Methods of assessing the evolution of science: a review

Abstract

Interest in the characterization and evolution of science has sparked a vast amount of literature. The manner in which this field of knowledge is depicted is highly diversified, giving rise to different styles of reporting the history of science. Notwithstanding the relevance of the subject for a broader understanding of how knowledge is produced, certified and appropriated, a simple and informative framework is missing. Proposing a simple categorization of the methods for assessing the evolution of science, our study highlights the changing process of scientific traditions, portraying the evolution of science as shifting towards hybrid and quantitative methodologies, namely those based on bibliometric techniques, as they arguably rely less on the judgments and perceptions of researchers, and have a higher degree of certainty.