Abstract
Scientific research plays an important role in the achievement of a sustainable society. However, grasping the trends in sustainability research is difficult because studies are not devised and conducted in a top-down manner with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To understand the bottom-up research activities, we analyzed over 300,000 publications concerned with sustainability by using citation network analysis and natural language processing. The results suggest that sustainability science’s diverse and dynamic changes have been occurring over the last few years; several new topics, such as nanocellulose and global health, have begun to attract widespread scientific attention. We further examined the relationship between sustainability research subjects and SDGs and found significant correspondence between the two. Moreover, we extracted SDG topics that were discussed following a convergent approach in academic studies, such as “inclusive society” and “early childhood development”, by observing the convergence of terms in the citation network. These results are valuable for government officials, private companies, and academic researchers, empowering them to understand current academic progress along with research attention devoted to SDGs.
Highlights
Scientific achievement in various fields is essential in ensuring a sustainable society
To enable a comparison to be made between the goals that were specified by using a top-down approach and the academic research topics constructed in a bottom-up manner, we investigated the correspondence between each Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the research area and extracted the topics discussed convergently by following the approach for academic studies
The purpose of this study was to create a comprehensive map of sustainability research and evaluate the scientific attention paid to each SDG for understanding current sustainability science, especially focusing on the topics related to energy
Summary
Scientific achievement in various fields is essential in ensuring a sustainable society. Studies focusing on more efficient energy systems are valuable to prevent additional global warming. According to a United Nations (UN) report [1], preventing global warming is technically achievable but requires “unprecedented and urgent actions”, including political agreement. Diverse research fields would necessarily be required to engage collaboratively to achieve a sustainable society. Specific scientific contributions such as those that pertain to renewable energy [3] for a sustainable society are receiving worldwide attention [4]; other topics have not been recognized in the scientific community or highlighted in the daily news. Apart from this, many research objectives and subjunctives are emerging, in materials science and urban engineering and in fields such as political science and biochemistry. It has become important to comprehend the complicated and dynamic sustainability research landscape to evaluate current scientific progress and create a research plan that works toward a sustainable society
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