Bibliometric analysis and mapping knowledge domain of pterygium: 2000-2019

Abstract

Aim: To track the knowledge structure, topics in focus, and trends in emerging research in pterygium in the past 20y.

Methods: Base on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), studies related to pterygium in the past 20y from 2000-2019 have been included. With the help of VOSviewer software, a knowledge map was constructed and the distribution of countries, institutions, journals, and authors in the field of pterygium noted. Meanwhile, using co-citation analysis of references and co-occurrence analysis of keywords, we identified basis and hotspots, thereby obtaining an overview of this field.

Results: The search retrieved 1516 publications from WoSCC on pterygium published between 2000 and 2019. In the past two decades, the annual number of publications is on the rise and fluctuated a little. Most productive institutions are from Singapore but the most prolific and active country is the United States. Journal Cornea published the most articles and Coroneo MT contributed the most publications on pterygium. From co-occurrence analysis, the keywords formed 3 clusters: 1) surgical therapeutic techniques and adjuvant of pterygium, 2) occurrence process and pathogenesis of pterygium, and 3) epidemiology, and etiology of pterygium formation. These three clusters were consistent with the clustering in co-citation analysis, in which Cluster 1 contained the most references (74 publications, 47.74%), Cluster 2 contained 53 publications, accounting for 34.19%, and Cluster 3 focused on epidemiology with 18.06% of total 155 co-citation publications.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the research of pterygium is gradually attracting the attention of scholars and researchers. The interaction between authors, institutions, and countries is lack of. Even though, the research hotspot, distribution, and research status in pterygium in this study could provide valuable information for scholars and researchers.

Keywords: VOSviewer; bibliometric analysis; mapping knowledge domain; pterygium.

Figure 1. Annual publication outputs for pterygium from 2000 to 2019.

Figure 2. Network map of countries reporting pterygium research

Totally 38 countries that met the threshold of a minimum of 5 publications related to pterygium are included. Each node represents a country; the links represent the association between countries; the color and distance between items represent the similarity between countries.

Figure 3. Network map of institutions involved in pterygium research

Totally 51 institutions met the threshold of a minimum of 8 publications related to pterygium; only 25 of them are linked to each other. Each node represents an institution; the links represent the association between institutions; the color and distance between items represent the similarity between institutions.

Figure 4. Network map of authors in pterygium research

Totally 91 authors met the five publications threshold; only 9 of them are linked to each other. Each node represents an author; the links represent the association between authors; the color and distance between items represent the similarity between authors.

Figure 5. Co-citation analysis network map of references in pterygium research

Totally 155 publications met the threshold of 30 citations. Each node represents a publication; the links represent the association between cited publications; the color and distance between items represent the similarity between cited publications.

Figure 6. Co-occurrence network map of keywords in pterygium research

Totally 67 keywords met the threshold of a minimum of 30 occurrences. Each node represents a keyword; the links represent the association between keywords; the color and distance between items represent the similarity between keywords.

Figure 7. Co-occurrence density map of keywords in pterygium research.