Bibliometric and social network analysis of the SoS field

This exploratory work combines bibliometric methods and social network analysis to provide a knowledge map on the development of system of systems research field. For this purpose, the study mined the published articles related to system of systems until 2012 indexed by Web of Knowledge platform including SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, CPCI-S, and other scientific literature databases. The auctorial, institutional, national patterns in system of systems research are revealed using bibliometric methods. Social network analysis is used to discover relationships between authors and key terms in the research field. Based on this quantitative analysis, the study found the influential journals, key researchers, leading institutions and countries, and major research areas in system of systems research field. Last, suggestions are made on the future development of system of systems field.