Abstract :
A modified approach to algorithmic historiography is used to investigate the changing influence of the work of Conrad Hal Waddington over the period 1945–2004. Overall, Waddingtonʹs publications were cited by almost 5,500 source items in the Web of Science (Thomson Scientific, formerly Thomson ISI, Philadelphia, PA). Rather than simply analyzing the data set as a whole, older works by Waddington are incorporated into a series of historiographic maps (networks of highly cited documents), which show long-term and short-term research themes grounded in Waddingtonʹs work. Analysis by 10–20-year periods and the use of social network analysis soft- ware reveals structures—thematic networks and subnetworks—that are hidden in a mapping of the entire 60-year period. Two major Waddington-related themes emerge—canalization/genetic assimilation and embryonic induction. The first persists over the 60 years studied while active, visible research in the second appears to have declined markedly between 1965 and 1984, only to reappear in conjunction with the emergence of a new research field—Evolutionary Developmental Biology.
