Bibliometric analysis of the papers on urban education

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the papers published on urban education and analyze the characteristics of these papers to contribute to the urban education research over the recent years. Design/methodology/approach Researchers generated a comprehensive list of the articles published between 2010 and 2017 in the field of “urban education” by searching the Social Sciences Citation Index database, using the keywords of “urban” and “education.” As an additional criterion, all the articles published between 2010 and 2017 in the journals of Urban Education and Education and Urban Society were included. Findings There are a total of 2,123 publications that were checked and retrieved in the field of “urban education” between 2010 and 2017. Although the number of publications differs year by year, the sum of the citations received the increase from year to year on a regular basis. There are 35 articles that were cited more than h-index, as h-classics in this field for this period and top 10 of these h-classics are reported in this study. Urban Education and Education and Urban Society were revealed as the most prominent journals in the field of urban education. Also, the results show that the most cited articles, the most prolific authors and organizations, and top journals in this field are from the USA. Research limitations/implications The scope of this study is not extensive enough, and the data obtained are not comprehensive enough. The survey was limited to the keyword of “urban education” in the fields of title, abstract, author keywords and keywords plus. Practical implications This bibliometric analysis contributes to the literature of urban education through a historical perspective. Results show that the “urban education” field attracts more attention of the researchers and the impacts of these publications are increasing from year to year. Also, there is a prevalence of the USA in the field of urban education. Originality/value The information presented in this paper provides insight into the development of urban education research over the recent years. The data obtained in this study can be used as a reference for future researchers in urban education.