Communication between Science and Technology Studies Journals: A Case Study in Differentiation and Integration in Scientific Fields

This paper analyzes the communication between science and technology journals (STS), to illustrate patterns of differentiation and integration within scientific fields. First the STS field is delineated, using journal-journal citations as the empirical base. A strong and increasing differentiation is found, between 'qualitative STS', 'quantitative STS' (scientometrics), and 'S&T policy studies'. Given this process of differentiation, the relations between the three sub-fields of STS are analyzed, in terms of mutual flows of information, the joint information base, and research topics. Is differentiation and codification of sub-fields visible? The findings suggest that the relations between qualitative and quantitative STS are one-sided, and that integration between the sub-fields is almost completely lacking. However, the relations between scientometrics and S&T policy studies are much stronger and more substantial, and the same is the case for scientometrics and information science.