Bibliometric analysis of the literature on critical thinking: an increasingly important competence for higher education students

In recent years, interest in critical thinking(CT) has grown considerably. An evaluation of this research field and its challenges are provided in this paper. A bibliometric study was performed to analyse 1,295 papers on CT published in the last 50 years. The data were obtained from the WOS Core Collection database. The findings of this study improve the understanding of the CT domain by showing key studies, the main studies developing the field, key past studies and their influence in subsequent publications, emerging trends and potentially transformative ideas. Most publications and citations are from the last decade, reflecting the momentum of this concept over the period examined. The topic has also expanded geographically. Although the University of Iowa and the University of Alberta are the most prolific institutions, Asian universities have gained in prominence in recent years, as shown by the number of papers published. According to the analysis, the increase in the number of authors, publications and journals in this field and the rise in the number of publications written in collaboration with authors from different parts of the world are two trends that reflect the interest in CT as a way to understand the development of thinking skills.