Decision-making of the university libraries’ digital collection through the publication and citation patterns analysis. A literature review

Abstract

In recent years, different bibliometric methods and indicators, data mining techniques, and collection and visualization tools have been presented to analyze publication patterns and citations of scientific production. Moreover, some criteria and strategies for acquiring bibliographic databases allow forming a knowledge base for decision-making. Unfortunately, these data, methods, and tools are scattered in the literature. In this context, the objective of this article is to determine if the discovery of publication and citation patterns is being used to analyze scientific production in university libraries that helps decision-making on the subscription/acquisition of bibliographic databases. Fink’s methodology was applied in conjunction with the PICO structure for the literature review. This systematic review made it possible to compile relevant information from 167 articles published during the 2016–2020 period into a findings matrix and perform a metadata and content analysis. Among the study’s primary results, it stands out that the analysis of citations, the number of citations, and the VOSviewer collection and visualization tool have been the most outstanding for the study of scientific production. However, it has not had a significant impact as an aid to the acquisition/subscription of bibliographic databases. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.