Assessment of global law and psychiatry research in the period of 1993-2012: A bibliometric analysis (Part-I)

The purpose of this paper (bibliometric analysis) is to analyse the global scientific outputs, research patterns, research emphases and trends of law and psychiatry (L&P) research during 1993-2012 from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Besides, the paper also offers an overview to deepen intercultural understanding and cooperation in the field among professionals concerned with the interface of this research field and related disciplines.

This paper conducted a bibliometric study of the characteristics and patterns of publication outputs, major journals, network of co-occurrence of authors, international productivity and collaboration.

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and Psychiatry, Psychology and Law were the representative journals in the field of L&P research. The results from the analysis of co-occurrence of authors suggest that the L&P co-authorship network analysis is relatively fragmented. In addition, the most productive institution was the University of California System, which published the most inter-institutional collaborative publications and was the top institution by centrality measures. The Harvard University published the most single-institute publications. The most productive country was the USA, which was the top country by centrality measures. The USA was the most collaborative country and took the central position in the collaborative network.

This is the first study to quantify and evaluate global research productivity in L&P viewed through the WOS during 1993-2012, which might provide a potential guide for future research among professionals concerned with the interface of L&P, as it is a very constructive contribution to the area.