Co-term network analysis as a means of describing the information landscapes of knowledge communities across sectors

Many and varied information sources are used by researchers and managers across sectors relevant to public policy development. When aggregated, these sources can be described in terms of sector-specific information landscapes. This paper describes results from a survey that investigated such landscapes and relates them to the working practices of those for whom they were relevant. This is achieved through the use of co-word or co-term analysis, a technique derived from actor-network theory. This technique allows for the production of graphic plots of normalised free text term pairs, which take into account inclusiveness. The results suggest that knowledge communities can be identified by this technique.