A Scientometric Analysis of Scholarly Publications on COVID-19: A Study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented volume of scholarly literature across multiple disciplines, necessitating systematic evaluation of research trends and impact. The present study conducts a comprehensive scientometric analysis of global scholarly publications on COVID-19 published during the period 2019–2025, with the aim of examining the growth, structure, and influence of research output related to the pandemic. Bibliographic data were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database using relevant keywords such as COVID-19, Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and Pandemic. Scientometric tools including HistCite and Microsoft Excel were employed for data processing, analysis, and visualization.
The study analyses publication growth, author productivity, citation impact, journal performance, and keyword frequency using indicators such as Local Citation Score (LCS), Global Citation Score (GCS), and citation intensity measures (LCS/t and GCS/t). The findings reveal a rapid and substantial increase in COVID-19-related publications, confirming the topic as one of the most intensively researched areas in recent scientific history. A small group of authors accounts for a significant share of publications, while citation analysis indicates that scholarly impact is driven more by research quality and relevance than by publication volume alone. Journal analysis identifies a core set of productive and high-impact journals, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary and high-visibility publication venues. Keyword analysis shows strong emphasis on virology, clinical care, public health interventions, vaccination, and analytical and review-based research, with notable geographical focus on India.
Overall, the study demonstrates that COVID-19 research is characterized by rapid growth, concentrated authorship, evolving thematic focus, and high citation intensity. The scientometric insights offered by this study provide valuable guidance for researchers, policymakers, and funding agencies in understanding research dynamics and planning effective responses to future global health emergencies.