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. 2023 Oct 4:8:1274793.
doi: 10.3389/frma.2023.1274793. eCollection 2023.

Introducing the open biomedical map of science

Michael Ginda  1 , Bruce W Herr 2nd  1 , Katy Börner  1
Affiliations

Introducing the open biomedical map of science

Michael Ginda et al. Front Res Metr Anal. .

Abstract

This article introduces work in progress to develop a new, open biomedical map of science (OBMS) using the PubMed citation database. The new science map represents bimodal network relationships between journals and medical subject heading (MeSH) descriptors, based on a journal's articles indexed in the MEDLINE component of PubMed. We review the current efforts to use PubMed data in science of science studies and science mapping. As part of the development process, we compare the journals indexed in PubMed with journals included in the 2011 UCSD map of science to establish a baseline of disciplinary coverage of PubMed for the period 2009-2019. Journal article frequency is analyzed to establish the minimum number of citations required by a journal for inclusion in a map of science. A prototype OBMS is presented, and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the OBMS, as well as the next steps for using and productizing this new open map for general and free usage.

Keywords: PubMed (MEDLINE); biomedical science; network visualization; science mapping; scientometrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histogram shows the distribution journals by the number of articles indexed by PubMed between 2009 and 2019.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Network visualization for the open biomedical map of science (https://cns-iu.github.io/obms/visualizer).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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