Altmetrics-based Visualizations Depicting the Evolution of a Knowledge Domain

Abstract

In this paper, we present work towards showing the evolution of scientific domain using data from a scientific conference scheduling software. This scheduling data represents an altmetrics source which has not been studied before. As a use case, we have chosen to visualize the evolution of the Conference on User Modelling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP). The first results of this type of analysis are encouraging. The chosen visualization approach of small multiples allows for a comparison of knowledge domain visualizations over various years. The work, however, also revealed several weaknesses of the current approach, relating to the topology and the continuity of the visualization. We discuss these weaknesses and present potential solutions.