A bibliometric analysis of the DESIGN 2012 conference

Bibliometric analyses play an important role in reflecting on a research field and identifying areas of strength and weakness. This paper builds on recent reflective efforts within the community by presenting a bibliometric analysis of the DESIGN 2012 conference. Over 2700 citations were identified, classified and grouped in order to describe citation trends by field, type of work and distribution.

Based on this multifaceted analysis three key conclusions are drawn. First, the uptake and impact of work from fields other than design is unexpectedly low given the research themes within the design research community. Second, where other fields are cited there is little focus, suggesting that citation and uptake of key principals is generally ineffective and is not then subsequently incorporated into the design research corpus.

Finally, we conclude that it is critical that a concerted effort be made by the community as well as individual authors to consider the wider scope of work from related fields, and that this learning is incorporated into the design research corpus in a coherent and focused manner.