Mapping the intellectual structure of scientific outputs in the subject area of public law in the Web of Science database

Background and aim: Given the fundamental role of public law in regulating the relationship between the state and citizens and safeguarding fundamental rights, examining the intellectual structure and scientific trends in this field is essential for the advancement of governance and policymaking. This study aims to map the intellectual structure of scientific outputs in the field of public law in the Web of Science database, illustrating the scientific growth trends, author collaboration networks, keywords, and the thematic structure of the field. Materials and methods: This descriptive-applied research adopts a scientometric approach. Data were collected from articles related to public law indexed in the Web of Science database between 1985 and 2024. The inclusion criteria comprised publication within this period, relevance to public law, and being in the format of research article or systematic review. Findings: Keyword co-occurrence analysis in the thematic domain of public law, considering a threshold of one, identified six clusters containing 150 keywords. The terms “public law”, “law”, “public-law litigation”, and “rights” had the highest frequencies in studies related to this field. These findings highlight the importance of keywords and the thematic research structure in public law, indicating a focus on related key concepts. Conclusion: The thematic analysis of keywords extracted from science mapping revealed that public law, rights, and litigation are the main points of interest in the scientific outputs of this domain.