Proposal of indicators for the structural analysis of scientific articles

This study aims to identify variables and indicators that substantiate the development of rules that focus on the structural analysis of scientific articles. Variables and indicators for structural analysis are derived from hypotheses deduced from editorials in important scientific journals. To exemplify and test the indicators, a structural analysis was conducted of 108 scientific articles published in important journals in the field of Management. The hypotheses were mostly tested in accordance with the idea of estimation statistics. The approach that was developed for the structural analysis of the network of texts innovates by employing network analysis indicators (indegree and outdegree). For this purpose, the text matrix is employed through the identification and encoding of cross-references between sections and subsections of each article under study. For the context in question, the field of Management, twelve rules were developed. The interpretations of the possible values for the indicators, expressed in the form of rules, are applied as directives to less experienced scholars in preparing their scientific articles, and for the generation of information to support activities concerning the classification and analysis of scientific articles.