Acupuncture Randomized Controlled Trial Bibliometric Analysis 2010-2024

A bibliometric analysis of 1,908 acupuncture randomized controlled trial articles published between 2010 and 2024. The study identifies major contributors, keyword trends, and publication metrics from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. It was conducted by Menglong Zhang using tools like CiteSpace and VOSviewer.

Use Cases

• Analyze publication volume trends over time using the annual article counts from 59 in 2010 to 205 in 2022.
• Identify leading research institutions and countries by examining the article and citation counts for entities like Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (166 articles) and China (1,096 articles).
• Map research hotspots and emerging frontiers by analyzing keyword frequency data, such as 'Acupuncture' (1,188 times), 'Pain' (277 times), and burst keywords like 'sleep'.
• Evaluate journal influence in the field using metrics like the H-index (26) and citation count (2,099) for 'Acupuncture in Medicine'.
• Study author impact by comparing publication and citation counts for leading researchers like Liu Zhishun and Liu Cunzhi.

Strengths

• Analysis covers 1,908 articles over a 15-year period (2010-2024), providing a longitudinal view.
• Identifies specific, quantified leading contributors, such as China with 1,096 articles and the keyword 'Acupuncture' appearing 1,188 times.
• Uses established bibliometric software (CiteSpace, VOSviewer) for relationship visualization.

Limitations

• The underlying dataset is a static analysis document (DOCX, 45.9 KB), not the raw article metadata, limiting direct computational use.
• Findings are based on two specific databases (Web of Science, Scopus), potentially excluding relevant literature from other sources.
• The analysis period ends in 2024, so trends after that date are not captured.

Provenance

Source

Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus.

Collection Method

Bibliometric analysis using Origin 2021, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer on retrieved articles.

Time Range

January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2024.

Freshness

Last updated March 24, 2026; analysis covers period up to December 31, 2024.

Geography

Global, with specific country outputs noted (e.g., China, United States, South Korea).