Application of structural topic modeling in a literature review of air transport

Abstract

The aviation industry is highly susceptible to external environmental changes, including pandemics, conflicts, climate shifts, and economic fluctuations. Academic journals have adapted swiftly to address these challenges. Although significant academic efforts have provided valuable insights into air transportation, a comprehensive review with a large sample size was imperative. This study employed structural topic modeling (STM) to analyze 2,947 articles published in 55 journals between January 2000 and June 2023, offering an initial overview of the intellectual landscape of air transport research. The results identified and suggested 12 distinct topics in air transport research. It revealed the underlying research subthemes within each topic and discerned topic trends and latent relationships through prevalence and correlation analysis. This study contributes to the field in three key ways by: (1) introducing STM to air transport research, (2) pioneering a comprehensive review that covers all research topics in the aviation field, and (3) providing a valuable tool for understanding the current academic focus and identifying new research issues.