The evolution of e-government research over two decades: applying bibliometrics and science mapping analysis

Abstract

PurposeThis study uses a bibliometric approach to analyze the overall status of e-government research by revealing patterns and trends that would help gain a broad understanding of global developments in the field and future directions.Design/methodology/approachAll documents related to e-government published from 2000 to 2019 were extracted from the Scopus and the Digital Government Reference Library databases. Bibexcel, Biblioshiny, and VOSviewer were used to perform the analyses and visualize the science mapping.FindingsThe results showed that 21,320 documents related to e-government research were published and cited 263,179 times. The annual growth rate of e-government research has reached 21.50%. The regression analysis showed that the growth rate is expected to increase gradually over the coming years. Despite the significant role that conference papers play in the e-government literature, the impact of articles far exceeds conference papers. The University of Albany (SUNY) has played an important role in e-government research in terms of production and impact. Furthermore, the study revealed some countries that are expected to play a prominent role in e-government research, as well as several topics that may attract more attention soon.Originality/valueThe results presented in this study and the comprehensive picture obtained about the e-government field make it an effective supplement to the expert evaluation. Thus, researchers, research managers, policymakers, institutions, funding agencies, and governments can rely on it.

Editorial: Special selection on current bibliometrics and reviews

“…Ramzy and Ibrahim (2024) conducted a bibliometric analysis of e-government research to reveal global development trends. Results indicate that the research growth rate is expected to gradually increase and reveal countries and topics of research focus.…”

The scientific outcome in the domain of grey literature: bibliometric mapping and visualisation using the R-bibliometrix package and the VOSviewer

“…The robust nature of the bibliometric method results in studies in diverse research areas. There are a few examples as follows: innovation convergence (Cui et al, 2022), image processing (Khan et al, 2022), digital journalism research (Banshal et al, 2022), ecopreneurship (Guleria and Kaur, 2021), mucormycosis (Borgohain et al, 2022), planetary science research (Mahala and Singh, 2021), artificial intelligence (Sharma et al, 2022;Shao et al, 2022), hospitality and tourism marketing research (Liu et al, 2022), blockchain (Alam et al, 2022), gerontology research (Shen et al, 2019), maker education (Feng et al, 2022), e-government research (Ramzy and Ibrahim, 2022), gender differences (Jalal and Mukhopadhyay, 2022), data economy (Olaleye et al, 2022) and information science (Islam and Agarwal, 2022). Nove et al (2017) demonstrated that GL is extremely important across all fields.…”

“…, 2019), maker education (Feng et al. , 2022), e-government research (Ramzy and Ibrahim, 2022), g ender differences (Jalal and Mukhopadhyay, 2022), data economy (Olaleye et al ., 2022) and information science (Islam and Agarwal, 2022).…”

SciBR-M: a method to map the evolution of scientific interest - A case study in educational data mining

“…, 2022; Borgohain et al. , 2022; Ramzy and Ibrahim, 2022). Cultural changes lead to the production of new knowledge and the evolution of scientific interest.…”

“…Society's knowledge and current demands support scientific interest and production (Lourenço and Wilson, 2013;Murgado-Armenteros et al, 2015;Figuerola et al, 2017;Jalali et al, 2020;Khosrowjerdi and Bornmann, 2021;Huang et al, 2021;Doulani, 2021;Abd Majid et al, 2022;Borgohain et al, 2022;Ramzy and Ibrahim, 2022). Cultural changes lead to the production of new knowledge and the evolution of scientific interest.…”