Visualization of knowledge flow in interpersonal scientific collaboration network endocrinology and metabolism...

Research collaborations can help to increase scientific productivity. The purpose of the present study was to draw up the knowledge flow network of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute (EMRI) affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

The present study is a descriptive cross-sectional study on the publications of the EMRI. Web of Science Core collection databases were searched for the EMRI publications between 2002 to November 2019. Besides, publications were classified and visualized based on authorships (institutes and country of affiliation), and keywords (co-occurrence and trend). Scientometric methods including VOSviewer and HistCite were used for descriptive statistics and data analysis.

Total citations to the records were 47,528 and papers were published in 916 journals. The annual growth rate of publications and the citation was 14.2% and 18.9%, respectively. A total of 9466 authors from 136 countries collaborated in the publications. The co-authorship patterns showed that the average co-authorship and collaboration coefficient was 3.3 and 0.19.

Knowledge flow between EMRI researchers with international collaborations, engagement with leading countries, and interdisciplinary collaborations have an increasing trend. To develop a full picture of co-authorship, using social network analysis indicators are suggested for future studies.