IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2022i1p173-d1011990.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conceptual Structure and Current Trends in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning Research in Sports: A Bibliometric Review

Author

Listed:
  • Carlo Dindorf

    (Department of Sports Science, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany)

  • Eva Bartaguiz

    (Department of Sports Science, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany)

  • Freya Gassmann

    (Department of Empirical Social Research, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany)

  • Michael Fröhlich

    (Department of Sports Science, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany)

Abstract

Artificial intelligence and its subcategories of machine learning and deep learning are gaining increasing importance and attention in the context of sports research. This has also meant that the number of corresponding publications has become complex and unmanageably large in human terms. In the current state of the research field, there is a lack of bibliometric analysis, which would prove useful for obtaining insights into the large amounts of available literature. Therefore, the present work aims to identify important research issues, elucidate the conceptual structure of the research field, and unpack the evolutionary trends and the direction of hot topics regarding key themes in the research field of artificial intelligence in sports. Using the Scopus database, 1215 documents (reviews and articles) were selected. Bibliometric analysis was performed using VOSviewer and bibliometrix R package. The main findings are as follows: (a) the literature and research interest concerning AI and its subcategories is growing exponentially; (b) the top 20 most cited works comprise 32.52% of the total citations; (c) the top 10 journals are responsible for 28.64% of all published documents; (d) strong collaborative relationships are present, along with small, isolated collaboration networks of individual institutions; (e) the three most productive countries are China, the USA, and Germany; (f) different research themes can be characterized using author keywords with current trend topics, e.g., in the fields of biomechanics, injury prevention or prediction, new algorithms, and learning approaches. AI research activities in the fields of sports pedagogy, sports sociology, and sports economics seem to have played a subordinate role thus far. Overall, the findings of this study expand knowledge on the research situation as well as the development of research topics regarding the use of artificial intelligence in sports, and may guide researchers to identify currently relevant topics and gaps in the research.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Dindorf & Eva Bartaguiz & Freya Gassmann & Michael Fröhlich, 2022. "Conceptual Structure and Current Trends in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning Research in Sports: A Bibliometric Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:173-:d:1011990
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/173/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/173/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    2. Aria, Massimo & Cuccurullo, Corrado, 2017. "bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 959-975.
    3. Mercedes Jiménez-García & José Ruiz-Chico & Antonio Rafael Peña-Sánchez & José Antonio López-Sánchez, 2020. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Sports Tourism and Sustainability (2002–2019)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Paloma Escamilla-Fajardo & Juan Manuel Núñez-Pomar & Vanessa Ratten & Josep Crespo, 2020. "Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Soccer: Web of Science Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Adriana Dima & Alexandru-Mihai Bugheanu & Ruxandra Dinulescu & Ana-Madalina Potcovaru & Constanta Alice Stefanescu & Irinel Marin, 2022. "Exploring the Research Regarding Frugal Innovation and Business Sustainability through Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-36, January.
    6. Anne-Wil Harzing & Satu Alakangas, 2016. "Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: a longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(2), pages 787-804, February.
    7. Verma, Surabhi & Gustafsson, Anders, 2020. "Investigating the emerging COVID-19 research trends in the field of business and management: A bibliometric analysis approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 253-261.
    8. Philippe Mongeon & Adèle Paul-Hus, 2016. "The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: a comparative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(1), pages 213-228, January.
    9. Nees Jan Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2010. "Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 523-538, August.
    10. Jyh-How Huang & Yu-Chia Hsu, 2021. "A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Publicly Available Sports Data in the Era of Big Data: A Scoping Review of the Literature on Major League Baseball," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    11. Linxiao Ma & Yuzhu Wang & Yue Wang & Ning Li & Sai-Fu Fung & Lu Zhang & Qian Zheng & Fei Xiong, 2021. "The Hotspots of Sports Science and the Effects of Knowledge Network on Scientific Performance Based on Bibliometrics and Social Network Analysis," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2021, pages 1-12, May.
    12. Andrius Vabalas & Emma Gowen & Ellen Poliakoff & Alexander J Casson, 2019. "Machine learning algorithm validation with a limited sample size," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-20, November.
    13. Andreas Strotmann & Dangzhi Zhao, 2012. "Author name disambiguation: What difference does it make in author-based citation analysis?," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(9), pages 1820-1833, September.
    14. M.J. Cobo & A.G. López-Herrera & E. Herrera-Viedma & F. Herrera, 2012. "SciMAT: A new science mapping analysis software tool," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(8), pages 1609-1630, August.
    15. Andreas Strotmann & Dangzhi Zhao, 2012. "Author name disambiguation: What difference does it make in author‐based citation analysis?," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(9), pages 1820-1833, September.
    16. Dorin Vicentiu Popescu & Adriana Dima & Elena Radu & Ecaterina Milica Dobrota & Victor Marian Dumitrache, 2022. "Bibliometric Analysis of the Green Deal Policies in the Food Chain," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 24(60), pages 410-410, April.
    17. Muhamad Taqi & Aam Slamet Rusydiana & Nanik Kustiningsih & Irman Firmansyah, 2021. "Environmental Accounting: A Scientometric using Biblioshiny," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(3), pages 369-380.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Weisheng Chiu & Thomas Chun Man Fan & Sang-Back Nam & Ping-Hung Sun, 2021. "Knowledge Mapping and Sustainable Development of eSports Research: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Jin Su & Mo Wang & Mohd Adib Mohammad Razi & Norlida Mohd Dom & Noralfishah Sulaiman & Lai-Wai Tan, 2023. "A Bibliometric Review of Nature-Based Solutions on Urban Stormwater Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Zamani, Mehdi & Yalcin, Haydar & Naeini, Ali Bonyadi & Zeba, Gordana & Daim, Tugrul U, 2022. "Developing metrics for emerging technologies: identification and assessment," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. Faisal Bin Sulaiman, 2023. "Compact City: What Is the Extent of Our Exploration for Its Meanings? A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Hanane Rhomad & Karima Khalil & Khalid Elkalay, 2023. "Water Quality Modeling in Atlantic Region: Review, Science Mapping and Future Research Directions," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(1), pages 451-499, January.
    6. Yao, Ye & Du, Huibin & Zou, Hongyang & Zhou, Peng & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler & Neumann, Anne & Yeh, Sonia, 2023. "Fifty years of Energy Policy: A bibliometric overview," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    7. Qian Wang & Shixian Luo & Jiao Zhang & Katsunori Furuya, 2022. "Increased Attention to Smart Development in Rural Areas: A Scientometric Analysis of Smart Village Research," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-28, August.
    8. Andrés Martínez-Medina & Sonia Morales-Calvo & Vicenta Rodríguez-Martín & Víctor Meseguer-Sánchez & Valentín Molina-Moreno, 2022. "Sixteen Years since the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: What Have We Learned since Then?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-21, September.
    9. Cristina Mele & Jaqueline Pels & Maria Spano & Irene Bernardo, 2023. "Emergent understandings of the market," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(1), pages 1-25, March.
    10. Ketan Bhatt & Claudia Seabra & Sunil Kumar Kabia & Kumar Ashutosh & Amit Gangotia, 2022. "COVID Crisis and Tourism Sustainability: An Insightful Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    11. Kristina Galjanić & Ivan Marović & Nikša Jajac, 2022. "Decision Support Systems for Managing Construction Projects: A Scientific Evolution Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    12. Qin, Yong & Xu, Zeshui & Wang, Xinxin & Škare, Marinko, 2022. "Green energy adoption and its determinants: A bibliometric analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Tamás Stadler & Ágoston Temesi & Zoltán Lakner, 2022. "Soil Chemical Pollution and Military Actions: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    14. Hashemi, Hossein & Rajabi, Reza & Brashear-Alejandro, Thomas G., 2022. "COVID-19 research in management: An updated bibliometric analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 795-810.
    15. Adriana Ana Maria Davidescu & Margareta-Stela Florescu & Liviu Cosmin Mosora & Mihaela Hrisanta Mosora & Eduard Mihai Manta, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Publications of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in Time of Pandemics: Implications for Teachers’ Professional Publishing Activity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-36, July.
    16. Ed-Dafali, Slimane & Patel, Ritesh & Iqbal, Najaf, 2023. "A bibliometric review of dividend policy literature," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Fernando Morante-Carballo & Néstor Montalván-Burbano & Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar & Paúl Carrión-Mero, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Research on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-29, July.
    18. Gaviria-Marin, Magaly & Merigó, José M. & Baier-Fuentes, Hugo, 2019. "Knowledge management: A global examination based on bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 194-220.
    19. Gour Gobinda Goswami & Tahmid Labib, 2022. "Modeling COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics: A Bibliometric Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-19, October.
    20. Mike Thelwall, 2020. "Mid-career field switches reduce gender disparities in academic publishing," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(3), pages 1365-1383, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:173-:d:1011990. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.