Population Studies at 75 years: An empirical review

Area of Science:

• Demography and Population Studies

Background:

• Population Studies is a key field for understanding fertility, mortality, family dynamics, migration, and policy.
• A comprehensive review of the field's evolution and research trends is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a rigorous review of 1,901 papers published in Population Studies between 1947 and 2020.
• To analyze trends in authorship, research topics, and geographical focus over time.

Main Methods:

• Utilized natural language processing (NLP) and social network analysis (SNA).
• Employed mixed methods combining unsupervised machine learning with qualitative coding.
• Examined all papers and their authors published within the specified period.

Main Results:

• Observed a trend towards shorter, multi-authored papers.
• Females constituted 33.5% of authorship, with sex ratios varying by topic.
• Dominant topics included fertility, mortality, and family, with shifts over time.
• Research on children was infrequent; distinct gendered research focuses were identified (e.g., women on family planning, men on migration).
• Geographical research patterns aligned with demographic transition theories (e.g., family planning in Africa/Asia, fertility decline in Europe/North America).

Conclusions:

• The study provides a historical mapping of Population Studies, identifying key thematic and authorship evolutions.
• Highlights the need for further research on understudied areas, such as child demography.
• Identifies future research directions for the field of demography.