Social Science Citation Index Journals Research Articles

Development overview and research hotspots of Information Science & Library Science based on SSCI data

This study uses the scientometric method to analyse the literature to summarise the development overview and research hotspots in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS), aiming at sorting out the knowledge structure of the discipline and providing references and information for deepening its research and development. This article takes 85 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals in the field of LIS as the research object, from which 116,570 articles from 1900 to 2023 are collected as the basis of data analysis. It employs the scientometric method based on visualisation software to analyse four dimensions of the LIS discipline: annual publications, journal outputs distribution, production and cooperation, and present focus and research hotspots, finding that the overall development of the discipline is stable and shows some new topics.

The application of social network analysis in applied linguistics research: a systematic review

Abstract Social network analysis (SNA) has recently drawn increasing scholarly attention in applied linguistics research in response to the social turn in the field. In this review, we analyze and identify the methodological characteristics and topical concerns of articles addressing SNA in Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we identify a total of 60 articles published between 1980 and 2023. Our analysis reveals that a growing body of research is adopting qualitative and mixed methods to examine the relationships between social networks and language learning, teaching and use. These findings confirm that social context constitutes an essential part of the ecosystem intertwined with various cognitive, social, and psychological factors, which have a synergistic impact on language learning and teaching. While these studies show that social networks afford learners with valuable linguistic, emotional, and social resources, they reveal that networks may also exert negative influences in their learning behaviors in some contexts. We conclude the review with recommendations for future research to broaden the scope of investigations and consider exploring how different types of social networks at meso- and macro-levels may influence the learning and teaching of language.

A Systematic Review of Flipped Learning in EFL Education

Research on flipped learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education has garnered substantial scholarly attention in recent years. This systematic review aims to elucidate the potential of flipped learning within the framework of foreign language education. A total of thirty articles from Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals, published between 2018 and 2022, were included in this review based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis focused on examining the research contexts, methodologies and foci, learning management systems, learning theories, and learning activities. The findings indicate that the majority of studies predominantly involved higher education students, with a significant number employing a quasi-experimental research design. Furthermore, the flipped learning process was largely informed by constructivist learning theory. The results suggest that the primary advantage of flipped learning lies in its capacity to enhance students' writing, speaking, and overall academic performance. Additionally, the review underscores that the integration of emerging technologies, such as augmented reality, automatic recognition, and artificial intelligence chatbots, into learning activities serves as an effective strategy for improving students' language skills and engagement.

The role of individual differences in second language pragmatics: A systematic review

AbstractThe current systematic review aims to understand the role of individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) pragmatics and offer recommendations for further research in this domain. To achieve this, 86 empirical studies in L2 pragmatics published in SSCI (Social Science Citation Index) journals from 2000 to 2023 were systematically selected and coded for IDs, pragmatic features and modalities investigated, methodological orientation, and research findings. The significance of this review paper is the inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative findings and the identification of research trends in the last two decades. This inclusive approach allowed us to reveal the extent to which ID factors were studied within the classic research paradigm (i.e., the influence of IDs in isolation) and the socio‐dynamic research paradigm (i.e., the combined influence of IDs and context over time). Findings revealed that the IDs identified (L2 proficiency, identity, intercultural competence, language mindsets, willingness to communicate, motivation, and cognitive factors) exerted considerable influence on L2 pragmatic competence. Accounting for research gaps, trends in methodology, and findings in the area, we provide specific recommendations for future research to bring the study of L2 pragmatics in line with the ‘affective turn’ in second language acquisition.

Chatbots in English as a foreign or second language education contexts: A review of recent empirical research

Chatbots, as one of the conversational applications of artificial intelligence technology, have been the focus of attention in the field of second/foreign language (L2) acquisition research. However, very few studies have so far reviewed the literature on chatbots and L2 learning, in particular the learning of English as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL). Based on this, this paper set out to review studies that are related to the use of chatbots in EFL/ESL learning contexts. The study included eleven empirical articles published in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals between the years 2018 and 2022, and all of them were analyzed in detail considering the following three aspects: 1) research features such as data collection methods, research method, and study context; 2) chatbots included in the studies; 3) results of the studies. The findings showed that all the studies were conducted in EFL contexts and most of them used a mixed-method design. It was identified that different types of chatbots were used in the studies, and the studies generally focused on improving learners’ speaking skills. The findings also revealed that the use of chatbots generally contributed positively to the EFL learning process. Furthermore, the review identified that chatbot-integrated learning had some affective/psychological outcomes. In addition to the many positive effects brought by the use of chatbots, it was also identified that chatbots had some limitations. Finally, this review study made some suggestions for future research based on the findings of this study and the identified gaps in the literature.

Hot Topics and Trends in Information Education Research: A Visual Mapping of SSCI and SCI Journals

With advances in technology in recent years, information education has received widespread attention. The purpose of this study is to explore the research hotspots and research trends in information education from 2000 to 2022. Using CiteSpace as our research tool, we conducted a visual analysis based on social sciences citation index (SSCI) and science citation index (SCI) journal literature based on web of science (WOS) database data and explored the limitations of information education research development and future development trends by conducting thematic keyword colinear analysis and cluster analysis.

A Systematic Review of the Development of Sport Policy Research (2000–2020)

Since the 1990s, sport policy research has gradually attracted increasing academic attention as a reflection of contemporary society at a particular time. This study adopted four types of theory proposed by Houlihan (2014) to analyze the research development of sport policy. It conducted a systematic review and yielded 100 policy articles related to elite sports, physical education, and sport for all. The scope of the research data was identified from 2000 to 2020 with collation from 24 international Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals, which specialized in policy and sport–related studies of social science to look forward to a comprehensive report. The four major findings were as follows: first, this study pointed to evidence that nearly half the research on the topic aimed at meso–level analyses of organizations; second, it demonstrated governance theory, the Sports Policy Factors Leading to International Sporting Success (SPLISS) model, the advocacy coalition Framework (ACF), and network-related theories played a pivotal role in focusing on policy backgrounds and dynamic relationships within organizations; third, it identified some studies highlighted in the policy texts themselves, or discourse about them, and, thereby, were grouped into the fifth type; finally, the paper suggested that attention has been brought to policy formation and implementation rather than policy evaluation, which has made a contribution to the development of their own operating mechanisms.

SsciBERT: a pre-trained language model for social science texts

The academic literature of social sciences records human civilization and studies human social problems. With its large-scale growth, the ways to quickly find existing research on relevant issues have become an urgent demand for researchers. Previous studies, such as SciBERT, have shown that pre-training using domain-specific texts can improve the performance of natural language processing tasks. However, the pre-trained language model for social sciences is not available so far. In light of this, the present research proposes a pre-trained model based on the abstracts published in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals. The models, which are available on GitHub (https://github.com/S-T-Full-Text-Knowledge-Mining/SSCI-BERT), show excellent performance on discipline classification, abstract structure–function recognition, and named entity recognition tasks with the social sciences literature.

Adaptive water governance research in social sciences journals: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract Adaptive water governance plays an increasingly important role in sustainable urban development and water governance response to global climate change. To comprehensively understand the research situation and development trend of adaptive water management, this study conducts a systematic literature review of articles published in International Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) journals based on bibliometric analysis. The results show that adaptive water governance as an emerging topic of water governance has an overall growth trend in published articles. The articles on adaptive water governance mainly concentrated on the disciplines of environmental science and environmental studies. Developed countries are a hub for water governance research, and China has the sixth largest number of articles from around the world. The adaptive water governance research has formed a preliminary global collaborative network, but the authors' collaboration needs to be strengthened. The most popular topics of adaptive water governance include South Africa, adaptive management, groundwater, principal component analysis, scenario planning, the analytic hierarchy process, resources, basins, computer experiments, and technology development. This finding suggests that adaptive water governance is a critical driver for sustainable urban development and represents a critical direction in the future research of water governance.

What Factors Affect Investment Efficiency? A Co-citation Analysis

Nowadays, in the context of a globalized economy, businesses have more and more opportunities to participate in investment projects, especially in developing countries. However, most enterprises, still have a lack of understanding and awareness of the potential and benefits that investment can bring to them, therefore they have been meeting underinvestment or overinvestment problem. How enterprises make investment efficiency decisions is a matter of great concern. The aim of this research is to investigate the factors that affect firm's investment efficiency. A total of 36 investment efficiency research articles from the leading Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals were cited. By using methods of citation analysis, statistical analyses including factor analysis, and multi-dimensional scaling, this study identifies four research trends on investment efficiency: financial reporting quality; board gender diversity; ownership structure; and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings of this study contribute to providing an overview of factors that influence investment efficiency. The results of this paper not only open more interesting future research topics but also may help policymakers establish effective strategies in investment projects as well as motivate the growth of economics, especially in emerging markets.

A Co-word Analysis of Selected Science Education Literature: Identifying Research Trends of Scaffolding in Two Decades (2000-2019).

This study aims to identify research trends of scaffolding in the field of science education. To this end, both descriptive analysis and co-word analysis were conducted to examine the selected articles published in the Social Science Citation Index journals from 2000 to 2019. A total of 637 papers were retrieved as research samples through rounds of searching in Web of Science database. Overall, this study reveals a growing trend of science educators' academic publications about scaffolding in the recent two decades. In these sample papers, from 1,487 non-repeated keywords, we extracted 286 author-defined keywords shared by at least two studies as a benchmark dictionary. A series of co-word analyses were then conducted based on the dictionary to reveal the underlying co-occurring relationships of the words in title and abstract of the sample papers. Results showed that “scaffolding,” “support,” and “design” were the top three most frequently used keywords during 2000 and 2019. Visualization of co-word networks in each 5-year period further helps clarify both educators' common research foci and relevant research trends. Derived discussion and potential research directions are also provided.

Concept Mapping in Technology-Supported K-12 Education: A Systematic Review of Selected SSCI Publications From 2001 to 2020

Concept maps have been verified as an effective learning tool in technology-supported learning environments, in particular, in K-12 education. To enable educational technology researchers and school teachers to thoroughly know the research foci and applications of concept maps in technology-supported learning environments for K-12 education (CM-K12), the present study conducted a systematic review of studies published in seven SSCI (Social Science Citation Index) journals of educational technology by referring to the technology-based learning model. The review results showed that concept maps mostly played the role of a personal Mindtool and a collaborative Mindtool, and were mainly applied in elementary schools. The majority of elementary school teachers employed concept maps as a collaborative Mindtool (for a learning group), a personal Mindtool (for individual students), and a learning design tool. As for secondary school teachers, concept maps were mostly adopted as an assessment and evaluation tool, personal Mindtools, and collaborative Mindtools. In terms of application issues, the most adopted medium was desk-top computers, and the most adopted application domains were science, engineering, and language. The research focus explored the most in CM-K12 research was cognition, followed by affect and learning behavior. Based on the findings, several recommendations are proposed.

Eleven years of cyberattacks on Chinese supply chains in an era of cyber warfare, a review and future research agenda

PurposeThe contribution of this study aims to twofold: First, it provides an overview of the current state of research on cyberattacks on Chinese supply chains (SCs). Second, it offers a look at the Chinese Government’s approach to fighting cyberattacks on Chinese SCs and its calls for global governance.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review was conducted on Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science, in Social Sciences Citation Index journals, Scopus and Google Scholar, published between 2010–2021. A systematic review of practitioner literature was also conducted.FindingsChinese SCs have become a matter of national security, especially in the era of cyber warfare. The risks to SC have been outlined. Cybersecurity regulations are increasing as China aims to build a robust environment for cyberspace development. Using the Technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the results show that the top five factors influencing the adoption process in firms are as follows: relative advantage and technological readiness (Technology context); top management support and firm size (Organization context) and government policy and regulations (Environment context).Research limitations/implicationsThis review focuses on cyberattacks on Chinese SCs and great care was taken when selecting search terms. However, the author acknowledges that the choice of databases/terms may have excluded a few articles on cyberattacks from this review.Practical implicationsThis review provides managerial insights for SC practitioners into how cyberattacks have the potential to disrupt the global SC network.Originality/valuePast researchers proposed a taxonomic approach to evaluate progress with SC integration into Industry 4.0; in contrast, this study is one of the first steps toward an enhanced understanding of cyberattacks on Chinese SCs and their contribution to the global SC network using the TOE framework.

Exercise psychology research in Taiwan over three decades: A quasi-systematic review

The purpose of this study was to explore the status of Taiwanese scholars' research in the field of exercise psychology in the past 30 years and to provide an overview of the research. With some modifications to Cooper's (2016) methodological instructions in research synthesis, a "quasi-systematic review" was adopted to collect, categorize and analyze Taiwanese scholars’ publications in the field of exercise psychology in the past three decades. The included papers were those published in international journals and the Taiwan Social Science Citation Index (TSSCI) journals. A total of 355 papers qualified for further analysis. Most selected papers were quantitatively-oriented. Also, we found both international and domestic journals had different features in terms of participants, research methods, and research topics. Further, we found that 73 papers (20.56%) examined “theoretical models of exercise behavior”; 271 papers (76.34%) examined “psychological effects of exercise”; 95 papers (26.76%) investigated “social cognition in exercise”; 272 papers (76.62%) studied “exercise and specific population”; and 20 papers (5.63%) were classified as applications/other.” Furthermore, in international journals, 140 papers (61.40%) were ranked as Q1; 57 papers (25.00%) as Q2; 27 papers (11.84%) as Q3, and 4 papers (1.75%) as Q4. In summary, Taiwanese scholars’ research in exercise psychology has unique features and topics. Government policy and research grants may explain the research directions and topics selected. It is suggested that Taiwanese scholars may expand their research beyond these limitations.

Research Trends in Technology-Enhanced Chemistry Learning: A Review of Comparative Research from 2010 to 2019

Chemistry is a subject which involves a number of abstract concepts, making it a difficult and frustrating learning process for many students. Educators and researchers believe that technology could provide an opportunity to address this problem. However, it is challenging to find a model for appropriately and successfully integrating technology into chemistry education. Therefore, in this study, a review was conducted on the technology-enhanced chemistry learning studies published in Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals from 2010 to 2019. This study searched the target articles from the Web of Science (WOS) database and excluded those studies that did not adopt a comparative research design. Finally, 60 studies were included in this research trend analysis. A coding scheme was developed for the types of technology, the types of learning tools, the roles of technology in chemistry learning, learning topics, learning environments, participants, research designs, and the learning outcomes the researchers evaluated. From the analysis results, it was found that (1) inorganic chemistry and physical chemistry courses were the main learning topics, while the formal classroom was most often referred to as the research setting. The most frequently discussed issue was students’ learning achievement. (2) Regarding technology integration, offering students learning content through personal computers was the main activity mode. The technology was used for lower-level implementation, that is, providing supplementary materials for students. (3) Finally, using keyword analysis, it is possible to extract the recent concerns of the researchers, and from the results of the study, it is clear that the researchers are placing increasing emphasis on learners’ experience and skill development in the learning process. Accordingly, this study highlights the features of the research trends and then provides suggestions for researchers in the technology-enhanced chemistry learning field.

여행을 통한 사회적 관계의 연구동향 분석 및 개념적 재구성

The purpose of this study is to identify international research trends in the social relationships of travel. Specifically, the study intends to define the scope and examine the change of trends in various characteristics of social relationships over time. A total of 83 papers published in 43 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals were selected for analysis. Utilizing the content analysis method, these trends were examined from three perspectives in travel: 1) subject, 2) relational object, and 3) relational effects. Three dimensions of social relations theory; the personal dimension, the interpersonal dimension, and the relational effect dimension, were employed in the analysis. Based on previous research, each study was classified by year, subject, journal, research method, and analysis method. The results show that the number of studies began to increase in 2013, until reaching a peak in 2019. Moreover, in the personal dimension, the study found that the needs for relatedness both directly and indirectly affected travel motivation. In the interpersonal dimension, the results showed that behavioral exchange is preceded by emotional exchange. Lastly, in the relational effect dimension, social relationships in travel have an effect on increasing psychological benefits and on strengthening social utility. The study reveals that social relations in travel have expandability and circularity, while the objects of social relationship expand from existing relationships to new relationships such as residents and service employees. These findings suggest the importance of promoting the formation of multidimensional relationships among travel stakeholders.

A bibliometric study of EAP research: Who is doing what, where and when?

This paper uses a bibliometric analysis to track changes in EAP research over the last 40 years. Based on a corpus of 12,600 EAP-related articles from 40 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals, we reveal what research topics have been most popular over time and which authors, publications and source countries have been most influential. The results show that while topics concerning teaching, learning and classroom practices, have remained popular, those with a focus on contexts and discourses have grown since 2001, with substantial attention devoted to identity, interaction and genre. The most cited authors and publications also show a marked shift towards an interest in academic writing, language description and perspectives underpinning social relationships in learning and communication. Finally, our study shows that EAP is achieving a global reach as authors affiliated with emerging centres of research, particularly China, begin to make a mark on the field. We believe these findings may be of interest to EAP professionals seeking to become more familiar with the field and as a way of mapping the emergence of EAP as a maturing discipline.

Study of Corpus’ Influences in EAP Research (2009-2018): A Bibliometric Analysis in CiteSpace

Using 328 papers published in SSCI (Social Science Citation Index) journals from the Web of Science between 2009 and 2018, this study analyzed corpus’ influences in EAP (English for Academic Purposes) research with mapping knowledge domains CiteSpace. This study found that the relationship between international EAP studies and corpus tends to increasingly tight in the past ten years. Corpus in EAP study mainly acts as the methodology that EAP is studied by means of self-building or existing corpora using retrieval software together with statistical analysis method. International scholars pay more attention to writing teaching, academic literacy and discourse/discourse analysis in EAP study, and the co-cited references mostly tend to the genres study of EAP.

Scholarly Journals’ Publication Frequency and Number of Articles in 2018–2019: A Study of SCI, SSCI, CSCD, and CSSCI Journals

This study used all-journal data and systematic random sampling data to primarily determine the average number of issues per year and the average number of articles per issue among the Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD) (China), and Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI) (China) journals. The random sampling data were based on 5% SCI and SSCI samples and 10% CSCD and CSSCI samples. The objectives were to have a 2018–2019 record of the journal publication frequency detailing the number of articles per issue and the number of issues per year for the journals on the lists, as well as to compare Chinese journals’ data with those of international journals, in the perspective of scholarly publishing transformations in the world as well as in China during the past two decades. The study found that the average number of issues per year for SCI, SSCI, CSCD, and CSSCI journals was 10.95, 5.18, 9.17, and 7.87, respectively, and that CSCD/CSSCI journals publish more articles than SCI/SSCI, with CSSCI journals publishing significantly more articles per year than SSCI journals. The author fees for non-OA journals in China could play a role in the higher number of articles. The “mega journal” phenomenon does not seem to be a common practice among all the journal lists studied.

FACTORS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS RANKING (COMPARISON OF THREE WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS)

Many universities have drawn attention to world university rankings, which reflect the international competition of universities and represent their relative statuses. This study does not radically contradict all types of global university rankings but calls for an examination of the effects of their indicators on the final ranking of universities. This study investigates the indicator contribution to the ranking of universities in world university ranking systems including the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Times Higher Education (THE), and QS World University Rankings. Results showed that in the ARWU system, three indicators regarding faculty members who won Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals and papers published in Nature and Science and in the Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index journals predicted the ranking of universities. For the QS and THE systems, the more powerful contributors to the ranking of universities were expert-based reputation indicators.