Mapping the “long tail” of research funding: A topic analysis of NSF grant proposals in the division of astronomical sciences
Mapping the “long tail” of research funding: A topic analysis of NSF grant proposals in the division of astronomical sciences
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DOI：
10.1002/pra2.276
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发表时间：
2020-06
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Gretchen R. Stahlman;P. Heidorn
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gretchen R. Stahlman;P. Heidorn
“长尾”数据被认为是较小的、异构的、研究人员持有的数据，这带来了独特的数据管理和学术交流挑战。由于管理资源不足，这些数据可能集中在资金相对较低的项目中。为了更好地了解长尾数据的性质和分布，我们使用潜在狄利克雷分配 (LDA) 和书目数据检查美国国家科学基金会 (NSF) 的资助模式。我们还引入了“主题投资”的概念，以捕捉不同资金水平的主题差异，并阐明不同主题的资金分配。本研究以天文学学科为案例研究，全面探讨主题、资助水平和研究成果之间可能的关联，以及对研究政策和实践的影响。我们发现，虽然不同的主题表现出不同的资助水平和出版模式，但这里提出的“长尾”理论框架预测的动态可以在 NSF 资助的天文学主题中观察到。
“Long tail” data are considered to be smaller, heterogeneous, researcher‐held data, which present unique data management and scholarly communication challenges. These data are presumably concentrated within relatively lower‐funded projects due to insufficient resources for curation. To better understand the nature and distribution of long tail data, we examine National Science Foundation (NSF) funding patterns using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and bibliographic data. We also introduce the concept of “Topic Investment” to capture differences in topics across funding levels and to illuminate the distribution of funding across topics. This study uses the discipline of astronomy as a case study, overall exploring possible associations between topic, funding level and research output, with implications for research policy and practice. We find that while different topics demonstrate different funding levels and publication patterns, dynamics predicted by the “long tail” theoretical framework presented here can be observed within NSF‐funded topics in astronomy.