Highly cited papers in Microbiology: identification and conceptual analysis

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics and scientometrics
• Microbiology research landscape

Background:

• Microbiology exhibits high research output across diverse branches, making trend identification challenging.
• A comprehensive bibliometric analysis is needed to map the field's development and key contributions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify highly cited papers that have significantly contributed to microbiology.
• To uncover the main thematic areas within microbiology using science mapping.
• To provide a framework for future microbiology research.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 572,153 papers (articles and reviews) in the Web of Science Microbiology category (1900-2017).
• Identification of 645 highly cited papers.
• Science mapping and co-word analysis to determine thematic areas and research trends.

Main Results:

• The USA, R. Knight, and the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology are identified as leading scientific producers.
• China and Spain show remarkable productivity relative to GDP per capita.
• Denmark, Belgium, Spain, and The Netherlands demonstrate significant scientific effort based on the relative priority index (RPI).
• Key thematic areas include Next Generation Sequencing, Gene, Escherichia Coli, and Gene Expression.

Conclusions:

• Bibliometric and science mapping analyses effectively identify influential research and emerging trends in microbiology.
• The study provides a foundational understanding of microbiology's highly cited works and thematic clusters.
• This research serves as a valuable resource for directing future investigations in the field.