System and method for database retrieval, indexing and statistical analysis

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method with the capacity to compare and analyze keywords of a specific area of study. By the use of the methods of the present invention, some sets of keywords will be seen as “warming up” due to their upward trends, whereas other keywords might be seen as “cooling down” due to their downward trends. Given the accepted fact that growing areas of research are the ones that are more likely to produce scientific breakthroughs, the system identifies these emerging (“hot”) areas of research would accelerate the scientific advances of their users. Similarly, users will be able to view and shift from non-productive (“cool”) areas of research to productive “hot” areas. The invention involves the utilization of a commercially available database program and provides specific keywords associated with the investigated topic. The present invention also provides a method for indexing the keywords using a keyword tree structure database so the data is in the correct format for analysis. The invention also provides a method for analyzing the number of occurrences of keywords along with the analysis of an impact factor associated with the keywords. The formatted data then allows the construction of several charts so a user can easily assess the state and forefront of a specified topic.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:  
     
         1 . A method of analyzing research trends, comprising: 
 (a) selecting a plurality of keywords associated with a trend;    (b) searching a database for publications that include the keywords;    (c) associating each keyword with a value indicative of the prestige of the publications in which the keywords appear;    (d) determining a quantified value based on the number of keywords appearing in the publications and the values indicative of the prestige of the publications; and    (e) determining the research trends based on the quantified value.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the database further comprises specific and nonspecific keywords, wherein the method further comprises, separating the specific keywords from the nonspecific keywords.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining step comprises predicting future growth trends.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the value indicative of the prestige of the publications is an impact factor.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the value indicative of the prestige of the publications is a publication cited half-life value.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the value indicative of the prestige of the publications is an immediacy index value.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step includes a search of documents based on a search prioritized by the publication date of each of said documents.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step includes the use of keywords of a specialized area.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the predetermined topic is related to a field of authors.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the predetermined topic is related to a field of institutions.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step, comprises: 
 identifying a group of specialty journals;    entering the group of specialty journals into a database query, wherein the database query is executed on the database to retrieve a plurality of articles, wherein each article of the plurality of articles contains a plurality of keywords associated with the article;    associating each article title with a corresponding factor value; and    associating each keyword in each article with the factor value associated with the article containing the keyword.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the step of removing the non-focused keywords.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the step of removing the sub-headings from the plurality of keywords.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the factor value is an impact factor value associated with a publication.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the factor value is a publication cited half-life value.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the factor value is a immediacy index value.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the factor value equal to the number of times each keyword is cited in the plurality of articles.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising: 
 summing the impact factor value associated with each keyword, thereby creating a total sum of the impact factor associated with unique keywords;    summing the number of occurrences each time a unique keyword appears in the plurality articles, wherein the summing step is applied to each keyword, thereby creating a frequency total for each keyword of said plurality of keywords;    calculating a multiplying factor by multiplying each frequency total for each keyword by the corresponding impact factor associated with unique keyword; and    selecting a plurality of top keywords from said plurality of keywords based on the value of the multiplying factor for each keyword.    
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step, comprises: 
 selecting a plurality of keywords from a tree structure in a bibliographic database, wherein the tree structure in a bibliographic database provides a plurality of subcategory keywords;    selecting a plurality of related keywords from the plurality of keywords and the plurality of subcategory keywords; and    entering the plurality of related keywords into a database query, wherein the database query is executed on the database to retrieve a plurality of articles.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising the step of removing a plurality of non-focused keywords from the plurality of related keywords.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step, comprises, selecting a plurality of journal titles from a list of specialty journal titles, wherein the selection process is based on an impact factor.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step, comprises, selecting a plurality of journal titles from a list of non-specialty journal titles, wherein the selection process is based on an impact factor.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieving step, comprises, selecting a plurality of journal titles from a list of a plurality of specialty and non-specialty journal titles, wherein the selection of journal titles occurs if, a corresponding impact factor of the selected non-specialty journal is greater than the impact factor of any specialty journals.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the analyzing step comprises: 
 producing a chart from the number of occurrences each time a unique keyword appears, the multiplying factor, and the impact factor, thereby creating a chart pattern; and    determining if the chart pattern is of an increasing value, and if so, concluding that a topic related to the keywords is emerging.    
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising the step of determining if the chart pattern is of a decreasing pattern, and if so, concluding that the topic related to the keyword is declining.  
     
     
         26 . A method for analyzing keywords related to a predetermined topic to provide an understanding of the status and the most relevant topics within the predetermined topic, wherein the method comprises: 
 retrieving a plurality of documents from said database, wherein the retrieving step utilizes keywords of the predetermined topic;    counting the keywords attached to said plurality of documents;    indexing said keywords according to a predetermined keyword structure; and    analyzing the distribution of keywords to indicate trends of the predetermined topic.    
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the keywords are retrieved by a pre-search process with a selection of journals.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the counting step associates an impact factor with the plurality of keywords.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the counting step includes counting the number of keywords.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the counting step includes counting the keywords, thereby creating a sum, and multiplying an impact factor by the sum.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the analyzing step is performed by comparing the total sum of keywords based on a distribution of keywords retrieved from the documents, wherein the documents where published in different years.  
     
     
         32 . A method for analyzing keywords related to a predetermined topic to provide an understanding of the status and the most relevant topics within the predetermined topic, wherein the method comprises: 
 associating keywords with a factor value;    calculating a correction factor;    counting the number of keywords from a template having a keywords tree structure, thereby creating a sum for each unique keyword;    multiplying the correction factor with the sum, thereby creating a plurality of keyword data points; and    charting the plurality of keyword data points to allow a user to determine a trend of the predetermined topic.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the factor value is an impact factor.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the factor value is based on the sum for each unique keyword.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the factor value is based on an immediacy-index.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising: 
 identifying a group of specialty journals;    entering the group of specialty journals into a database query, wherein the database query is executed on the database to retrieve a plurality of articles, wherein each article of the plurality of articles contains a plurality of keywords associated with the article;    associating each article title with a corresponding factor value;    associating each keyword in each article with the factor value associated with the article containing the keyword;    selecting a plurality of keywords from a tree structure in a bibliographic database, wherein the tree structure in a bibliographic database provides a plurality of subcategory keywords;    selecting a plurality of related keywords from the plurality of keywords and the plurality of subcategory keywords, wherein the selection step considers keywords associated with an impact factor and keywords selected from the tree structure; and    entering the plurality of related keywords into a database query, wherein the database query is executed on the database to retrieve a plurality of articles.