Mapping global trends on social inclusion and integration studies among migrants: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to map, the annual growth pattern, publication and citation performance, scientific visibility at the levels of authors, journals, institutions and countries, and the conceptual structure based on keyword cooccurrence of publications focusing on the social inclusion and social integration of migrants. A retrospective bibliometric analysis methodology was used. The data were searched for in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database in English between 2013-2023. The analysis was performed using VOSwiever (1.6.20) software program. A total of 95 countries, 1886 institutions, 4729 authors and 1101 journals contributed to 2000 studies. The most productive author was “Ramon Spaaij.” The journal with the most articles and cited was “Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.” The country that provided the most support for published articles was the USA. The most frequently used keywords were “social integration,” “social inclusion,” “migration,” “refugees,” “migrants,” “integration,” “discrimination,” “social capital,” “employment/labour market,” “transnationalism,” “housing” and “Covid-19.” The trends and research gaps identified in this bibliometric analysis may contribute to the development of more targeted population research, public policies and social frameworks for designing social support systems and integration strategies for migrants. This study demonstrates the increasing importance given to the social inclusion and integration of migrants over the last decade. Therefore, research collaborations and networks should be encouraged for researchers and policymakers on successful social inclusion and integration of migrants.