Ananlysis on research hotspots in agricultural engineering in China based on scientometrics

Abstract: The academic articles have been studied to explore the research hotspots and development trends of agricultural engineering in China since 1957 using co-word analysis (a method of scientometrics) and mapping. A total of 20 377 articles were collected from the journals including Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and Transactions of the Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery through China National Knowledge Infrastructure (full text database), and keywords were added non-parametrically from the articles themselves (keywords provided by author). These keywords were standardized using Bibstats (a vocabulary tool developed by China Agricultural University Library). With the objective of delineating dynamic changes of the field of agricultural engineering, the period 1957-2014 was studied and further divided into 5 consecutive periods: 1957-1966, 1979-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009 and 2010-2014. The research hotspots and characteristics of agricultural engineering in China were revealed by analyzing the selected keywords with the aid of VOS viewer software and co-word cluster analysis method, and the evolution of the research hotspots has also been discussed. The results showed that the research hotspots in agricultural engineering have generally experienced a transition from simplicity to diversification, and interdisciplinary knowledge has been created, which effectively has drawn on the engineering technology, computer and information science, biology science, and ecology science, aiming to solve the questions in both the agriculture and the environment. The most advanced methods and tools have been provided to design and evaluate engineering technologies, such as computer simulation, intelligent control, and internet of things. The key issues in the agricultural engineering field will be centered on precision agriculture and agricultural bio-environmental control engineering, such as agricultural informatization, intelligent equipment technologies and automation technologies, which target at "high efficiency, ecological, safety and sustainability".