Scientific legacy: The bibliometric mapping. (Part 1: Theory and Russian experience)

The two-stage study was conducted to analyze publication activity related to the use of the term “scientific legacy” in academic literature. The first stage focused on the theoretical conceptualization of scientific legacy as a key element of continuity in science and on the comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications containing this term, published in journals indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) database. The applied methodology includes metadata analysis of publications using bibliometric methods and statistical data processing. The authors identified the historical phases of publication activity, key semantic The two-stage study was conducted to analyze publication activity related to the use of the term “scientific legacy” in academic literature. The first stage focused on the theoretical conceptualization of scientific legacy as a key element of continuity in science and on the comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications containing this term, published in journals indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) database. The applied methodology includes metadata analysis of publications using bibliometric methods and statistical data processing. The authors identified the historical phases of publication activity, key semantic contexts of the term “scientific legacy”, and analyzed gender representation among authors and the individuals whose scientific legacy served as the subject of investigation in the selected materials. The findings revealed that most publications focused on personalized scientific legacy, reflecting the contributions of prominent scientists, while the systematic studies of scientific legacy as an independent phenomenon were scarce. The thematic analysis demonstrated increased interest in studying scientific legacy in the fields of history, law and governance, and pedagogy. Meanwhile, the significant gaps were identified in addressing the scientific legacy of female scientists and in exploring this phenomenon in several disciplines, including informatics, psychology, and biology. The authors emphasize the need for strategic initiatives to popularize, preserve, and enhance the accessibility of scientific legacy in the context of contemporary challenges. They also underscore the importance of deepening interdisciplinary approaches to its study and addressing gender and thematic imbalances in this scientific domain.