研究前沿是一專業領域處於最前鋒的研究，掌握研究前沿之發展，可瞭解目前專業領域的研究焦點及未來發展趨勢，對於規劃國家發展藍圖及制定科技發展政策而言，亦是相當重要的參考資訊。由於國內圖書資訊學界對於研究前沿較為陌生，相關研究也尚未相當普遍，因此，本文主要目的即在針對該概念進行概略性之介紹，包含研究前沿的意義與相關概念、尋找研究前沿之依據、研究前沿相關指標、研究前沿相關實證研究等。最後，則針對研究前沿探究，提出相關建議。

Research fronts represent areas of cutting-edge study in specific fields. They not only provide insights into current focuses and future trends, but also serve as important indicators for government policymaking with regard to technology. Since the concept concerning research fronts has not been quite common in library and information science in Taiwan, this study intends to briefly introduce this concept, hoping that people can have more in-depth understanding about research fronts. This paper is divided into five parts. The first part is research fronts’ meaning and its related concept. The second explores the basis to detect the research fronts. The third concerns research fronts’ related indicator. The fourth studies the empirical research related to the research fronts, with focus on using the research methods of bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and various citation analysis. Finally, this study proposes some recommendations for the future research.