Analyzing the Evolution of Science: Topological Cycles and Community Detection in Knowledge Networks
Document Type
Honors Project - Open Access
Abstract
How scientific knowledge grows and organizes itself is a central question in the study of science. This thesis uses tools from topology and network science to detect and characterize knowledge gaps—places in a field’s literature where related concepts do not co-occur. We develop a metric to quantify the degree of interdisciplinarity of each gap, using the community structure of the underlying network as a proxy for subfields. Across a wide range of fields, gaps reliably span multiple subfields and evolve in recognizable temporal patterns, highlighting new insights into how scientific fields are structured and their stage of development.
Recommended Citation
McConnell, Frances C., "Analyzing the Evolution of Science: Topological Cycles and Community Detection in Knowledge Networks" (2026). Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects. 101.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/mathcs_honors/101
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