Dynamic Trends between Specialization and Integration of Communication Research: Scientometric Analysis of SSCI Journals from 1970 to 2019

Communication research has long been criticized for over-fragmentation. In this paper, we do not aim to provide a solution for unification, but rather show that the field may have maintained a healthy balance between specialization and integration. A bibliographic dataset of more than 50,000 articles from all SSCI-indexed communication journals during the past 50 years is analyzed. The results show that journals have spontaneously organized themselves into either “vertical” domains representing subfields or “horizontal” foundations transcending subfields. Multiple subfields have emerged over time, but the level of diversification stayed stable. Moreover, the field has also generally agreed on a set of common intellectual roots, i.e., the wide citations of a limited set of sources. Afterall, diversity may not be a sin for the field. What we should do next is to use the latest specialized knowledge to feed the ongoing integrative efforts and let the latter to guide the former.