A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications During The Last Decade on Growth Performance In Animal Science

Abstract

Objective: The studies conducted in growth performance are significantly related to productivity; consequently, this field a critical part of animal science. Zootechnical research in this field is growing, and bibliometric analysis of publications may guide the researchers and raise awareness on specific research trends and key topics. Material and Methods: This paper reviewed the growth performance literature via multiple analyses to examine the growth and global longitudinal trends through bibliometric analysis and network analysis. The research data consisted of 10240 studies published between 2010-2020 by the selected criteria. A visualization tool called CiteSpace, which reveals a deep level analysis, especially for future research trends prediction, was used. Results: It was concluded that 2010 was a turning point in this field, as it was observed that academic studies were mostly carried out in 2010, and these studies were more cited. The most cited reference is the National Research Council studies; the most active country in the academic publication is China (2236 counted.) Accepted as a turning point or central point, the country with the highest centrality value was the USA (0.20). It has been seen that the main researches focused on nutrient digestion, broiler chicken, and meat quality. Conclusion: In this study, our combination of bibliometric methods and a systematic review makes for a better understanding of growth performance methods for both researchers and practitioners. Thus, this paper concentrates on filling the gap in Zootechnical researches by carrying out a visualized bibliometric analysis to discover the existing themes, hot topics, and potential future research directions.