Center of mass change in the biomechanics citation network

ABSTRACT

This study examined the hypothesis that the network of citation in biomechanics journals would change over the last decade and specifically the centrality of the journal Sports Biomechanics. Top 20 cited biomechanics journals identified using the ‘Journal Citation Relationships’ feature from Journal Citation Reports were extracted for 12 ‘seed’ biomechanics journals in 2011, 2016, and 2021. From 2011 till 2021 the total number of top cited biomechanics journals in Journal Citation Reports decreased (17%) from 90 to 74, while the citations to these journals nearly increased 5-fold (8,051 to 39,574). Top Journal Citation Reports cited biomechanics journals changed over time, indicating variability in the centrality of many journals in the biomechanics citation network based on this prestigious database. Over time there were decreasing citation of medical journals, as well as increasing citation of open access mega journals and the journal Sports Biomechanics. Citation network analysis provides insight into the changing structure of knowledge creation in biomechanics, with recent trends towards applied research particularly on wearable sensors published in mega journals.

KEYWORDS:

• Bibliometrics
• centrality
• journal
• mega journal
• open access

Disclosure statement

In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that I serve on the editorial board and publish in some journals that are the focus of this study.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.