Assessing the current status of research activity and identifying gaps in research output in international and internal migration and health is an important step in mapping the evidence-base in migration health. Through bibliometric analysis, indicators of published literature in global migration health pertaining to migrants across different categories. Further sub-set analysis along geographic clusters and by health themes such as mental health, malaria, tuberculosis and migration may also be investigated. While there are limitations, bibliometrics allows analysis of size, growth patterns, distributions and mapping of global research productivity.
Patterns in publications, authorship analysis, geographical distribution, international research collaboration, important themes discussed, and highly cited articles in the health of migrants can be examined. Bibliometrics is also an important first step in undertaking systematic review.
In 2018, MHADRI network members and IOM undertook a Bibliometric analysis of global migration health research. The data showed gaps in the research productivity ‘heat map’ at global level. Two migration health research workshops held in Nepal and South Africa in 2019 facilitated by a coalition of organizations (IOM, ACMS, QMUL-Migration&Health South Asia network and MHADRI) highlighted the importance of undertaking national, sub-regional and regional ‘deep dives’ into mapping migration health research output for both international and internal migrants.
A pilot bibliometric training workshop will be held in Manila, Philippines in November 2019, with the aim of engaging scholars from the South Asian region to build their skills and capacities to undertake such bibliometric analysis.
Workshop objectives
Framework synthesis:
- Developing a conceptual framework to guide Bibliometric analysis at national, sub-regional and regional levels – for South & South East Asia
- Framework to guide Bibliometric analysis on Health Assessments for Migrants and Refugees
Skills development:
- To provide an overview and technical instruction on performing an in-depth bibliometric analysis of migration and health-related publications using Scopus.
- To discuss the use of appropriate visualization tools and software in data representation and reporting.
- To provide guidance on structuring publications resulting from the bibliometric analysis.
- To define a framework combining bibliometric review with more conceptual-theoretical and critical review to synthesize thematic and empirical gaps in knowledge.