Evaluating the global research productivity on domestic violence: a bibliometric visualisation analysis

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore the bibliometric features of scientific publications in the area of domestic violence (an important global social problem) for the period 2011–2020; thus, enabling the scientific community to understand the research progress on the topic. Design/methodology/approach The data of the scientific publications were retrieved from the Scopus database. The keyword “Domestic Violence” was applied as a topic term to search articles published during the study period. The statistical analysis was conducted by using the RStudio and VOSviewer tools along with MS Excel. Findings A total of 11,899 scientific works were published during the study period. The annual percentage growth of publication in the area of domestic violence in the study period is 74.97%. The majority of the papers (74.72%) were published as journal articles. USA and UK have the highest numbers of scientific publications and citations. Together they account for more than half of the publications (58.38%) and citations (67 per pub). However, the highest average citation per publication has been recorded by Switzerland (34 per pub). Feder G. (UK) is the most cited author, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence (Sage publications) has the highest number of publications, citations and source title impact ratio in the domain of domestic violence. Practical implications One can find numerous bibliometric studies in the domain of natural science, but not many studies have been conducted in the field of social sciences. In this light, the scientific community can gain from the bibliometric information regarding the scientific publications in the area of domestic violence, which is one of the dominant areas of study in social sciences. Originality/value The study will provide significant information on the trends of academic publications in the study area. It is one of the most comprehensive studies on domestic violence, which will aid the potential researchers in identifying the most prominent contributions, county-wise research distribution, author and journal productivity and other related indicators. The findings of the study will be also helpful to library authorities in reviewing and updating collection development policy.