A bibliometric review of research on the Formicidae
Author of the article:GAO Dong-Mei；GAO Li-Hong；LI Ping；DONG Mao-Cun；PAN Run-Dong；XU Zheng-Hui；GUO Xiao
Author's Workplace：1. Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chongqing 401329, China; 2. Key Laboratory of Forest Disaster Warning and Control in Yunnan Province, College of Biodiversity Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Key Words：Formicidae; bibliometric analysis; Citespace; knowledge mapping; research progress
Abstract：
[Objectives] To clarify the gap between China and the rest of the world in ant research and provide direction for future research. [Methods] A literature search was conducted of the Publishing Database of Chinese academic journals and Web of Science database to obtain recent ant research literature from China and overseas. Citespace software and bibliometric methods were used to determine the number of papers, their country of origin, authors’ names and institution, and key words. Current topics in ant research, ant research in developed countries, influential authors and major journals, were summarized. [Results] The United States leads the world in the number of articles published but China has made rapid progress since 2006 and has now published about the same number of articles as Japan and France. Keyword analysis indicates that ant research is more comprehensive overseas than in China where more research is required on ant behavior and evolution. China also has fewer influential authors than other countries and there is greater disparity in academic achievement among different scholars, which is not conducive to the continued development of this field of research. Most Chinese publishing agencies and institutions engaged in ant research are concentrated in the south of the country and China lacks internationally influential ant research institutes. Most ant research is published in foreign journals and the average number of ant publications in foreign journals is higher than in Chinese journals. [Conclusion] Ant research in China has develop rapidly since 1996. At present, the number of ant research articles published annually in China is almost the same as in Japan and France, which means that China ranks among the top 10 countries in the world. However, compared with developed countries, there are still shortcomings in the number of high-impact authors, globally recognized institutions, research team structure, research fields, and in the quality and quantity of published journals. Further effort is needed to rectify these shortcomings.