Bibliometric Study of Journal of Ravishankar University Part B (Science) during 1988-2024

Purnima Kumari¹, Kirti Jachak², Mahendra Kumar Patel³

^1,2,3Pt. Sundarlal Sharma Library, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur (C.G.)

¹purnima.27@rediffmail.com, ²kirtijachak@gmail.com, ³mahendra23kumar@gmail.com

Abstract:

This paper aims to examine the bibliometric study of the “Journal of Ravishankar University Part B” covering the study period from 1988 to 2024. The data were retrieved from the journal’s website. The study includes 618 articles published in 48 issues of the journal. The study examines several bibliometric variables, including the year-wise distribution of publications, prolific authors, authorship patterns, degree of collaboration, relative growth rate, doubling time, and annual growth rate. The findings indicate that the highest number of articles 262 was published in the year 2016. The most prolific authors were A.K. Bansal, Sanjay Tiwari, and S.K. Jadhav. Additionally, it was found that multi-author papers were more predominant than single-author papers. The highest degree of collaboration was 1.0 during the years from 1988 to 2024, with a mean degree of collaboration of 0.84. The maximum relative growth rate was observed to be 0.76 in 2016, while the maximum doubling time was 85.34 in 2013. The study also found that the maximum annual growth rate in 2016 was 114.91.

Keywords: Bibliometric, Prolific author, Productivity, Citation, Relative growth rate, Authorship pattern, Degree of collaboration.

1.   Introduction

Bibliometrics is the quantitative analysis of academic publications and related information to evaluate research performance publication impact and research trends. The term "bibliometrics" was first used by Alan Pritchard in 1969 to describe the statistical analysis of bibliographic data.

Bibliometrics is an important tool for research evaluation and management. It helps to measure the impact quality and productivity of researcher’s institutions and scientific disciplines. Bibliometric indicators are used as performance measures for researchers funding agencies and universities. In the field of  library and information science, bibliometrics are widely used as a method for identifying research trends in a particular subject, authorship patterns, collaboration patterns, obsolescence as well as scattering of literature.(Namdeo and Nasiket)

Bibliometric analysis is a method that uses quantitative techniques to analyze the production dissemination and use of scientific literature. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Ravishankar University (JRU) from 1988 to 2024. The JRU is an academic journal published by Ravishankar University Raipur Chhattisgarh and it covers research articles review articles and case studies on various academic fields.

Some common bibliometric indicators are:

1. Citation counts: The frequency of citations to an article by other publications.

2. h-index: A measure of a researcher's productivity and impact that considers both the number of publications and the citations per publication.

3. Journal impact factor: A measure of the average citation impact of articles in a journal.

4. Collaboration indices: Measures of the level of collaboration between researchers based on co-authorship data.

Bibliometrics is also used for mapping research fronts and identifying emerging research areas. This can help policymakers and researchers to identify areas where additional research and funding may be needed. However, bibliometrics also has its limitations such as the possibility of self-citation and the bias towards established fields and high-impact journals. Therefore, it is important to use bibliometric indicators in conjunction with other measures such as peer review and expert opinions when evaluating research output.

Source Journal: The Journal of Ravishankar University Part B (Science) is a peer-reviewed and indexed hybrid journal that is freely available and open access. It enhances the visibility, citations, and readership of published research, thereby increasing its impact. The journal is indexed in Google Scholar, EBSCO, and Crossref. It features special sections on a variety of topics of interest, providing a platform for the scientific community to showcase their work. In recent years, several different sections have been well received, covering areas such as analytical and environmental chemistry, physical chemistry, nanomaterials, aerosols, pesticides, electronics, the Indian monsoon, as well as biotechnological, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and behavioral sciences.(JRUB-About Journal)

2. Literature Review:

Yadav, Shrawan and Sahu, Dr. Harish Kumar (2024) presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Ravishankar Shukla University (Part-A) over the period of 2016 to 2023. According to the study, most articles were published in 2016 with 18 publications. Harish Kumar Sahu and L.S. Gajpal were found to be the most prolific contributors. With 25.26% and 10.53 % of publications, Library and Information Science and Sociology had the highest percentage of publications. Results indicated that relative growth rates fluctuated during the study period. The findings show that collaborative research is in a growing trend.(Yadav and Sahu) 

Kunal Gaurav and Gireesh Kumar T. K. (2022) analyzed the research productivity and collaboration pattern of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) during 2001 to 2020. Data for the study were gathered from the Scopus Database.  The study's findings show a steady increase in research publications throughout the course of the year.  From 2001 to 2020, 22,126 BHU publications in all areas obtained 372,427 citations.  According to the study, "Environmental Science" had the greatest average citation percentage (24.13% citations per manuscript), while "Earth and Planetary Science" had the lowest (14.87%).(Gaurav and Kumar T.K.)

Garg, K. C., Suresh Kumar and Sonia Bansal (2021) analyzed the 7,056 papers published by Indian scientists during 2001-2020 in the discipline of veterinary sciences. The findings of the study revealed that the most of the institutions situated at Tirupati were funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) published about 71% of the total output, except Sri Venkateswara University. Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar produced the highest number of papers and also found the highest number of authors.(Garg et al.)

Awasthi, Shipra, Shiva Kanaujia Sukula and Jasbir Singh (2021) examined the two most prestigious journals in the field of library and information science from 2012 to 2016 the DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology (DJLIT) and the Annals of Library and Information Studies (ALIS). After the study, result showed that the Pujar & Bansode and Gopikuttan & Aswathy were the most cited authors in ALIS and DJLIT respectively during the years while the Open-Source Software, Scientometrics, India, DSpace, and Digital Library were the top five keywords appeared in the journals.(Awasthi et al.)

Satish Kumar (2018) examines the research output of scientists at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) through scientometric analysis. The aim is to assess ARIES's research performance. Bibliographic information for the research articles published by ARIES from 2001 to 2015 was collected using the Web of Science (WoS) database. The findings show a consistent increase in ARIES publications over the years, with 2013 being the most productive year, accounting for 13.59% of the total publications. In contrast, 2002 was the least productive year, with just 1.92% of the publications. The primary research areas at ARIES are clearly astronomy, astrophysics, and atmospheric sciences. Additionally, the study reveals that ARIES scientists frequently collaborate with researchers in the United States.(Kumar)

Brahma, Krishna, and Manoj Kumar Verma (2018) analysed 202 articles published in the Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science from 2007 to 2016. Their findings revealed that Malaysia had the highest contribution, accounting for 31.17% of the articles, followed by India and Iran. In India, the state of Maharashtra emerged as the leading contributor with 28.57% of the total publications. The most productive author identified was A.N. Zainab, who had 19 contributions. The study also indicated that out of the 202 articles, 47 were single-authored and 155 were co-authored, suggesting that authors prefer to collaborate on their research.(Brahma and Verma)

3.   Objectives

The objectives of the study of Journal of Ravi Shankar University (Part B) can be stated as follows:

1.     To analyze the publication trends of the journal by examining the number of articles over a specific period.

2.     To identify the most productive and influential authors and their contribution towards the journal.

3.     To assess the authorship pattern of the articles in JRSU journal.

4.     To examine the level of collaboration among the authors contributing to Journal of Ravishankar University.

5.     To identify the Relative Growth Rate (RGR) and Doubling Time (DT) of the articles.

6.     To assess the Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of the articles in JRSU journal.

4.     Methodology

Bibliometric methods like citation analysis and co-authorship patterns were employed to assess research trends and the impact of articles. These methods offered insights into the most cited works and popular topics within the journal. The study covers the articles published in Journal of Ravishankar University Part B (Science) from 1988 to 2024. The data was obtained from the journal's website. A total of 618 articles have been published across 48 issues and 37 volumes. Data were collected, organized, and calculated using Microsoft Excel. Various bibliometric statistical tools and techniques were utilized. The data were analyzed and presented in tables and graphs.

5.     Data analysis and Interpretation

5.1.     Year-wise and Issue-wise analysis

Table 1 shows the number of articles published annually in a journal from 1988 to 2024, which totals 618 articles throughout 37 volumes. There were no publications in the years 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. The majority of years had one issue, although several later years, such as 2016 and 2022–2024, had multiple issues. In 2016, a single issue published 262 articles, highlighting significant growth. Since 2017, the number of publications has gradually increased, with contributions ranging from 0.97% to 3.07%.

Table 1 Year-wise and Issue-wise analysis

Figure 1: Year-wise analysis

5.2.     Prolific authors wise distribution

The table 2 displays the top 20 most prolific authors according to the number of papers published. In terms of contributions, A K Bansal leads with 22 articles, followed by Sanjay Tiwari and S K Jadhav with 16 articles each. There are several authors with 14 articles published, including Mitashree Mitra, Swarnlata Saraf, and A.K. Agarwal. The authors have a strong publishing record, as demonstrated by the high number of articles they have published. The distribution reveals a concentrated group of actively contributing researchers.

Table 2 Top 20 productive authors

5.3.     Authorship pattern distribution

Table 3 depicts that 618 publications were published between 1988 to 2024 with one, two, or three or more authors. There were 273 articles written by more than two authors, 220 by two authors, and 125 by one author. There was a significant increase in publication in 2016 (262 articles), dominated by collaborative efforts (118 articles with more than two authors). Overall, scholarly output shows a trend of increasing collaboration over time.

Table 3 Authorship pattern-wise distribution

5.4.     Degree of Collaboration

The number of collaborative publications divided by the total number of papers published within a specific time period is known as degree of collaboration. The degree of collaboration formula (Subramanyam) can be expressed as follows:

DC =

                        where, DC is the degree of collaboration

                                    NS is the number of single authored paper

                                    NM is the number of multiple authored paper

Here, DC =  = 0.79

Table 4 Degree of collaboration

The table 4 indicates the degree of collaboration of articles from 1988 to 2024, categorized by single and multi-authored contributions. There are 493 multi-authored articles compared with 125 single-authored titles, indicating a strong preference for collaborative research. In the study, the mean value of collaboration was 0.84, while some of the years showed a higher collaboration value of 1.0. This study shows that multiple-authored papers predominate over single-authored papers.   

5.5.     Relative Growth Rate and Doubling Time of Publications

The relative growth rate refers to the increase in the number of articles over a specific unit of time, which is measured in years. To calculate a mean relative growth rate, we can use the relative growth rates recorded over a defined time period.

RGR =

where, RGR is the relative growth rate over a certain time frame.

W1 = log of number of articles in the beginning

W2 = log of the final number of articles

T2 – T1 = is the difference between initial and final time

A direct correlation exists between doubling time and relative growth rate. It is the logarithm of 2 that equals the difference between the logarithms of the numbers at the beginning and the end of a period if the number of publications/pages doubles. There is a 0.693 difference between the two values.(Muruganandham et al.). By using an equation, the doubling time of publications is calculated.

DT =

Table 5 Relative Growth Rate and Doubling Time of Publications

Table 5 presents the relative growth rate and doubling time of publications of Journal of Ravishankar University Part-B for the study period. The maximum relative growth rate (RGR) was 0.76 in 2016, followed by 0.50 in 1989. In contrast, the lowest RGR values were recorded in the years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, with values of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03. The first five-year mean value of RGR is 0.250, which is higher than the values recorded in subsequent years.

The maximum doubling time (DT) was 85.34 in 2013 for issue number 2, followed by 83.82 in 2013 for issue number 1, and 80.4 in 2022. The lowest DT was reported in 2016, with a value of 0.91. The study period showed variations in both relative growth rates and doubling time.

Figure 2: Relative growth rate (RGR) and Doubling time (DT) of publications

5.6.     Annual Growth Rate of Publications

The annual growth rate (AGR) of literature is the ratio of net growth rates between successive years.(Sahu and Jena). The formula for calculating the Annual Growth Rate (AGR) is as follows:

AGR =   x 100

Table 6 Annual growth rate of publications

Table 6 illustrates the annual growth rate and the number of research papers published from 1988 to 2024. In the beginning, there were significant increases, with a prominent rise of 64.71 in 1989 and a major peak of 114.91 in 2016. The rate of growth was relatively high during 1989-1991; since then, it has stabilized at a low level. This indicates that the research activity has undergone different phases, transitioning from rapid expansion to more stable publication trends over the years.

Figure 3: Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of publications

6.     Findings

The major findings of the study are as follows:

1.     The study found that JRU published 618 articles from 1988 to 2024. Over time, the number of articles published in the journal has increased steadily.

2.     The highest number of publications occurred in 2016, with 262 articles.

3.     A K Bansal, Sanjay Tiwari, and S K Jadhav had the most publications, 23 articles, 16 articles, and 16 articles, respectively.

4.     The authors' productivity analysis indicates that there are 493 publications with multiple authors and 125 publications with a single author. This indicates that multi-author papers are predominant than single-author papers.

5.     The highest degree of collaboration was 1.0 during the years from 1988 to 2024, with a mean degree of collaboration of 0.84.

6.     The maximum relative growth rate (RGR) was 0.76 in 2016, followed by 0.50 in 1989. The maximum doubling time (DT) was 85.34 in 2013 for issue number 2, followed by 83.82 in 2013 for issue number 1, and 80.4 in 2022.

7.     Overall, the annual growth rate was significant increases, with a rise of 64.71 in 1989 and a maximum of 114.91 in 2016. The rate of growth was relatively high during 1989-1991; since then, it has stabilized at a low level.

7. Conclusion

Bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive insight into the publication trends research areas and author collaborations of the JRU. The analysis indicates that the journal has a critical role in disseminating research in various academic fields. However, the study also reveals several limitations of the journal including low international collaboration and low citation impact. The findings of this study could help the journal editors and authors to identify areas for improvement and enhance the visibility of the journal. The bibliometric study of the JSRU journal provides insights into scholarly communication in the humanities and social sciences, and how the journal promotes research.