ABSTRACT
WHAT IS knowledge growth? In terms of scientific areas of study,knowledge growth refers to the number of items about the subject area which appear in databases of books, articles and journals. Knowledge growth thus provides a reflection of the state of the art of any scientific discipline and it has a direct bearing on the evolution and formation of a scientific discipline. Garvey enumerates several changes that are taking place in a scientific field following knowledge growth:
• Increased specialization and smaller subject-areas. • Increased team research. • Increased number of specialisms, which are developing out of the
disciplinary boundaries, and between disciplines.1
