Mapping sustainability in pig farming research using keyword network analysis

Abstract

Integrating sustainability as normative principle in research has become increasingly important, also in agricultural and livestock sciences. Using a keyword network analysis, the present study aimed at identifying the most important research topics addressing sustainability in pig farming research. For this purpose, publication data was extracted from the Web of Science using ‘sustainab* AND pig’ and ‘sustainab* AND swine’ as search terms. The revised matches were converted into a network using the software package ‘Pajek’. Both, degree and betweenness analysis suggest that keywords and research topics with an environmental connotation are most important in the network. After crosschecking the respective abstracts, the keywords were assigned to thematic clusters and topics according to their location in the network. In agreement with the concept of strong sustainability, a large number of clusters covering environmental issues in the network underlines the importance of environmental research topics in this research area. Furthermore, the network emphasizes animal health and welfare as essential part of sustainable pig farming. However, socio-economic subjects, which also present an important aspect of sustainability in livestock farming, have been less well addressed.