Comparison of disciplines, topics, and methods in studies in Journal of Informetrics and Scientometrics from 2016 to 2020

This study compared topics, impact, disciplines, and research methods in articles published from 2016 to 2020 between Scientometrics and Journal of Informetrics (JOI) to provide referential data for researchers and understand developments in scientometric research. Regarding similarities between Scientometrics and JOI, the results revealed that authors affiliated with management-related institutes accounted for the largest group of researchers and were predominantly listed as the first authors. Methodology was the second most common topic, and the proportion of studies increased during the study period. Most researchers preferred combining various methods to analyze publications from different sources. Regarding the main differences between the two journals, articles on research-based communication and metrics and indicators dominated Scientometrics and JOI, respectively. Authors working for scientometric institutes were the second largest group of authors in JOI, whereas computer science authors were the second largest group in Scientometrics. The average impact of articles for each topic in JOI was higher than that of articles in Scientometrics.