Seven Wilson papers received ten citations or more in Information Research (see Table 1). The most cited paper presents the nested model of information behaviour (Wilson, 1999). Other influential papers include Wilson’s historical view and status of human information behaviour (2000), his paper on motivations for seeking behaviour (1981) and a paper on the interdisciplinary nature of information behaviour (1997).

The second part of the analysis is based on the cluster map presented in Figure 1, where seven clusters are formed in the co-citation analysis. On the map, the size of the circles is determined by the number of citations received in Scopus. In this study we focus on the four largest clusters, as they are formed by papers with stronger links between them and are thus more coherent compared to clusters five (purple), six (turquoise) and seven (orange). The four largest clusters are summarised by size and keywords in Table 2.

Cluster one, the largest cluster (red) on the map, consists of sixty-five papers. This cluster covers topics such as academic and professional research, represented by a paper on the information-seeking behaviour of graduate students (George et al., 2006). Järvelin and Ingwersen’s (2004) paper on the directions of information-seeking research is general research on information-seeking behaviour, while Fisher et al.’s (2004) paper on migrant Hispanic farm workers illustrates the theme of cultural and societal influences on information behaviour. The health and medical area is exemplified by Courtright’s (2005) paper on health information seeking.

Cluster two (green) includes topics on health, affect and emotions. Highly cited papers include Kim et al.’s (2007) paper on information overload of cancer patients, Heinström’s (2000) work on personality and learning and Savolainen’s (2015) study of emotional expressions on immigration in a Finnish discussion group. Bronstein and Knoll’s (2015) study of female bloggers suffering from infertility is an example of social media studies also covered by the cluster.

Cluster three (blue) includes topics such as information behaviour in professions, represented by Demiryurek et al.’s (2008) study on dairy farmers and information, while health and lifestyle information seeking is covered by Morey’s (2007) paper on health information in an African American community. Pálsdóttir’s (2011) study of elderly Icelanders serves as an example of the cluster’s focus on everyday information behaviour.

Cluster four (yellow) covers work and organisation-oriented topics such as knowledge management, decision-making and information culture. In this cluster, highly cited papers in Scopus include Bouthillier and Shearer’s (2002) paper on knowledge and information management in organisations, Savolainen’s (2017) review on knowledge sharing and communication and Popovič et al.’s (2009) work on the impact of business intelligence maturity on information quality.

This paper has focused on Professor Tom D. Wilson’s contribution to Information Research. In his most influential papers, he has outlined the field of information behaviour and the information user (e.g. Wilson, 1981, 2000), addressed interdisciplinarity (Wilson, 1997), and coined the nested model of information behaviour (Wilson, 1999). The cluster analysis has shown how these and other papers by Wilson have served as a cornerstone for later studies on information behaviour. In Information Research, Wilson’s work has laid the groundwork for empirical work on a variety of topics, such as health, the workplace, leisure and emotional aspects of information seeking. Together, these papers highlight the impact of Wilson’s editorial leadership of Information Research, his research on information behaviour and his foundational contributions to both empirical and theoretical scholarship in the field.