{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,5]],"date-time":"2026-07-05T01:57:58Z","timestamp":1783216678479,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,29]],"date-time":"2023-11-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1701216000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Scientometrics is a quantitative and statistical approach that analyzes research on certain themes. It originated from information\/library science but has been applied in various disciplines, including information science, library science, natural science, technology, engineering, medical sciences, and social sciences and humanities. Numerous scientometric studies have been carried out, but no study has attempted to investigate the overall research status of scientometrics. The objective of this study was to investigate the research status of scientometrics based on 16,225 publications archived in the Web of Science Core Collection between 1992 and 2020. The results show that there has been a marked increase in publications on scientometric studies over the past decades, with \u201cInformation Science Library Science\u201d being the predominant discipline publishing scientometric studies, but scientometrics has been widely adopted in a variety of other disciplines (240 of 254 Web of Science categories). It was found that Web of Science, Vosviewer, and Scientometrics are the most utilized database, software, and journal for scientometric studies, respectively. The most productive author (Lutz Bornmann from the Max Planck Society, Germany), organization (University of Granada, Spain), and country (USA) are also identified. In addition, high-impact scientometric studies and the research landscape are analyzed through citation networks and the co-occurrence of keywords method.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/info14120637","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,29]],"date-time":"2023-11-29T12:01:00Z","timestamp":1701259260000},"page":"637","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":28,"title":["Scientometrics of Scientometrics Based on Web of Science Core Collection Data between 1992 and 2020"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yang","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Xi\u2019an 710069, China"},{"name":"College of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi\u2019an 710069, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7869-3677","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hailong","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Xianyang 712100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"315","article-title":"Science studies: An advanced introduction","volume":"28","author":"Hess","year":"1997","journal-title":"Contemp. Sociol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Qiu, J., Zhao, R., Yang, S., and Dong, K. (2017). Informetrics: Theory, Methods and Applications, Springer. Available online: https:\/\/link.springer.com\/book\/10.1007\/978-981-10-4032-0.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-10-4032-0"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1311","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ipm.2005.03.011","article-title":"Editorial: Expansion of the field of informetrics: Origins and consequences","volume":"41","author":"Egghe","year":"2005","journal-title":"Inf. Process. Manag. Int. J."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1629\/2048-7754.25.3.311","article-title":"Key issue\u2014Scientometrics, bibliometrics, altmetrics: Some introductory advice for the lost and bemused","volume":"25","author":"Baynes","year":"2012","journal-title":"Insights"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1017919924342","article-title":"The literature of bibliometrics, scientometrics, and informetrics","volume":"52","author":"Hood","year":"2001","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Nalimov, V., and Mulchenko, Z. (2023, August 24). Measurement of Science. Study of the Development of Science as an Information Process, Available online: https:\/\/ntrl.ntis.gov\/NTRL\/dashboard\/searchResults\/titleDetail\/AD735634.xhtml."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Yang, S., and Yuan, Q. (2017, January 16\u201320). Are Scientometrics, Informetrics, and Bibliometrics Different?. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Scientometrics & Informetrics (ISSI2017), Wuhan, China. Available online: https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/318940072_Are_Scientometrics_Informetrics_and_Bibliometrics_different."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jibu, M., and Osabe, Y. (2018). Scientometrics of Scientometrics: Mapping Historical Footprint and Emerging Technologies in Scientometrics, IntechOpen.","DOI":"10.5772\/intechopen.72488"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rotolo, D., Rafols, I., Hopkins, M., and Leydesdorff, L. (2013). Scientometric mapping as a strategic intelligence tool for the governance of emerging technologies. SSRN Electron. J., 2742125.","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.2742125"},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"871","article-title":"Google scholar, microsoft academic, scopus, dimensions, web of science, and opencitations\u2019 coci: A multidisciplinary comparison of coverage via citations","volume":"126","author":"Thelwall","year":"2020","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1320","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.21062","article-title":"Comparing bibliometric statistics obtained from the web of science and scopus","volume":"60","author":"Archambault","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1092","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2009.1307","article-title":"Comparisons of citations in web of science, scopus, and google scholar for articles published in general medical journals","volume":"302","author":"Kulkarni","year":"2009","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bakkalbasi, N., Bauer, K., Glover, J., and Wang, L. (2006). Three options for citation tracking: Google scholar, scopus and web of science. Biomed. Digit. Libr., 3.","DOI":"10.1186\/1742-5581-3-7"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1382","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.21525","article-title":"Science mapping software tools: Review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools","volume":"62","author":"Cobo","year":"2011","journal-title":"JASIS"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-009-0146-3","article-title":"Software survey: Vosviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping","volume":"84","author":"Waltman","year":"2010","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.20317","article-title":"Citespace ii: Detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature","volume":"57","author":"Chen","year":"2006","journal-title":"JASIS"},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"391","article-title":"Histcite\u2122: A software tool for informetric analysis of citation linkage","volume":"57","author":"Garfield","year":"2006","journal-title":"Inf. Wiss. Und Prax."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"He, H., Dyck, M., and Lv, J. (2020). The heat pulse method for soil physical measurements: A bibliometric analysis. Appl. Sci., 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/app10186171"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"He, D., Bristow, K., Filipovi\u0107, V., Lv, J., and He, H. (2020). Microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems: A scientometric analysis. Sustainability, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/su12208739"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"1178633720962935","article-title":"Bibliometric analysis of early covid-19 research: The top 50 cited papers","volume":"13","author":"ElHawary","year":"2020","journal-title":"Infect. Dis. Res. Treat."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1038\/520429a","article-title":"Bibliometrics: The leiden manifesto for research metrics","volume":"520","author":"Hicks","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101387","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoinf.2021.101387","article-title":"Mapping the scientific research on natural landscape change with rephotography","volume":"64","author":"Chen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ecol. Inform."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Feng, S., Zhang, H., Lv, J., Dyck, M., Wu, Q., and He, H. (2021). A scientometric review of research status on unfrozen soil water. Water, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/w13050708"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lv, W., Zhao, X., Wu, P., Lv, J., and He, H. (2021). A scientometric analysis of worldwide intercropping research based on web of science database between 1992 and 2020. Sustainability, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/su13052430"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pan, X., Lv, J., Dyck, M., and He, H. (2021). Bibliometric analysis of soil nutrient research between 1992 and 2020. Agriculture, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/agriculture11030223"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, D., Dyck, M., Filipovi\u0107, L., Filipovi\u0107, V., Lv, J., and He, H. (2021). Hyperaccumulators for potentially toxic elements: A scientometric analysis. Agronomy, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy11091729"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106650","DOI":"10.1016\/j.catena.2022.106650","article-title":"Freeze-thaw induced landslides on grasslands in cold regions","volume":"219","author":"Yang","year":"2022","journal-title":"CATENA"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"723","DOI":"10.1093\/jxb\/erac424","article-title":"Heat tracer-based sap flow methods for tree transpiration measurements: A mini review and bibliometric analysis","volume":"74","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Exp. Bot."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.17221\/94\/2022-SWR","article-title":"Past, present and future of the applications of machine learning in soil science and hydrology","volume":"18","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Soil Water Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2105","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.20677","article-title":"Impact of data sources on citation counts and rankings of lis faculty: Web of science versus scopus and google scholar","volume":"58","author":"Meho","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1160","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joi.2018.09.002","article-title":"Google scholar, web of science, and scopus: A systematic comparison of citations in 252 subject categories","volume":"12","author":"Thelwall","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Informetr."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Van Noorden, R. (2014). Google scholar pioneer on search engine\u2019s future. Nature, 16269.","DOI":"10.1038\/nature.2014.16269"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"396","DOI":"10.1162\/qss_a_00021","article-title":"Microsoft academic graph: When experts are not enough","volume":"1","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Quant. Sci. Stud."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"936","DOI":"10.1108\/OIR-07-2014-0169","article-title":"The silent fading of an academic search engine: The case of microsoft academic search","volume":"38","author":"Juan","year":"2014","journal-title":"Online Inf. Rev."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1492","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1242072","article-title":"Clustering by fast search and find of density peaks","volume":"344","author":"Rodriguez","year":"2014","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"213","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-015-1765-5","article-title":"The journal coverage of web of science and scopus: A comparative analysis","volume":"106","author":"Mongeon","year":"2016","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpe.2015.01.003","article-title":"Green supply chain management: A review and bibliometric analysis","volume":"162","author":"Fahimnia","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Econ."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1177\/1094428114562629","article-title":"Bibliometric methods in management and organization","volume":"18","author":"Zupic","year":"2015","journal-title":"Organ. Res. Methods"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-005-0008-6","article-title":"Fatal attraction: Conceptual and methodological problems in the ranking of universities by bibliometric methods","volume":"62","author":"Raan","year":"2005","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-006-0007-2","article-title":"Bibliometric monitoring of research performance in the social sciences and the humanities: A review","volume":"66","author":"Nederhof","year":"2006","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1038\/ng0501-21","article-title":"A literature network of human genes for high-throughput analysis of gene expression","volume":"28","author":"Jenssen","year":"2001","journal-title":"Nat. Genet."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, H., Liu, X., Yi, J., Yang, X., Wu, T., He, Y., Duan, H., Liu, M., and Tian, P. (2020). Bibliometric analysis of research on soil water from 1934 to 2019. Water, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/w12061631"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107969","DOI":"10.1016\/j.anucene.2020.107969","article-title":"Two decades on human reliability analysis: A bibliometric analysis and literature review","volume":"151","author":"Hou","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ann. Nucl. Energy"}],"container-title":["Information"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/14\/12\/637\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T21:33:27Z","timestamp":1760132007000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/14\/12\/637"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,29]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]}},"alternative-id":["info14120637"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/info14120637","relation":{},"ISSN":["2078-2489"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2078-2489","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,29]]}}}