Use of social network analysis tools to validate a resources infrastructure for interinstitutional translational research: a case study

QUESTION: How can knowledge management and innovative technology, cornerstones of library practice, be leveraged to validate the progress of Clinical and Translational Science Awards? SETTING: The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI) promotes interdisciplinary research across academic institutions. METHODS: Using social networking tools and knowledge management skills enabled the department of knowledge informatics and translation to create a visualization of utilization of resources across different Indiana CTSI programs and coauthorship and citation patterns. RESULTS: Contacts with different resources per investigator increased; every targeted program was shown to be linked to another. Analysis of publications established a baseline to further analyze the scientific contribution of Indiana CTSI projects. CONCLUSION: Knowledge management and social networking utilities validated the efficacy of the Indiana CTSI resources infrastructure and demonstrated visualization of collaboration. The bibliometric analysis of publications provides a basis for assessing longer-term contributions of support to scientific discovery and transdisciplinary science.This publication was made possible, in part, with support from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute funded, in part by grant number RR025761 from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Clinical and Translational Science Award