The Manifold Research Fields of Facebook: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to analyze the present state and evolution of scientific research with regard to the scientific production generated on Facebook. Good analysis proves challenging due to the large number of publications about the topic. That is why we concentrate on Scopus as the information service with the highest coverage on this topic. We performed a bibliometric analysis on Facebook-related research from 2005 to 2016. We identified publication output, subject areas, journals, and countries in order to assess the publication trends and research hotspots in this field. Moreover, an author network graph and a geo map were applied to visualize some research trends. These results provide a basis for better understanding of the development of global Facebook research.