for bibliometric and more silos-like disciplines. However, we emphasize the urgency for the scientific community to address the future of research not indexed by large open-access databases like OpenAlex.
在本文中，我们探讨人工智能和网络科学方法在跨学科领域特征描述中的应用，特别聚焦于意大利设计领域，将其作为一个典型例子。探索性数据分析和学术合作网络研究凸显了该领域如何朝着加强合作的方向发展。文本分析和语义主题建模确定了研究兴趣随时间的演变，定义了关键词对的排名以及三个突出的研究主题：以用户为中心的体验设计、创新产品设计和可持续服务设计。我们的结果揭示了该领域的重大转变，从个体研究转向合作研究，这从团队内部日益增加的复杂性和合作中可见一斑。我们承认这项工作面临的局限性，表明该方法可能主要适用于文献计量学以及更具孤立性的学科。然而，我们强调科学界迫切需要关注未被OpenAlex等大型开放获取数据库索引的研究的未来。
