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Mapping Two Decades of Research Productivity in the Middle Eastern and Arab Countries: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Latefa Ali Dardas

    (Community Health Nursing Department, School of Nursing, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan)

  • Ahmad M. A. Malkawi

    (Department of Mechatronics Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan)

  • Sami Sweis

    (School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan)

  • Nadia Sweis

    (Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA)

  • Amjad Al-Khayat

    (Department of Educational Sciences, Salt Faculty, Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Al-Salt 19117, Jordan)

  • Faleh A. Sawair

    (Deanship of Scientific Research, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
    Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Jordan University Hospital, Amman 11942, Jordan)

Abstract

Middle Eastern and Arab countries have been experiencing significant advancements in scientific research and development over the past few decades. Understanding the trends, patterns, and impact of research within this region can provide valuable insights into its scientific landscape, identify areas of strength, and uncover potential areas for improvement. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research productivity in the Middle Eastern and Arab region over a 20-year period. The findings revealed a consistent increase in research productivity, yet mapped significant disparities between countries in scholarly output, excellence, and impact. Adjusting for population size and GDP, Iran displayed the highest publication activity, trailed by Egypt and Turkey. Delving into the distribution of research output across different journal quartiles, the results revealed that this region has a lower percentage of scholarly output published in high-impact journals (both the top 10% and the top 25% categories). Compared to North America and the European Union, the Middle Eastern and Arab region consistently exhibited lower performance in terms of top 10% citations, average citations per publication, and field-weighted citation impact. The field of physical sciences took the lead as the most prevalent subject area in the Middle Eastern and Arab region, comprising about 60.5% of the research emphasis. Conversely, social sciences garnered comparatively less research attention, making up approximately 8.9% of the focus. The region showed strong international collaboration levels (40.5%), yet relatively low national (24.4%) and academic–corporate collaborations (1.5%). The outcomes of this study can facilitate international comparisons and benchmarking, allowing Middle Eastern and Arab countries to position themselves within the global scientific community. There remains a need to prioritize quality over quantity by emphasizing rigorous research practices and collaboration. An ongoing evaluation of research performance using a combination of indicators can help track progress and adjust strategies as needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Latefa Ali Dardas & Ahmad M. A. Malkawi & Sami Sweis & Nadia Sweis & Amjad Al-Khayat & Faleh A. Sawair, 2023. "Mapping Two Decades of Research Productivity in the Middle Eastern and Arab Countries: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis," Publications, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jpubli:v:11:y:2023:i:4:p:48-:d:1257122
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Waleed M. Sweileh & Sa’ed H. Zyoud & Samah W. Al-Jabi & Ansam F. Sawalha, 2014. "Bibliometric analysis of diabetes mellitus research output from Middle Eastern Arab countries during the period (1996–2012)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(1), pages 819-832, October.
    2. Éric Archambault & David Campbell & Yves Gingras & Vincent Larivière, 2009. "Comparing bibliometric statistics obtained from the Web of Science and Scopus," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(7), pages 1320-1326, July.
    3. Sumeer Gul & Nahida Tun Nisa & Tariq Ahmad Shah & Sangita Gupta & Asifa Jan & Suhail Ahmad, 2015. "Middle East: research productivity and performance across nations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(2), pages 1157-1166, November.
    4. Loet Leydesdorff, 2009. "How are new citation‐based journal indicators adding to the bibliometric toolbox?," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(7), pages 1327-1336, July.
    5. Ole Ellegaard & Johan A. Wallin, 2015. "The bibliometric analysis of scholarly production: How great is the impact?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 1809-1831, December.
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