Abstract: Based on the citation perspective, we measured the knowledge fusion degree of the scientific article through three indicators: knowledge fusion breadth, knowledge fusion speed, and interdisciplinary knowledge fusion degree. Then the association between knowledge fusion and the social impact of scientific articles was analyzed to clarify whether improving the knowledge fusion degree of papers can increase their social impact. It showed that the knowledge fusion breadth has a significantly positive impression on the social impact of papers, and varies from subject to discipline. The knowledge fusion speed has a significantly positive but weak impression on the social impact of papers. There is barely any association between the interdisciplinary knowledge fusion degree and the social impact of papers.In general, there is a significant correlation between knowledge fusion and social impact, but the correlation is weak. The wider the knowledge fusion, the faster the knowledge fusion, and the deeper the knowledge fusion of similar disciplines, it is more conducive to the social impact of a scientific paper.

Key words: Knowledge fusion, Social impact of paper, Altmetrics, Bibliometrics, Citation analysis