Conducting a bibliometric analysis involves several straightforward steps. Here's a practical guide to walk you through the process:

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🧭 Step-by-Step Guide to Bibliometric Analysis

1. Define Your Research Objective

Decide:

• What topic or field are you analyzing?
• What time period?
• Are you focusing on authors, institutions, countries, journals, or keywords?

Example: “Analyze global research trends in heart failure from 2010 to 2024.”

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2. Choose a Database

Popular options:

• Scopus (comprehensive and commonly used)
• Web of Science
• PubMed (biomedical, but limited for citation analysis)
• Google Scholar (not structured well for large-scale analysis)

✅ Tip: Scopus and Web of Science are best for citation and author-level analysis.

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3. Search and Download Data

Use precise search queries:

• Keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR), and filters (years, document type, language)

Example (Scopus search):

Export data:

• Format: CSV, BibTeX, or RIS
• Include: titles, abstracts, authors, affiliations, citations, keywords

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4. Use Bibliometric Software

You’ll need tools to visualize and analyze the data. Top choices:

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5. Perform Key Analyses

Here are common types:

• Publication Trends: Total publications per year
• Most Cited Articles: Top impactful papers
• Leading Authors/Institutions: Productivity + citation counts
• Co-authorship Networks: Collaboration patterns
• Keyword Co-occurrence: Topic clusters and hot topics
• Citation Analysis: Highly cited references or journals

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6. Interpret the Results

Look for:

• Growth trends in research
• Leading contributors or countries
• Emerging topics (from recent keyword clusters)
• Gaps in the literature

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7. Report and Visualize

Present your findings using:

• Tables (e.g., top 10 cited papers)
• Graphs (publication trends)
• Network maps (author or keyword clusters)
• Word clouds or thematic evolution charts