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- Main path analysis is a mathematical tool, first proposed by and Doreian in 1989, to identify the major paths in a citation network, which is one form of a directed acyclic graph (DAG). It has since become an effective technique for mapping technological trajectories, exploring scientific knowledge flows, and conducting literature reviews. The method begins by measuring the significance of all the links in a citation network through the concept of ‘traversal count’ and then sequentially chains the most significant links into a "main path", which is deemed the most significant historical path in the target citation network. The method is applicable to any human activity that can be organized in the form of a citation network. The method is commonly applied to trace the knowledge flow paths or development trajectories of a science or technology field, through bibliographic citations or patent citations. It has also been applied to judicial decisions to trace the evolving changes of legal opinions. Main path analysis has attracted scholars attention recently. Academic research related to main path analysis saw a fast growing since 2007. A list of academic articles that introduce, explain, apply, modify, or extend the method originated in Hummon and Doreian can be found here. Nevertheless, there are issues not broadly discussed in applying the method, including the handling of citation data, choosing a proper traversal weight scheme, search options, and interpretation of the resulting paths. (en)
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