The category tags (”Topics”) on Research Blogging were never intended to be permanent. To be useful, they should reflect the actual usage of the site. So, I’m seeking input of Research Blogging users to improve the Topics we use.
First, let’s take a look at how the tags are used:
The good news is, there are some posts in every topic. However, “biology” turns out to be a very popular tag, affecting over 5,000 posts! There are almost three times as many “biology” tags than any other.
It would be nice if we could subdivide that topic so that not so many posts are included under a single umbrella. I took a closer look at the posts in biology and found that the most popular subcategory is “Ecology,” with over 1,000 uses. There are also lots of posts on related fields such as “Conservation.”
So I’d really like to start a new topic, “Conservation / Ecology.” But what subcategories should we use?
The current subcategories for Biology are Agriculture, Anatomy, Behavioral Biology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Engineering, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Botany, Cancer, Cell Biology, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Immunology, Marine Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Systems Biology, and Zoology. Other than Ecology and Conservation, are there any subcategories that should be moved over to the Conservation / Ecology topic? What about subcategories in Geosciences or other major topics? Should we add new subcategories?
It would be great if we could further subdivide the Biology topic, but beyond creating a new topic for Conservation / Ecology, I’m a little stumped. Any suggestions?
On the other end of the scale, are there any less-utilized topics that could be combined? I’m thinking Mathematics could merge with Computer Science, or Astronomy with Physics. Any preferences here?
Any other suggestions? Any subcategories you’d like to see added? Let me know. I’d like to have a new classification system ready by next week. For reference, below is the complete system of recommended tags in our system now (users can also type in their own subcategories).
Anthropology
Applied Anthropology, Archeology, Biological Anthropology, Evolutionary Anthropology, Linguistics, Medical Anthropology, Sociocultural Anthropology
Astronomy
Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Galactic Astronomy, Observational Astronomy, Planetary Astronomy, Search for ETI, Stellar Astronomy, Theoretical Astrophysics
Biology
Agriculture, Anatomy, Behavioral Biology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Engineering, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Botany, Cancer, Cell Biology, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Immunology, Marine Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Systems Biology, Taxonomy, Zoology
Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biological Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Cheminformatics, Environmental Chemistry, Geochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials, Nanoscience, Nuclear Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Synthetic Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry
Clinical Research
Aging, Cancer, Cardiovascular, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Genetics, Hematology, Immunology, Metabolism, Neurology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Stem Cells, Toxicology
Computer Science
Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Theory, Databases, Encryption, Graphics, Human-Computer Interaction, Languages and Compilers, Networks, Operating Systems, Parallel and Distributed Computing, Robotics, Software Engineering
Engineering
Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials, Nanoscience
Geosciences
Atmosphere Science, Biogeosciences, Climate Science, Energy, Environmental Health, Geochemistry, Geodysy, Geology, Geophysics, Glaciology, Hydrology, Oceanography, Planetary Science, Seismology, Soil Science, Sustainability
Health
Clinical Psychology, Epidemiology, Gene Therapy, Health Policy, Kinesiology, Medical Ethics, Medicine, Nutrition, Public Health, Psychiatry, Rehabilitation, Substance Abuse
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics, Combinatorics, Discrete Math, Logic and Foundations, Probability and Statistics, Pure Mathematics
Neuroscience
Affective Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Developmental Neuroscience, Molecular Neuroscience, Neural Engineering, Neurolinguistics
Philosophy
Aesthetics, Continental Philosophy, Epistemology, Ethics, History of Philosophy, Logic, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Political Science
Physics
Astrophysics, Atomic Physics, Biophysics, Condensed Matter, Continuum Mechanics, Electronics, Experimental Physics, High-Energy Physics, Molecular Physics, Nanoscience, Nuclear Physics, Optics, Particle Physics, Plasma Physics, Precision Measurement, Quantum Physics, Theoretical Physics
Psychology
Abnormal Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Comparative Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Factors, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Learning, Personality, Quantitative Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Social Psychology
Social Science
Economics, Geography, History, Law, Linguistics, Political Science, Sociology
Research / Scholarship
Career, Education, Ethics, Funding, Library Science, Policy, Publishing
Other
