State of the Methods for Integrating Qualitatively Oriented Critical Review Approaches With Bibliometrics: A Mixed Critical Bibliometric Approach

In this State of the Methods, we describe the Mixed Critical Bibliometric Review as a novel knowledge synthesis approach that integrates qualitative research principles from critical reviews with bibliometric analyses to generate interpretive insights. Critical reviews are essential for mapping and advancing a field, yet researchers struggle to critically reassess what is already known. Developing a deep appreciation for a field’s literature and assumptions while simultaneously challenging those same assumptions creates an inherent paradox. Illuminating – and ultimately unlearning – disciplinary knowledge and assumptions is essential, yet doing so is often exceptionally difficult. Combining our expertise in qualitative critical reviews, bibliometric analysis, and mixed methods research, the Mixed Critical Bibliometric Review leverages qualitative research principles common in critical reviews, such as iterative and concurrent data generation and analysis, with bibliometric analyses that can help researchers “zoom out”, check their interpretations, question long-held assumptions, and generate novel insights to move their field forward. To elucidate this approach, we draw on examples from the field of health professions education to describe the defining characteristics of a Mixed Critical Bibliometric Review and describe three methods for enhancing qualitative critical reviews with bibliometric visualizations to clarify: (1) how a field’s perspectives evolve over time, (2) how researchers and their perspectives interconnect, and (3) the relative impact of different perspectives within the field. Finally, we discuss strategies for capturing and representing the unique potential of iteratively integrated qualitative and quantitative findings in a Mixed Critical Bibliometric Review. Through these strategies, we aim to empower researchers to adapt Mixed Critical Bibliometric Review approaches to meet their unique needs, generate novel insights, and build momentum for advancing their field through the complementary and iterative integration of bibliometric and qualitative analyses and findings.