A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CENTRAL ASIAN STUDIES

This article aims to analyze the bibliographic characteristics of Central Asian Studies, a subfield within Area Studies. While Area Studies is often perceived to have declined post-Cold War, the emergence of independent states in Central Asia has revitalized the field, generating research opportunities in development, state-building, and nation-building. Consequently, Central Asian Studies has become a growing area of inquiry in Area Studies. This novel bibliometric study utilized Biblioshiny for bibliometric analysis and Minitab for statistical analysis, examining seven area journals and 1770 articles sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection. Of the seven journals analyzed, two specialize exclusively in Central Asia, while the remaining five incorporate the region as a subfield within Eurasian Studies. The research aims to identify three questions which are bibliometric characteristics of Central Asian Studies, differences between region-specific journals and Eurasian journals as well as changing patterns in Central Asian Studies. The article also explores the limited international collaboration in Central Asian Studies.