Can Viewshare Be Used as a Research Network Visualization Tool? A Case Study Based on STEM Departments at Texas A&M University

The use of open source platforms based on Linked Data principles allows for data collection, manipulation, and visualization of bibliographic information, and, in particular, authoritative authorship data. Viewshare was utilized to discover authorship patterns and trends among faculty members of the science, geoscience, and engineering colleges at Texas A&M University. The findings include interdisciplinarity of researcher interests and output; patterns in hiring trends over time; and coverage of Texas A&M University faculty members in the National Authority File. These results demonstrate how librarians can utilize Linked Data platforms, such as Viewshare, for assessment of research patterns and productivity, thereby supporting campus analysis of institutional effectiveness. They also provide data useful for library operations, including creation of authority records and refining collection development approaches.