Abstract
Data-driven approaches to philosophy have emerged as a valuable tool for studying the history of the discipline. However, most studies in this area have focused on a limited number of journals from specific regions and subfields. We expand the scope of this research by applying dynamic topic modelling techniques to explore the history of philosophy in Colombia and Latin America. Our study examines the Colombian philosophy journal Ideas y Valores, founded in 1951 and currently one of the most influential academic philosophy journals in the region. By analyzing the evolution of topics across the journal's history, we identify various trends and specific dynamics in philosophical discourse within the Colombian and Latin American context. Our findings reveal that the most prominent topics are value theory (including ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics), epistemology, and the philosophy of science. We also trace the evolution of articles focused on interpreting a specific philosopher's work rather than proposing new positions, and we note a salient emphasis on German philosophers such as Kant, Husserl, and Hegel across various topics throughout the journal's lifetime. Given the journal's founding aspiration towards more original, propositional philosophy, we investigate whether exegetical topics became comparatively less prominent over time. Our analysis suggests no significant decline in such topics. Finally, we propose ideas for extending this research to other Latin American journals and suggest improvements for natural language processing workflows in non-English languages.
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Jun 29, 2026cs.DL
This study analyzes the novelty distribution of scholarly papers in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) in China, with a focus on differences across journals, research topics, and time periods. Articles published in Chinese LIS journals indexed by the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI) from 2000 to 2022 were collected as the research sample. BERTopic was applied to paper abstracts to identify research topics, and novelty scores were calculated based on the combinatorial innovation theory of reference pairs cited by focal papers. The study then examined the novelty of papers under different topics and further analyzed author collaboration patterns to explain how collaboration may be associated with paper novelty. The results show that archival research topics generally have lower novelty, whereas topics related to journal evaluation and patent technology display higher novelty in Chinese LIS research. Overall, the novelty of papers in this field has gradually increased over time. Papers with different topics and novelty levels also show distinct collaboration patterns: low-novelty topics are more often associated with solo authorship, while high-novelty topics tend to involve a higher proportion of inter-institutional collaboration. This study reveals the topic-level characteristics and temporal trends of novelty in Chinese LIS research and provides a new perspective for understanding how research topics and collaboration patterns influence scholarly innovation.
Chen Yang, Yuzhuo Wang, Chengzhi Zhang
Jun 30, 2026cs.DL
The present study analyzed over 26,000 research articles published between 1991 and 2021 in twenty-one major LIS (Library and Information Science) journals, using the machine learning (ML) approach to categorize the research methods used by LIS scholars. The findings of this study are significant. Firstly, there has been a shift in the research strategy from conceptual research (e.g., "Theoretical approach") to empirical research (e.g., "Interview") in LIS investigations over the past 31 years. Secondly, the research topics explored by LIS scholars during this period have moved from system-centered issues (e.g., "Information retrieval/models and algorithms") to user-centered topics (e.g., "Information services "). Thirdly, the study revealed dynamic and revealing relationships between the 18 research topics identified in the study and the 16 research methods commonly adopted in the LIS field. These dynamic relationships can be visualized by year and longitudinally via an interactive map created in this study.
Chengzhi Zhang, Liang Tian, Heting Chu
Apr 24, 2026cs.CV
Thematic maps play a central role in academic communication, yet their large-scale design evolution has rarely been examined empirically. This study presents a longitudinal and multilingual analysis of thematic map design practices in academic cartography from 1990 to 2020. We compile a corpus of 45,732 research articles from sixteen authoritative Chinese- and English-language journals and extract 23,928 maps using computer vision and large-model-based document parsing to build a structured dataset. Map design characteristics are quantified across three dimensions: map elements, color design, and layout structure. Results show that Chinese- and Englishlanguage academic maps share highly similar structural conventions, typically employing restrained color palettes with neutral dominant hues, low saturation, high brightness, and limited hue diversity, as well as centered layouts with high main-map occupation ratios. Differences exist in that English-language maps show slightly greater hue richness and compactness, whereas Chinese-language maps historically rely more on neutral hues and integrated layouts. Temporal analysis reveals parallel evolutionary trends in both groups, including increasing element richness, legend usage, and hue diversity, alongside stable layout structures. Overall, the findings suggest that academic map design evolution is characterized more by institutional convergence than cultural divergence.
Zhiwei Wei, Chenxi Song, Tazhu Wang +4