An investigation of emerging COVID-19 research trends and future implications for LIS field: A bibliometric mapping and visualization

Abstract

The COVID-19 epidemic has proved a nightmare for human beings living all across the globe. It has severely affected all segments of human life. Consequently, enormous research has been conducted to assess and counter this global pandemic. This study reports finding of a bibliometric analysis on COVID-19 related literature published in the Library and Information Science journals, to identify current research trends and to suggest future directions for further research. It reveals a substantial increase in LIS publications on COVID-19 in the year 2020. The findings of the study are presented in two sections: first, the research productivity analysis provides an overview of the prominent authors, sources, institutions, and countries that published about COVID-19 in the LIS field. The second section offers a co-word thematic analysis of the significant emerging themes that provide an insight into current challenges faced by libraries and suggest future trends for research and practice in post-COVID era. The study exposes 5 major research themes and 11 sub-themes.