Scientific production and citation impact: a bibliometric analysis in acupuncture over three decades

Scientific Knowledge Graph of Acupuncture for Migraine: A Bibliometric Analysis from 2000 to 2019

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the trend and knowledge mapping of acupuncture for migraine through bibliometrics.

METHODS

It retrieved the literature on acupuncture for migraine in the Web of Science database from 2000 to 2019, and then resorted to CiteSpace to conduct bibliometric analysis to attain the knowledge mapping.

RESULTS

The total number of publications each year has increased year by year, and the average annual growth rate from 2000 to 2009 was 15.57%, while from 2010 to 2019 was 6.35%, with a faster growth rate from 2000 to 2009. According to the cluster analysis of institutions, authors, cited references, and keywords, 10, 7, 12, and 10 categories were gained from 2000 to 2019. The most productive countries, institutions, and authors are the USA and China, Technical University of Munich and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Linde K and Liang FR from 2000 to 2019, whose frequency is 119/103, 28/24, and 28/24, respectively. However, the most important of them are Canada, Sichuan University, and Witt CM. Owing to their highest centrality, they are 0.86, 0.54, and 0.27 separately. Moreover, cited references that contributed to the most co-citations are Linde K (2005), yet, the most vital cited reference is Karst M (2001). Keywords such as migraine, acupuncture, headache, pain, and randomized controlled trial are the most frequently used. However, needle acupuncture is the crucial keyword. In the cluster analysis of institutions, authors, cited references, and keywords from 2000 to 2019, the largest cluster categories are #0 migraine prophylaxis, #1 randomized controlled trial, #0 episodic migraine, and #0 topiramate treatment. Then, randomized controlled trials of acupuncture prevention and treatment of migraine are the most important research content in this field.

CONCLUSION

Through the bibliometric analysis of the research on acupuncture for migraine in the Web of Science database in the past 20 years, the trends and the Knowledge Graph of the country, institution, author, cited reference, and the keyword are acquired, which have an important guiding significance for quickly and accurately positioning the key information in the field.

A bibliometric analysis of acupuncture research in Taiwan from 1988 to 2017

BACKGROUND

Since Taiwan's national health insurance system provides residents with easy and affordable access to clinical acupuncture treatment, this study sought to analyze trends in the publication of acupuncture-related research in Taiwan from 1988 to 2017, using a bibliometric method.

METHODS

Data on the scholarly literature from 1988 to 2017 were retrieved through Web of Science searches for the keywords acupunct*, acupoint*, electroacupunct*, electro-acupunct*, acupre*, auricular acupunc*, and auricular needle* in study titles.

RESULTS

A total of 539 acupuncture-related articles published from 1988 to 2017 were identified and analyzed. The articles had an h-index of 38 and were cited in subsequent studies 7250 times, meaning that Taiwan ranked sixth in the production of such publications among countries/regions globally. Among those articles, 99 (18.4%) had no subsequent citations, six (1.1%) were highly cited (over 100 citations), and 141 (26.1%) were cited 4 to 10 times. The highly cited articles discussed the possible pathways of acupuncture stimulation and efficacy, and received 1103 (15.2%) of the citations.

CONCLUSION

The China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan, was the most active educational institution in Taiwan in terms of acupuncture-related research. Professor Lin Jaung-Geng was the leading acupuncture-related researcher, having the most publications, citations, and the highest h-index value. These results provided a context for analyzing the strengths of the existing research and informing prospective strategies for further studies.

Scandinavian research on complementary and alternative medicine: A bibliometric study

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the development of Scandinavian research on complementary and alternative medicine in terms of publication pattern and general content. Furthermore we will map research networks. Methods and data: This study is based on bibliometric methods. The dataset consists of 1441 publications with at least one author with a Scandinavian address and/or organisational affiliation, from 2005-2017, in Medline and Web of Science. Results and conclusions: Complementary and alternative medicine is a small and moderately growing research field in Scandinavia, with an average of 120 publications per year. The largest sub-term is integrative and complementary medicine, but the majority of documents are classified as other medical sub-fields. A similar pattern is found regarding the sources. The Medical Subject Heading classifications of the documents and the author keywords indicate that much of the relevant research takes a general focus on complementary and alternative medicine. Regarding specific therapies, mind-body and sensory art therapies are particularly prominent in the material. Various aspects of pain, mental health and gynaecology are recurrent health issues. In total, 31.5% of the publications are classified as clinical trials. The organisations referenced most frequently in the material are Karolinska Institutet and UiT Tromsö and it is clear the research is based at large universities and university hospitals. The research networks have relatively different profiles and collaborate with both Scandinavian and international organisations.