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Review
. 2021 Jan-Apr;28(1):1-7.
doi: 10.4103/jfcm.JFCM_332_20. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Bibliometric analysis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) literature published in Web of Science 2019-2020

Rai K Farooq  1 , Shafiq Ur Rehman  2 , Murtaza Ashiq  3 , Nadeem Siddique  4 , Shakil Ahmad  2
Affiliations
Review

Bibliometric analysis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) literature published in Web of Science 2019-2020

Rai K Farooq et al. J Family Community Med. 2021 Jan-Apr.

Abstract

Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, turned into a pandemic in record time. Communication of disease presentation and mechanism of spread remain keys to getting ahead of the virus and limiting its spread beyond the capacity of management. Owing to huge academic focus and pandemic concern around the globe, this bibliometric analysis investigated research productivity related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using the Web of Science database. The relevant data were harvested, and search query was further refined by publication years (2020 OR 2019) and document types (article, book chapter, and proceedings paper). Finally, 6694 records were imported and downloaded in Plaintext and BibTeX formats on August 1, 2020. The data analysis was performed using MS Excel, VOS viewer, and Biblioshiny software. Of the 6694 publications that appeared in that period, the USA and Chinese research institutions topped the numbers. At the same time, the Journal of Medical Virology and CUREUS (Cureus Journal of Medical Science), remained favorite journals for publications. The pattern of multi-author publications has outstripped that of single-authors. Apart from COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus, the important keywords mentioned included pandemic, pneumonia, epidemiology, public health, outbreak, epidemic, China, infection, and treatment. The analysis shows a strong local research response from China, with large teams reporting on the disease outbreak. Subsequent studies will document a global response as the virus spreads worldwide. The initial research related to the current coronavirus outbreak was reported from within China. The data and patterns were supposed to alter as the virus spread globally.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; COVID-19; China; bibliometric; bibliometric-coronavirus; health care; pandemic; research productivity; severe acute respiratory syndrome-cov-2; the World Health Organization.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Authors' keyword analysis on COVID-19 literature from VOS viewer software
Figure 2
Figure 2
Three-factor analysis of the relationship among countries (left), keywords (middle), and authors' affiliated organizations (right)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Country collaboration map on COVID-19 literature around the world
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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