The Half-life of Missiological Facts

Abstract

An obscure field called scientometrics—the study of how rapidly academic research is produced and how quickly it becomes outdated—has recently been popularized by Stephen Arbesman’s (2012) book, The Half-life of Facts. This article employs the methods of scientometrics to measure the rate at which new missiological information is being published, and the rate at which this research is going out of date. Mission leaders can use this data to obtain a clearer picture of how the discipline of missiology is reacting to a changing world. This will allow us to concentrate on trends that matter, and on theories and strategies that will have maximum staying power.