A Comparative Analysis of the Current Status and Trends of Domestic and International Privacy Protection Research—CiteSpace-Based Bibliometric Study (1976-2022)

Abstract

Objective: This paper analyzes the literature on the topic of privacy protection based on the core databases included in China Knowledge Network (CNKI) and Web of Science (WOS) from 1976 to 2022, and provides reference for the subsequent research on privacy protection in China by comparing and summarizing the status of domestic and foreign research. Methods: The Web of science core collection database was used as the foreign data source, and the China Knowledge Network database was used as the domestic data source to retrieve the relevant literature built up to August 2, 2022, and the authors, countries, institutions, and keywords were compared and visualized by CiteSpace 6.1.R2 (64-bit). Results: A total of 8223 English-language and 4573 Chinese-language papers were included, and the number of relevant studies both at home and abroad was on the rise. Foreign scholars and institutions cooperate closely with each other and build a stable cooperation network; while the number of domestic research teams is small and cooperation is limited. Privacy concern and privacy protection are common research focuses at home and abroad, while foreign research focuses on online privacy concern and domestic research pays more attention to computer science privacy protection model. Privacy information is a current international research hotspot, and domestic AI privacy protection concerns are high. Conclusion: Domestic and foreign research in this field is increasingly concerned but each has its own focus, and domestic research has problems such as lack of cooperation and lagging research that need to be improved, and privacy protection is a direction worthy of in-depth research in the future.