Trends in global research on Sanitation: A 30-year perspective from 1990 to 2019
Abstract Background Sanitation issues have aroused widespread concern around the world, and scholars began research in this area as early as the 1920s. After decades of development, there is a great amount of research on this topic, and the body of research continues to grow rapidly. Methods Based on the Web of Science Core Collection databases from 1990–2019, this paper applies the bibliometric method to analyze the research characteristics and developments of scientific publications about sanitation. Visualized knowledge mapping is employed to investigate development status, scientific collaboration, involved disciplines, research hotspots and emerging trends of this field. Results The breadth and depth of sanitation studies has improved significantly as the number of related publications increases rapidly in the 21st century. The strength of developed countries is greater than that of developing countries; the comprehensive strength of the United States ranks first in the field, followed by England and Switzerland. This field is a highly interdisciplinary field that covers a wide range of interests, and institutional collaboration is increasing in this field. Keyword clustering analysis shows that the main research topics in the domain of sanitation could be summarized as: (a) drinking water; (b) sustainability; (c) biofilm; (d) epidemiology; and (e) WaSH. Meanwhile, keyword bursts analysis showed that the new research hotspots and research frontiers mainly concentrated on: (a) Sustainable development of sanitation services adapting to climate change; (b) Main determinants affecting child malnutrition; (c) Multinational research and model innovation; and (d) Evaluations on various aspects of performance. Conclusions Through in-depth analysis of sanitation research, this paper provides a better understanding of trends that have emerged over the past 30 years, and can serve as a reference for future research.