Feature report on China: a bibliometric analysis of China-related articles

Weishu Liu • Li Tang • Mengdi Gu • Guangyuan Hu

Received: 19 February 2014

Akade´miai Kiado´ , Budapest, Hungary 2014

Abstract 

China’s rise in science has been widely acknowledged. Yet we know little empirically about academic research focusing on China. Utilizing a uniquely constructed large-scale dataset, this paper explores China-related publications through bibliometric analysis. Our data suggests that not only interest in China but also knowledge about China has developed rapidly over the years. Despite an increasingly diverse profile of participants, the substantial rise of research focusing on China is largely limited to affluent regions and some geographically proximate neighbors of China. The research discloses that overseas Chinese facilitate academic research focusing on China. The research foci of China-related studies have gradually shifted from social science to natural science and, in more recent years, to Chinese environmental issues, public health and economy.

Keywords 

China-related research    Bibliometric analysis    Research profile