Collaboration Network and Trends of Global Coronavirus Disease Research: A Scientometric Analysis

Abstract

As a global pandemic threatens health and livelihoods, finding effective treatments has become a vital issue that requires worldwide collaboration. This study examines research collaboration and network profiles through a case study of coronavirus diseases, including both the extinct severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the emerging species (SARS-CoV-2). A scientometric process was designed to apply quantitative tools and a qualitative approach employing technological expertise to accomplish a three-level collaboration analysis. The text mining software, VantagePoint, was used to analyze research articles from the Web of Science database to identify the key national, organizational, and individual players in the coronavirus research field combined with indicators, namely, the breadth and depth of collaboration. The results show that China and the United States are at the center of coronavirus research networks at all three levels, including many endeavors involving single or joint entities. This study demonstrates how governments, public sectors, and private sectors, such as the pharmaceutical industry, can use scientometric analysis to gain insight into the holistic research trends and networks of players in this field, leading to the formulation of strategies to strengthen research and development programs. Furthermore, this approach can be utilized as a visualization and decision support tool for further policy planning, identification and execution of collaboration, and research exchange opportunities. This scientometric process should be directly applicable to other fields.INDEX TERMS bibliometrics, scientometrics, network analysis, research collaboration, coronavirus.

A visual review of artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 in healthcare

“…Thavorn et al. [8] conducted a scientometric analysis on published literature related to COVID-19. This research explored the research collaboration network of country, institute, author co-citation, and visualized them using the VOSviewer tool.…”

Leadership and international collaboration on COVID-19 research: reducing the North–South divide?

“…Since the onset of the pandemic, both countries, which were severely affected, have made important scientific contributions (Fry et al, 2020 ). Previous studies have also shown that these two countries were central to the global coronavirus research network (Fry et al, 2020 ; Thavorn et al, 2021 ). Earlier COVID-19 research showed that collaboration between China and the USA was very high.…”

Research on Shelf-Life Extension Technologies for Food Sustainability: An Assessment of Scientific Activities and Networks

“…Communication is the key to forming connections that link socially-driven technologies capable of aiding countries and promoting industry. By pursuing partnerships with universities and research institutes, firms can reduce development time via knowledge-based resources [12]. While the industry's primary concern is the technological application in a business context, academics prioritize the underlying science and its various impacts.…”

“…To address the abovementioned gaps, this article presents a scientometric analysis of the current state of research on technologies to extend the shelf-life as well as the dynamics and productivity of players using various scientometric indicators. We employed a strategic technology intelligence model that combines quantitative analysis with qualitative tools [12].…”