A bibliometric analysis of acupuncture research trends in Acupuncture in Medicine
Over the past 20 years, acupuncture research has steadily increased, and its growth rate is twofold greater than that of biomedical research overall.1 The two primary questions associated with acupuncture treatment are: (1) whether it works; and (2) how it works. A large number of clinical studies have investigated the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for various diseases2,3 and many have evaluated its underlying mechanisms in humans and other animals.4,5 However, it is necessary to understand the current status of acupuncture research as a whole. Bibliometric analysis has been used to estimate research trends in many scientific fields and is a powerful quantitative analysis tool that provides a macroscopic overview of a significant amount of academic literature, providing supporting evidence for policy making, clinical guidelines, and research trends.6 Thus, the present study analysed and sought patterns in acupuncture research to comprehend the current state of research in this area. To accomplish this, bibliometric analyses were applied to evaluate research trends in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine.
Acupuncture in medicine journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society