Trends and directions in military professionalism research: A scopus-based bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The current bibliometric analysis examines the evolution of research related to professionalism in the military based on the Scopus database. Author contributions, country-based production, institutional engagement, and co-occurrence analysis were reported. The biblioshiny in the R language was used to examine the data, and the Garza-Reyes was utilised to ensure the validity and reliability of the data. In this case, a total of 35 relevant publications were selected to be reported in the bibliometric analysis. Based on the finding, the USA is the most contributing country and has a steady increase in the number of publications, which peaked in 2023. However, even though the USA was indicated as the country with the most publications in this research theme, the United Kingdom was found to have the most impactful and influential publication, with a total cited score of 49. In terms of the most contributive affiliation, Uniformed Services University from the USA was dominant and followed by two universities from the Netherlands namely, VU University Medical Centre and the Netherlands Defence Academy. For the most contributive authors, Cole Rebekah and Rudinsky Sherri L were identified as the most productive authors. In this case, the author production over time analysis indicates Cole Rebekah, and Rudinsky Sherri L, are the most productive and influential authors in this research theme. In the thematic map analysis, the concepts of 'human', 'military personnel', and 'humans' emerge as well-developed and central, indicating that discussions around military professionalism are strongly anchored in the human dimension of service members. It was emphasised in the co-occurrence analysis that highlights the centrality of military personnel, humans, and humans, which appear as the most frequent and interconnected terms, indicating that research on military professionalism is predominantly framed around the human dimension and the role of personnel. Finally, the current research reveals three major military professional research directions through Multiple Correspondence Analysis namely, (1) education and social identity, (2) healthcare personnel and military health, and (3) professionalism and ethics, with demographic factors serving as a transversal element across clusters.