Nursing and Midwifery Studies

Nursing and Midwifery Studies

Bibliometric analysis and science mapping of publications in Nursing and Midwifery Studies (eISSN: 2322-1674)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Somayyeh Nadi-Ravandi 1
Zahra Batooli 2
1 Health Information Management Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
2 Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
10.48307/nms.2025.568564.1785
Abstract
Background: Nursing and Midwifery Studies (NMS) (eISSN: 2322-1674) has published 483 articles between 2012 and 2024, all indexed in the Web of Science (WoS), with 219 articles (2019–2024) also indexed in Scopus.
Objectives: This bibliometric study aimed to map the journal’s intellectual structure, publication trends, citation patterns, altmetric impact, and thematic evolution over time.
Methods: This applied scientometric investigation retrieved bibliographic, citation, and altmetric data for 483 NMS articles from WoS, Scopus (219 articles), and ResearchGate. Author names and institutional affiliations were standardized prior to analysis. Performance analysis (including publication output, citation impact, and usage metrics) and science mapping (keyword co-occurrence, and author, institution, and country collaboration networks) were performed using VOSviewer. A total of 2,065 raw author keywords were consolidated into 981 unified terms and subsequently clustered into five major thematic groups.
Results: Original research articles accounted for 86% of publications. The mean citation count per cited article was 8.4 in WoS (79.3% cited; maximum 81 citations), 4.2 in Scopus (73.51%; maximum 48), and 15.45 in ResearchGate (81.57% indexed; average reads: 683.26; maximum 55,429). Thematic clustering revealed five dominant research areas: nurses’ mental health (stress: 40 occurrences; burnout; COVID-19), chronic disease management (quality of life: 38; anxiety: 37), maternal and women’s health (pregnancy, midwifery), nursing education (students: 40), and patient care. Kashan University of Medical Sciences emerged as the most productive institution, contributing 134 articles and engaging in collaborations spanning 37 countries.
Conclusion: This analysis highlights the evolving scientific landscape of NMS, emphasizing its strong potential for continued growth in high-impact areas such as mental health and COVID-19 research. Strengthening international collaborations, organizing thematic special issues, and enhancing altmetric engagement are recommended strategies to advance the journal’s visibility and trajectory toward Q1 ranking.
Keywords
Altmetrics, Bibliometrics, Midwifery, Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery Studies

Subjects

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Nursing and Midwifery Studies
Volume 14, Issue 4
Autumn 2025
Pages 300-314

  • Receive Date 25 December 2025
  • Revise Date 29 December 2025
  • Accept Date 30 December 2025