Mapping the research productivity of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council: a scientometric study

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the research productivity of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council’s (PARC’s) researchers published during 2001–2020 by using scientometric indicators. The study explored the growth and collaborative trends along with authorship and institutional collaborative patterns at the national and international levels. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in four phases. Firstly, a search strategy was designed to retrieve reliable data sets. During the second phase, data from PARC research was retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). In the third phase, the data were combined, and duplications were removed. Finally, the data were analysed using RStudio and VOSviewer. Findings The study identified 2,868 research publications from 16 communication channels spanning over the period of 2001–2020. The growth rate varied during the study period and the year 2020 was the most productive year of the organization. Most of the research was produced in multi-authorship and five authors were dominant. Pakistan Journal of Botany was the most preferred and cited source. Moreover, PARC research collaboration with Pakistani researchers was more than their international counterparts. Research limitations/implications Like other research, this research has some limitations. For example, this research is based on secondary data extracted from WoS and Scopus databases, world-renowned online academic. However, researchers should keep in mind while interpreting the results of this study. Secondly, the research publications published by PARC researchers during 2001–2020 were considered. Finally, this research considered English language literature only. Practical implications The study’s key theoretical contribution is its strategy for merging WoS and Scopus in RStudio, while its findings could assist agriculture research stakeholders in identifying new areas of research, awards, promotions and identification of research gaps. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to use scientometric indicators to evaluate PARC’s research productivity. This detailed analysis provides a deeper understanding of PARC’s contribution to agriculture research and its potential implications.