Mapping the Chinese Science Citation Database in terms of aggregated journal-journal citation relations. Journal of the American Society of Information Science & Technology, 56(14) 1469-1479

Abstract

This is published in the Journal of the American Society of Information Science & Technology, 56(14) 1469-1479. [The classification and mapping of journals is available at http://www.leydesdorff.net/china01.] Methods developed for mapping the journal structure contained in aggregated journal-journal citations in the Science Citation Index are applied to the Chinese Science Citation Database of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This database covered 991 journals in 2001, of which only 37 had originally English titles and only 31 were covered by the SCI. Using factor-analytical and graph-analytical techniques we show that the journal relations are dually structured. The main structure is the intellectual organization of the journals in journal groups (as in the international SCI), but the university-based journals provide an institutional layer that orients this structure towards practical ends (e.g., agriculture). This mechanism of integration is further distinguished from the role of â general science journals.â The Chinese Science Citation Database thus exhibits the characteristics of â Mode 2â in the production of scientific knowledge more than its western counterparts. The contexts of application lead to correlation among the components.