Analysis of football research trends using text network analysis

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Bibliometrics
• Research Trends Analysis

Background:

• Football research is extensive, covering diverse areas.
• Understanding historical research focus is crucial for future studies.
• Identifying key themes provides insights into the sport's scientific evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze football research trends over the past 30 years.
• To map the evolution of prominent research keywords and topics.
• To provide a bibliometric overview of scientific focus in football.

Main Methods:

• Collected 30,946 football research papers from the Web of Science database.
• Utilized Cyram's Netminer 4.0 for network analysis and keyword refinement.
• Performed centrality analysis (degree and eigenvector) on research keywords.

Main Results:

• The most frequent keywords were 'injury', 'performance', and 'club'.
• 'Performance' had the highest degree centrality, while 'world' and 'cup' had the highest eigenvector centrality.
• The dominant eigenvector keyword shifted from 'injury' (1990s) to 'world' (2000s) to 'cup' (2010s).

Conclusions:

• Football research has evolved, with a recent increase in studies focusing on the sport itself.
• Bibliometric analysis reveals a dynamic shift in research priorities over three decades.
• This study offers foundational data for understanding football's scientific landscape and future research directions.