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BIM research vs BIM practice: a bibliometric-qualitative analysis from China

Zhikun Ding (Key Laboratory of Coastal Urban Resilient Infrastructures (MOE), Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China) (Sino-Australia Joint Research Center in BIM and Smart Construction, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China) (Department of Construction Management and Real Estate, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China) (Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Green, Efficient and Intelligent Construction of Underground Metro Station, University of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China)
Kairui Zheng (T.Y. Lin (Chongqing) International Engineering Technology Co., Ltd, Chongqing, China)
Yi Tan (Sino-Australia Joint Research Center in BIM and Smart Construction, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China)

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN: 0969-9988

Article publication date: 6 August 2021

Issue publication date: 24 November 2022

1208

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding the frontier difference between building information modeling (BIM) research and practice is a top priority to guarantee the engineering significance and feasibility of academic achievements, yet such research gap has not been well-explored. The purpose of this paper is to provide an objective and accurate analysis of BIM knowledge using 551 published BIM-related papers and 68 documents of frontier BIM projects in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts the mixed method, combining the bibliometrics method with the qualitative method. Bibliometrics was used to analyze 551 BIM-related literatures from China with Citespace 5.0. Qualitative research was used to analyze 68 project documents from China with Nvivo. Finally, the analysis results are compared to obtain the final conclusion.

Findings

The analysis results of the collected BIM-related papers, given by bibliometrics analysis, show that the subject categories of engineering, civil engineering, and construction and building technology, and 8 key research clusters are extremely important for development of BIM knowledge. The analysis results of the collected project documents, given by qualitative analysis, indicate that visualization, aided management, intelligent construction, simulation and analysis are the hot applications of BIM practice.

Originality/value

Through comparison, certain research gaps between the research and practice community in China was identified, which are useful for identification of research trends and practice frontier in BIM community. This study offers useful and new insights to summarize the status quo of BIM and can be used as a reference to integrate future BIM developments.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted with the support of the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No.71974132), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No. 2018A0303130037), Shenzhen Government Nature Science Foundation (Grant No. JCYJ20190808115809385) and the Start-Up Grant at Shenzhen University, China (No. 860/000002110547).

Data Availability Statement: All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Citation

Ding, Z., Zheng, K. and Tan, Y. (2022), "BIM research vs BIM practice: a bibliometric-qualitative analysis from China", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 29 No. 9, pp. 3520-3546. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-01-2021-0071

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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