Multiple Sclerosis Research Activity in the Middle East: A Web of Science-Based Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Bibliometrics is one of the credible methods of evaluating scientific publications and research output.The main purpose of this study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis and visualization of Multiple Sclerosis scientificproducts of the ۱۷ Middle East countries.Methods: Data were searched in the Web of Science database. Research productivity was evaluated by consideringcountry, year, number of publications and time trend of these publications. Co-word and co-authorship analysis weredone and top authors and journals and active institutions as well as country contribution to MS research wereidentified .Results: Middle Eastern countries produced ۵.۵% of the total number of MS research in the world. Turkey (۲۹.۱۸%),Iran (۲۳.۵۴%) and Egypt (۱۳.۰۶%) have devoted the top positions. King Saud University as a research center, Baser,Kemal Husnu Can as an author and the Multiple Sclerosis Journal as a scientific journal, respectively with a total of۱,۵۸۲ (۴.۲۶%), ۳۶۰ (۰.۹۷%) and ۱,۱۷۲ (۳.۱۵%) publications had the highest research productivity .Conclusion: Despite rising trends in research results, more strategic planning and cooperation between researchersare needed for regional advancement in the field

Keywords:

Scientometrics , Bibliometrics , Visualization , Multiple Sclerosis , Middle East , Web of Science