Acta Biologica Szegediensis: A Bibliometric Analysis (1997-2019)

Aims: Scientometrics is a field concerned with the qualitative and quantitative analysis of scientific publications, which are frequently used in the field of library and information sciences. The aim of this study to present a general overview of the journal Acta Biologica Szegediensis (ABS) from 1997 to 2019 (a 23-year period) using bibliometric indicators.

Methodology: The data analysed in this study was extracted from the Scopus database. The information was exported in RIS file format to the Harzing’s Publish or Perish 7.22 and VOSviewer 1.6.15 for data analysis. Clusters and co-occurrence networks of the authors and keywords of the published documents were generated.

Results: The number of documents published in ABS during the study period was n=795, the most frequently published document type was „original article” (n=534, 67.2%). Articles published between 1997 and 2019 were cited 4289 times overall, averaging in 5.39 citations per paper and 186.5 cites/year. The average number of authors per paper increased consistently throughout the years (from 2.82 to 4.23).

Conclusion: ABS is in a unique position; while it is primarily a journal of the University of Szeged, it has received increasing attention from an international scientific audience, both from molecular and supra-individual biologists, pharmacists and other medical scientists. The submission of additional articles from a wider audience would definetly strengthen the international reach and scientific impact of the journal.