Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research in Nepal : A Study

Abstract

Objectives: High-cited papers are considered publications with a great impact on a scientific community and have been investigated in different fields and countries. This study aimed at analyzing the top 100 high-cited papers (with 31 or more citations) on Covid-19 research in Nepal. It aimed to evaluate the characteristics and trends in Covid-19 research in Nepal using bibliometric and visualizations methods.

Full text

43
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research in
Nepal : A Study
B.M. Gupta1
Mallikarjun M Kappi2
Jivesh Bansal3
Rajpal Walke4
Ghouse Modin Mamdapur5
Abstract
Objectives: High-cited papers are considered publications with a great impact on a scientific community
and have been investigated in different fields and countries. This study aimed at analyzing the top
100 high-cited papers (with 31 or more citations) on Covid-19 research in Nepal. It aimed to evaluate
the characteristics and trends in Covid-19 research in Nepal using bibliometric and visualizations
methods.
Methods: The data for the study was sourced from Scopus database since the origin of virus till
16.5.2023, using a search strategy. The search yielded 1157 papers, which were rearranged by
frequency of citations to obtain top 100 high cited papers
Results:Of the 1157 papers indexed in Scopus database on Covid-19 in Nepal till 16.5.2023, the top
100 (9.46%) high-cited papers registered 31 to 1507 citations, averaging 118.55 CPP. An external
funding was received by only 29.0% publications, which were cited 2931 times (with an average of
135.55 CPP). Similarly, 85% of the top 100 Nepal HCPs were involved in international collaboration,
which were cited 11003 times, with an average of 129.45. Among the foreign countries participation
in 85 ICPs of Nepal, the lead countries were India (n=50), USA (n=35), U.K. (n=31) and Saudi
Arabia (n=28)., Colombia and Australia (n=26 each), China (n=22), Japan and Pakistan (n=13
each), etc, The top three most productive participating organizations in Nepal Covid-19 research
were Tribhuvan University (n=36), Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (n=20) and Patan
Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur (n=5) and the top 3 most impactful organizations were Nepal
Medicity Hospital (279.5 and 2.36), Kathmandu Medical College & Teaching Hospital (229.5 and
1.94) and Lod Buddha Education Foundation (171,.33 and 1.45). The top three most productive
authors were R. Sah (n=22), P. Sharma (n=5) and B. Rayamajhee (n=3) and the top three most
impactful authors were D. Aryal (335.0 and 2.83), J.M. Chatterjee (171.33 and 1.45) and R. Sah
(171.09 and 1.44). The top three mostproductive journals were Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
(n=8),Frontiers In Public Health (n=4) and Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials
(n=3). Epidemiology and clinical studies accounted maximally (25.0% and 19.0%) and “Coronavirus
Disease 2019” (n=69), “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome” (n=48) “Virus Pneumonia”(n=31),
“Virology”(n=17) and “Disease Transmission” (n=14) were the most significant keyword appearing
in the literature.
1 Formerly with CSIR-NISTADS, New Delhi 110012, India. E-Mail. bmgupta@gmail.com. 2Government First
Grade College, Jagalur – 577528, Karnataka,3Panjab University, Central Library, Chandigarh. 4CSIR-NPL Library,
New Delhi -110012, India, 5Synthite Industries (P) Ltd, Kolenchery, Kerala, 682311, India.
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Article

44
1. Introduction
Covid-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2),
was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has spread worldwide claiming more
than 766,895,075 confirmed cases, including 6,935,889 deaths worldwide as of 24 May 2023,
as reported by WHO (1). On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared
it as a pandemic (2). Despite substantial efforts to manage and control the pandemic, morbidity,
and mortality due to COVID-19 and its variants have led to significant alterations in daily
life. Continuous viral evolution, the lack or limited availability of vaccines, and wave after
wave of outbreaks have posed significant challenges to resource-limited countries such as
Nepal in responding to the pandemic Nepal detected its first COVID-19 case on 23 January
2020,when a 31-year-old student, who had returned to Kathmandu from Wuhan on 9 January
2019, tested positive for the disease. On 4 April 2020, the first locally transmitted case was
diagnosed in Kailali District and the first death occurred on 14 May 2019[3]. Since then, the
number of cases has increased dramatically to 1003,307 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with
12,031 deaths, as reported to WHO. As of 23 May 2023, a total of 61,933,902 vaccine doses
have been administered in Nepal [4].
There has been a high influx of publications on the COVID-19 worldwide since its
origin. Nepal too had a substantial number of publications on the same, and there was a need
to track the most relevant and impactful to the scientific community through bibliometric
analysis.High-cited papers provide interesting information about the contributors, articles and
topics which are influential in the research community during a certain period and have a
greater chance of visibility, thus attracting greater attention among researchers [5]. Evaluating
the top cited publications content is therefore very useful for obtaining information about the
trends of specific fields in the perspective of research progress [6]
Although many bibliometric studies have been performed in relation to COVID-19 in
general [6] but specific subject of the Covid-19 research in Nepal has so far attracted
comparatively less attention from researchers. A few bibliometric studies have been published
on assessment of global Covid-19 research literature in South Asia countries [7-11], which
make the quantitative and qualitative assessment by way of analyzing various features of
research output and citations. Although one study by Raut, Sah et al [12] has examined Covid-
19 publications in Nepal, but it covered only 72 indexed publications from Scopus database
published till 17 July 2020.
Keeping the above mentioned literature gap in Nepal Covid-19 research in view, we
decided to undertake the present study focusing on the analysis of top 100 high-cited papers
published on Covid-19 research in Nepal till 16.5.2023 as reported in Scopus database. The
main objectives of the present study are to study the trends and general characteristics of
literature in Covid-19 in Nepal, identify the major players (organizations and authors), major
themes being persued using significant keywords and leading channels of communications,
besides understanding the co-occurrence of significant keywords.
2. Methods
Studies published between December 2019 and 16.5.2023 on Covid-19 research from Nepal
were retrieved from the Scopus database using a pre-defined search strategy. From the 1157
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al

45
studies retrieved, 100 were identified and assumed as high-cited papers (HCPs) having 31 or
more citations. From the 100 HCPs, information about publications outputs, c such as countries,
institutions, journals, keywords, citation counts, collaboration, funding, document and source
type was identified. Data analysis and visualization were conducted using Microsoft Excel,
VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R software.
TITLE-ABS-KEY (“COVID 19” OR “2019 novel coronavirus” OR “coronavirus 2019” OR
“SARS-CoV-2” OR “SARS-CoV 2” OR “coronavirus disease 2019” OR “2019-novel CoV”
OR “2019 ncov” OR “COVID 2019” OR “corona virus 2019” OR “nCoV-2019” OR ncov2019
OR “nCoV 2019” OR 2019-ncov OR covid-19 OR “Severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2” OR “Novel Coronavirus”) AND (LIMIT-TO (AFFILCOUNTRY , “Nepal”)).
3. Results
3.1 Overall Picture
Of the 1157 papers indexed in Scopus database on Covid-19 in Nepal till 16.5.2023, the top
100 (9.46%) high-cited papers registered 31 to 1507 citations, averaging 118.55 CPP. The top
100 HCPs, consists of 52 articles, 24 reviews, 13 letters, 7 editorials, 3 notes and 1 short
survey. Yearwise distribution of top 100 HCPs indicate 59 papers in 2020, 33 papers in 2021
and 8 papers in 2022. Of the top 100 HCPs, 85 HCPs involve international collaboration
(ICPs) and they together registered 11003 citations, averaging 129.45 CPP. Among ICPs, the
largest participation comes from India (n=50), followed by USA (N=35), U.K. (n=31), Saudi
Arabia (n=28), Colombia and Australia (n=26 each), China (n=22), Japan and Pakistan (n=13
each), Bangladesh (n=14), et al. Of the top 100 HCPs, only 29 received external funding
support from international and national agencies and they together received 3931 citations,
averaging 135.55 CPP. The major agencies supporting external funded research include
National Institutes of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations and National Health & Medical
Research Council (5 papers each), The Wellcome Trust and US Agency for International
Development(3 papers each), Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Medical Research
Council (2 papers each), etc.
By type of research, it was observed that epidemiology research contributed the largest share
(25.0%) in 100 HCPs, followed by clinical studies (19.0%), pathophysiology (10.0%), risk
factors (9.0%), complications (5.0%) and genetics (2.0%)
By type of population group studied, it was observed that adults constituted the largest share
(23.0%) in top 100 HCPs, followed by middle aged (13.0%), child & adolescents (10.0%)
and aged (9.0%).
3.2 Analysis by Broad and Narrow Subjects
3.21 Broad Subjects
By classifying top 100 HCPs by Scopus subject categories, it was observed that Medicine
contributed the largest share (75.0%), followed byBiochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology
(15.0%), Immunology & Microbiology (9.0%), Neuroscience (7.0%), etc. In terms of citation
impact, Veterinary Science registered the highest (189.0) citations per paper and Social Sciences
the least (41.83) (Table 1).
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research

46
S.No Name of broad subject* TP TC CPP %TP
1 Medicine 75 9649 128.65 75.00
2 Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology 15 1468 97.87 15.00
3 Immunology & Microbiology 9 622 69.11 9.00
4 Neuroscience 7 1010 144.29 7.00
5 Social Sciences 6 251 41.83 6.00
6 Agricultural & biological Sciences 6 285 47.50 6.00
7 Pharmacology, Toxicology & Pharmaceutics 3 316 105.33 3.00
8 Computer Science 3 131 43.67 3.00
9 Psychology 3 246 82.00 3.00
10 Veterinary Science 1 189 189.00 1.00
Nepal Total 100 11855 118.55
TP= Total papers; TC=Total citations; CPP=Citations per paper
There is an overlapping of literature under various subjects and as a result there
some total is more than 100%
3.2.2. Significant Keywords
A total of 1813 keywords were identified from the 100 HCPs on Covid-19 research in
Bangladesh. The frequency of occurrence of keywords indicates their importance in this area.
The analysis of 1813 keywords revealed a lack of research focus and continuity, with the
majority of keywords (93.77%) occurring only 1-4 times.The 36 significant keywords selected
with a frequency of 5 or more from 1686 keywords are presented in Table 2. Here keywords
are arranged by number of occurrences. The leading significant keywords were: “Coronavirus
Disease 2019” (n=69), “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome” (n=48) “Virus Pneumonia”
(n=31), “Virology” (n=17), “Disease Transmission” (n=14), “Prevention & Control” (n=13),
“Vaccination” (n=11), etc.
The analysis of 1813 keywords revealed a lack of research focus and continuity, with
the majority of keywords (93.77%) occurring only 1-4 times. To further explore the thematic
clusters, a co-occurrence network of selected keywords was visualized in Figure 1. The network
consisted of 37 nodes connected by 418 links, with a total of 1229 link strengths. This
visualization provides valuable insights into the main topics within the research field. Four
clusters, represented by different colors, were identified: red (medical aspects), green (clinical
aspects), blue (psychological and social aspects), and yellow (preventive measures and
vaccination). The red cluster focused on understanding severe respiratory symptoms, with
keywords like “severe acute respiratory syndrome,” “Hydroxychloroquine,” and “Virus
Replication” being prominent. The green cluster highlighted respiratory complications and
mechanical ventilation, while the blue cluster explored disease transmission and the
Table 1. Distribution of Papers by Broad Subjects
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al

47
psychological impact of quarantine. The yellow cluster emphasized coronavirus disease
prevention, control, and vaccination. Overall, these findings indicate a lack of research focus
but provide insights into different aspects of Covid-19 research.
Table 2: Selected Keywords
S No Keyword Occ TLS Cluster color S No Keyword Occ TLS Cluster color
1 Severe Acute 48 249 Red 19 Coughing 7 41 Green
Respiratory Syndrome
2 Hydroxychloroquine 9 80 Red 20 Zoonosis 7 47 Green
3 Virus Replication 8 57 Red 21 Artificial 6 35 Green
Ventilation
4 Angiotensin 7 53 Red 22 Diagnosis 6 51 Green
Converting Enzyme 2
5 Antivirus Agent 7 51 Red 23 Intensive 6 44 Green
Care Unit
6 Adult Respiratory 6 45 Red 24 Dyspnea 5 47 Green
Distress Syndrome
7 Immunology 6 43 Red 25 Hospitalization 5 34 Green
8 Remdesivir 6 54 Red 26 Zoonoses 5 32 Green
9 C Reactive Protein 5 33 Red 27 Disease 14 86 Blue
Transmission
10 Drug Therapy 5 31 Red 28 Quarantine 12 74 Blue
11 Favipiravir 5 48 Red 29 Psychology 8 32 Blue
12 Immune Response 5 31 Red 30 Mental Health 6 29 Blue
13 Lopinavir Plus 5 47 Red 31 Anxiety 5 18 Blue
Ritonavir
14 Tocilizumab 5 46 Red 32 Gene Sequence 5 34 Blue
15 Virus Pneumonia 33 180 Green 33 Coronavirus 92 340 Yellow
Disease 2019
16 Pneumonia, Viral 29 149 Green 34 Prevention And 13 61 Yellow
Control
17 Virology 17 102 Green 35 Vaccination 11 41 Yellow
18 Pathology 8 65 Green 36 Infection 6 31 Yellow
Prevention
OCCUR=Number of Occurrences of keywords; TLS=Total link strength
Figure 1: Selected all keywords network
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research

48
3.3. Most Productive Journals
The 100 Nepal High-Cited Papers (HCPs) in Covid-19 were published in 70 journals. The
distribution of HCPs by reporting journals is widely scattered, i.e., 54 journals published one
paper each, 8 journals published 2 papers each, 6 journals published 3 papers each and 2
journals published 4 and 8 papers each respectively. The top 16 journals (Table 3) published
2 to 8 papers and together published 46 papers and 6929 citations, accounting for 46.0% and
58.45% share in Nepal total HCPs and their citations. Among the top 16 journals, the journal
“Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease” emerges as the most productive journal with eight
publications and a significant total citation count of 2087. It also exhibits a high citation per
paper (CPP) value of 260.875, indicating the impact and recognition of the published research.
“Frontiers in Public Health” follows closely with four publications and 447 citations, with a
corresponding CPP of 111.750. Similarly, “Anna ls of Clinica l Microbiology and
Antimicrobials,” “Asian Journal of Psychiatry,” and “Infezioni in Medicina” showcase three
publications each, with varying citation counts and CPP values (Table 3).
Noteworthy journals such as “Plos One,” “Psychiatry Research,” and “The Lancet”
also demonstrate impactful research, each with three publications and notable citation counts.
“The Lancet” stands out as a prominent multidisciplinary journal with a diverse range of
research topics. Other journals in the list, including “Agricultural Systems,” “Critical Care,”
“Journal of Travel Medicine,” and “Leukemia,” among others, contribute to the research
landscape within their respective fields. While they may have a smaller number of publications,
their citation counts and impact indicators suggest a considerable influence on the scholarly
community (Table 3).
Journals like “Nature Medicine,” “New England Journal of Medicine,” “Pathogens,”
and “The Lancet Psychiatry” showcase higher citation counts and CPP values, indicating
their importance in the field of medicine and biomedical research. Among the 70 journals, 15
met the threshold. These 15 journals are scattered in 7 different colored clusters with 19 links
and 28 total link strengths (Figure 2).
Table 3: Most Productive Journals
Journal Name TP TC CPP
1 Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease 8 2087 260.875
2 Frontiers In Public Health 4 447 111.750
3 Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials 3 206 68.667
4 Asian Journal of Psychiatry 3 245 81.667
5 Infezioni In Medicina 3 628 209.333
6 Plos One 3 149 49.667
7 Psychiatry Research 3 302 100.667
8 The Lancet 3 249 83.000
9 Agricultural Systems 2 110 55.000
10 Critical Care 2 154 77.000
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al

49
Journal Name TP TC CPP
11 Journal of Travel Medicine 2 78 39.000
12 Leukemia 2 197 98.500
13 Nature Medicine 2 485 242.500
14 New England Journal of Medicine 2 897 448.500
15 Pathogens 2 123 61.500
16 The Lancet Psychiatry 2 572 286.000
Total of 16 journals 46 6929 150.63
Nepal total of HCPs 100 11855 118.55
Share of top 24 journals in Nepal 100 HCps 46.0 58.45
TP= Total papers; TC=Total citations; CPP=Citations per paper
Figure 2- Co-citation Network of Journals
3.4. Most Productive & Impactful Authors
In all 115 Nepalese authors participated in Nepal Covid-19 research, of which 94
contributed 1 papers each, 13 authors 2 papers each, 5 authors 3 papers each and 1 author
each 4 and 5 papers and 1 author 22 papers. The top 21 authors individually contributed 2 to
22 papers and these together contributed 72papers and 9464 citations, accounting for 72.0%
and 79.83% share each in global publications and citations of Nepal HCPs. On further analysis,
it was observed that 3 authors contributed more than the average group productivity (3.43) of
all 21 authors: R. Sah (n=22), P. Sharma (n=5) and C.L. Ranabhat (n=4). Five authors have
registered citations per paper and relative citation index above the group average (131.44 and
1.11) of all 21 authors: B.R. Shrestha (479.5 and 4.04), D. Aryal (335.0 and 2.83), M. Chatterjee
(171.33 and 1.45), R. Sah (71.09 and 1.44) and G.S. Shrestha (138.0 and 1.16). Table 4 presents
the bibliometric profile of top 21 most productive authors having published 2 or more papers.
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research

50
The national collaboration among top 21 authors is very weaks. Only few authors have only
one to one bilateral collaborative link among themselves.
S.No Author Af filiation TP TC CPP RCI
1 Sah R Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, 22 3764 171.09 1.44
Kathmandu
2 Sharma P Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur 5 474 94.80 0.80
3 Ranabhat, C.L. Global Center for Research & Development, 4 224 56.00 0.47
Kathmandu
4 Rayamajhee B Kathmandu Research Institute for Biological 3 251 83.67 0.71
Sciences
5 Chatterjee JM Lord Buddha Education Foundation, Kathmandu 3 514 171.33 1.45
6 Aryal D Nepal Intensive Care Research Foundation, 3 1005 335.00 2.83
Kathmandu
7 S. Shrestha National Health Research & Innovation 3 107 35.67 0.30
Foundation, Lalitpur
8 Shrestha, A National Cancer Hospital & Research Center, 3 235 78.33 0.66
Lalitpur
9 Shrestha, B.R. Kathmandu Medical College & Teaching 2 959 479.50 4.04
Hospital
10 Bastola, A Sukraraj Tropical & Infectious Disease Hospital, 2 260 130.00 1.10
Kathmandu
11 G. Rasul International Center for Integrated Mountain 2 106 53.00 0.45
Development, Kathmandu
12 Shrestha, G.S Tribhvan University Teaching Hospital 2 276 138.00 1.16
13 Shrestha, D.B. Mangalbare Hospital 2 102 51.00 0.43
14 S.Bhattarai Global Institute of Interdisclinary Studies 2 167 83.50 0.70
15 B.K. Lal Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, 2 260 130.00 1.10
Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepa
16 R.M. Mehta National Public Health Laboratory, Kathmandu 2 73 36.50 0.31
17 H.C.Ojha Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, 2 260 130.00 1.10
Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepa
18 K.K. Aryal Abt Associates Nepal, Lalitpur 2 80 40.00 0.34
19 Dhungane, P Far Western University, Mahendragarh 2 166 83.00 0.70
20 Mahotra, N.B. Tribhuvan University, Department of Clinical 2 80 40.00 0.34
Physiology, Kathmandu
21 Subedi, A Tribhuvan University Teaching Hosp, Institute 2 101 50.50 0.43
of Medicine, Kathmandu
Total of top 21 authors 72 9464 131.44 1.11
Nepal total of HCPs 100 11855 118.55 1.00
Share of 21 authors in Nepal 100 HCPs 72.0 79.83
TP= Total papers; TC=Total citations; CPP=Citations per paper; RCI=Relative citation index
Table 4: Bibliometric Profile of Top 21 Authors (2 or more papers)
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al

51
S.No Name of the author Affilaition of the author TP TC CPP
1 A.J. Rodriquez- Fundacion Universitaria Autonoma des las Americas, 19 3593 189.11
Columbia
2 A.A.Rabaan John Hopkins Aramvo Healthcare, Saudi Arabia 14 3078 219.86
3 K.Dhama Indian Veterinary Research institute, Bareilly, India 11 2836 257.82
4 R. Tiwari Indian Veterinary Research institute, Bareilly, India 9 1217 135.22
5 S.K.Patel Indian Veterinary Research institute, Bareilly, India 6 550 91.67
6 M.Pathak Indian Veterinary Research institute, Bareilly, India 6 550 91.67
6 M.I. Yatoo Indian Veterinary Research institute, Bareilly, India 5 804 160.80
7 S.M.Y.Arafat Enam Medical College & Hospital, Bangladesh 5 473 94.60
8 S.K.Kar King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, India 5 473 94.60
9 R.Kabir Anglia Ruskin University, Bangladesh 4 418 104.50
10 S. Shrestha Monash University, Malaysia 3 110 36.67
11 D.Aryal Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands 3 1019 339.67
12 A.Paniz-Monddolfi Hopital Infantil de Mexico, Mexico 3 1796 598.67
TP= Total papers; TC=Total citations; CPP=Citations per paper
3.4.1.Role of Foreign Authors
Since of 85% of the Nepal HCPs in covid-19 involve international collaboration, it will be
useful to identify top 12 most collaborative foreign authors collaborating most with Nepal
authors. These 12 foreign authors are listed in Table 5.Since of 85% of the Nepal HCPs in
covid-19 involve international collaboration, it will be useful to identify top 12 foreign authors
collaborating most with Nepal authors. These 12 foreign authors are listed in Table 7. By
publication productivity, the largest contribution (n=19 each) were made by A.J. Rodriquez-
Morales, followed by A.A.Rabaan (n=14), K.Dhama (n=11) and R. Tiwari (n=9). K.Dhama
registered the highest (257.82) citation per paper among the top 12 foreign authors A.Paniz-
Monddolfi registered the highest (598.67) citation per paper among the top 12 foreign authors,
followed by by K. Dhama (257.82), A.A.Rabaan (219.86), A.J. Rodriquez-Morales (189.11).
John Hopkins Aramvo Healthcare, Saudi Arabia (207.4).
Table 5. List of Foreign Authors Most Actively Collaborating with Nepalese Authors
3.5 Most Productive & Impactful Organizations
In all 65 Nepalese organizations participated in Nepal Covid-19 research, of which 35
organizations contributed 1 paper each, 14 organizations 2 papers each, 11 organizations 3
papers each, 2 organizations 4 papers each and 1 author each 5, 20 and 36 papers each. The
top 30 organizations individually contributed 2 to 36 papers and these together contributed
130 papers and 16166 citations, accounting for more than 100.0% share each in Nepal
publications and citations from HCPs. On further analysis, it was observed that 3 organizations
contributed more than the average group productivity (4.33) of all 30 organizations: Tribhuvan
University(n=36), Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (n=20) and Patan Academy of
Health Sciences, Lalitpur (n=5). Nine organizations have registered citations per paper and
relative citation index above the group average (124.35 and 1.05) of all 30 organizations:
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research

52
S No Affiliation TP TC CPP RCI
1 Tribhuvan University 36 4682 130.06 1.10
2 Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital 20 3425 171.25 1.44
3 Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur 5 525 105.00 0.89
4 Chitwan Medical College, Bhatatpur 4 166 41.50 0.35
5 Global Center for Research & Development, Kathmandu 4 249 62.25 0.53
6 National Public Health Laboratory, Kathmandu 3 132 44.00 0.37
7 Policy Research Institute, Kathmandu 3 206 68.67 0.58
8 Kathmandu Research Institute of Biological Sciences 3 251 83.67 0.71
9 Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu 3 307 102.33 0.86
10 Nepal Cancer Hospital & Research Center, Lalitpur 3 283 94.33 0.80
11 Lod Buddha Education Foundation 3 514 171.33 1.45
12 Ministry of Health & Population 3 327 109.00 0.92
13 International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, 3 162 54.00 0.46
Kathmandu
14 National Health Research & Innovation Foundation, Lalitpur 3 107 35.67 0.30
15 KIST Medical College & Teaching Hospital, Lalitpur 3 172 57.33 0.48
16 Nepal Medicity Hospital 3 900 300.00 2.53
17 Sukraraj Tropical & Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kathmandu 2 262 131.00 1.11
18 Golden Community, Research Center 2 265 132.50 1.12
19 Epidemiology & Disease Control Division, Govt. of Nepal 2 260 130.00 1.10
20 B.P. Koirala Institute of Medical Sciences, Dharan 2 97 48.50 0.41
21 Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital & 2 92 46.00 0.39
Research Center, Pokharan
22 National Academy of Medical Sciences 2 178 89.00 0.75
23 Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences 2 159 79.50 0.67
24 Nepal Intensive Care Research Foundation 2 897 448.50 3.78
25 Kathmandu Medical College & Teaching Hospital 2 959 479.50 4.04
26 Mangalbare Hospital 2 102 51.00 0.43
27 Global Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies 2 80 40.00 0.34
28 Abt Associates Nepal, Lalitpur 2 80 40.00 0.34
29 Far Western University, Mahendragarh 2 166 83.00 0.70
30 Kathmandu University, Palpa 2 161 80.50 0.68
130 16166 124.35 1.05
100 11855 118.55 1.00
TP= Total papers; TC=Total citations; CPP=Citations per paper; RCI=Relative citation index
Kathmandu Medical College & Teaching Hospital (479.5 and 4.04), Nepal Intensive Care
Research Foundation (448.5 and 3.78), Nepal Medicity Hospital (300.0 and 2.53), Lord Buddha
Education Foundation (171.33 and 1.45), Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (17.25 and
1.44), Golden Community, Research Center (132.5 and 1.12), Sukraraj Tropical & Infectious
Diseases Hospital, Kathmandu (131.0 and 1.11), Tribhuvan University (130.06 and 1.10) and
Epidemiology & Disease Control Division, Govt. of Nepal (130.0 and 1.10). Table 6 presents
the bibliometric profile of top 30 most productive organizations having published 2 or more
papers.
Table 6. Bibliometric Profile of Top 30 Organizations (2 or more papers)
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al

53
3.5.1. Role of Foreign Organizations
Since of 85% of the Nepal HCPs in covid-19 involve international collaboration, it will be
useful to identify top 10 foreign organizations collaborating most with Nepal organizations.
These 10 foreign organizations are listed in Table 7. By publication productivity, the largest
contribution (n=19 each) were made by Fundacion Universitaria Autonoma des las Americas,
Columbia and Universidad Technologica Tribhuvan Perreira, Columbia, followed by John
Hopkins Aramvo Healthcare, Saudi Arabia (n=15), Indian Veterinary Research Institute,
Bareilly, India (n=12), University of Oxford, U.K (n=11) and UNSW, Sydney, Australia (n=10
Universidad Cientifica del Sur registered the highest (447.25) citation per paper among the
top 10 foreign organizations, followed by Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly
(238.42), University of Toronto, Canada (225.86). John Hopkins Aramvo Healthcare, Saudi
Arabia (207.4),
Table 7. List of Foreign Organizations Most Actively Collaborating with Nepalese
Organizations
S.No Name of the organization TP TC CPP
1 Fundacion Universitaria Autonoma des las Americas, Columbia 19 3439 181.00
2 Universidad Technologica Tribhuvan Perreira, Columbia 19 3548 186.74
3 John Hopkins Aramvo Healthcare, Saudi Arabia 15 3111 207.40
4 Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, India 12 2861 238.42
5 University of Oxford, U.K. 11 1828 166.18
6 UNSW, Sydney, Australia 10 794 79.40
7 Harvard Medical School, USA 9 1487 165.22
8 University of Toronto, Canada 7 1581 225.86
9 Mahidol University, Thailand 7 454 64.86
10 Universidad Cientifica del Sur 4 1789 447.25
TP= Total papers; TC=Total citations; CPP=Citations per paper
3.6. Top 10 High Cited Papers
These 100 HCPS fall in following citation range: 38 papers (31-50 citations range), 26 papers
(51-100 citations), 34 papers (101-500 citations) and 2 papers (916-1507 citations). The paper
with themost number of citations was 1512 times by Rodriguez-Morales et al. and was published
inTravel Medicine and Infectious Disease(IF 4.589). This was followedby the article by
Phua et al., in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine(IF25.09).Thisarticlewascited
920 times to date. A list of top 10 most high-cited papers are given in Table. Most of the top 10
HCPs involve international collaboration and received international funding and were published
in journals with high impact factor.
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research

54
4. Summary & Conclusion
This study provided an insight into understanding of research status including trends and the
most influential contributions. It has identified the leading countries, institutions, journals, hotspots
and development trend in the field that could provide the foundation for further investigations.
The bibliometric analysis will help the clinicians to rapidly identify the potential collaborative
partners, identify significant studies, and research topics within their domains of Covid-19
research in BangladeshThe above study examined top 100 high-cited papers in Covid-19
research in Nepal, focusing on the trends and characteristics of research, by identifying the
main and sub-type types of subjects contributing to Covid-19 research and their distribution by
type of research and population age groups. More than 75% of literature in Covid-19 research
S.No Name of authors Title Source TC
1 Rodriguez-Morales, Clinical, laboratory and imaging features Travel Medicine and
A.J, Bonilla-Aldana, of Covid-19: A systematic review and Infectious 1512
D.K, Sah, R et al meta-analysis Disease,2020, 34, art.
no. 101623,
2 Phua, J., Shrestha, Intensive care management of coronavirus The Lancet Respiratory
B.R. et al disease 2019 (COVID-19): challenges Medicine, 2020, 8(5), 920
recommendations
3 Goligher, E.C, Aryal, Therapeutic anticoagulation with heparin New England Journal
D et al. in critically ill patients with covid-19 of Medicine, 2021, 385 460
(9), pp. 777-789
4 Lawler, P.R, Aryal, D Therapeutic anticoagulation with heparin New England Journal
et al. in noncritically ill patients with Covid-19 of Medicine, 2021, 385 444
(9), pp. 790-802
Solis Arce, J.S. Covid-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy Nature Medicine, 2021,
5 Kharel, A et al. in low and middle-income countries 27 (8), pp. 1385-1394 432
Rabaan, A.A., Sah, R SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS Infezioni in Medicina,
6 et al. CoV : A comparative overview 2020, 28 (2), pp. 174 401
184
Suicide trends in the early months of the
7 Pirkis, J., Marahatta, Covid-19 pandemic : an interrupted time The Lancet Psychiatry,
K et al. series analysis of preliminary data 21 2021, 8 (7), pp.579- 327
countries
Iwendi, C., COVID-19 patient health prediction using Frontiers in Public
8 Chatterjee, J.M et al. boosted random forest algorithm Health, 2020, 8, art. no. 254
357
Kola, L, Luitel, N.P Covid-19 mental health impact and Kola, L, Luitel, N.P et
et al responses in low-income and middle- al
9 income countries: reimagining global The Lancet Psychiatry, 246
mental health 2021, 8 (6), pp.535-
550
Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic
KC, A, Gurung, R., response on intrapartum care, stilbirth, and The Lancet Global
10 Sunny, A.K. Basnet, neonatal mortality outcomes in Nepal: a Health, 2020, 8 (10), 227
O et la prospective observational study pp. e1273-11281
Table 8. List of Top 10 HCPs
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al

55
involved foreign collaboration and as a result the author identified leading foreign organizations
and authors participation in Covid-19 research from Nepal. The study also identified the leading
organizations and authors participating in Covid-19 research in Nepal, besides identifying leading
journals publishing research in this area.
At the institutional level, Tribhuvan University, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital
and Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur were the most productive organizations
(n=36, 20 and 5) and Kathmandu Medical College & Teaching Hospital (479.5 and 4.04),
Nepal Intensive Care Research Foundation (448.5 and 3.78), Nepal Medicity Hospital (300.0
and 2.53) received the highest CPP and RCI. At the author level, R. Sah, P. Sharma and C.L.
Ranabhat were the most productive authors (n=22, 5 and 4) and B.R. Shrestha (479.5 and
4.04), D. Aryal (335.0 and 2.83) and M. Chatterjee (171.33 and 1.45) were the most impact
authors in terms of CPP and RCI. At the journal level, Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease,
Frontiers in Public Health, Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials and Asian
Journal of Psychiatry were the most productive journals (n=8, 4, 3 and 3) and The Lancet
Psychiatry (286.0), Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease (260.87), Frontiers In Public Health
(111.75) and Psychiatry Research (100.67) were the most impactful in terms of CPP.
The analysis of HCPs on Nepal HCPs on Covid-19 suggests that the epidemiology
and clinical studies were the most researched areas (with 25.0% and 19.0% publication share).
The priorities were also studies through their distribution by population age groups. Here the
most researched groups were adults and middle aged (23.0% and 13.0%). There is a limitation
in the study, as only Scopus database was only searched. It may be possible that some potentially
valuable information may have been missed. However, use of multiple databases may lead to
other difficulties of merging existing data in different databases, which pose significant problems.
In this bibliometric study, we identified and analysed the top 1006 high-cited publications
on Nepal Covid-19 research from 1157 papers indexed in Scopus Database since the origin if
Covid-19 virus till beginning of May 2023. The research is widely scattered as few organizations
and authors contributing the most. Most of the funding received came from foreign agencies
and 75% of total research involved international collaboration. In order to improve research
environment and research output, one needs to encourage the government to invest more in
R&D and also increase substantially national collaboration among various partcipitating
organizations.
References
1. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Overview.24 May 2023. https://
covid19.who.int/
2. WHO. Situation Reports. (2021). Available online at: https://www.who.int/docs/default-
source/coronaviruse/wou_2021_ 1March2021.pdf?sfvrsn =18b1db33_1 & download=
true
3. Shrestha R, Shrestha S, Khanal P, et al. Nepal’s first case of COVID-19 and public
health response. J Med 2020;27:taaa024. doi:10.1093/jtm/taaa024Google Scholar
4. WHO Coronavirus (Covid-19) Dashboard. Nepal.24 May 2023. https://covid19.who.int/
5. Fardi A. Top-cited articles in endodontic journals. J Endo. 2011;37(9):1183-90.
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
Scientometric Analysis of Top 100 High Cited Papers on COVID-19 Research

56
6. Gupta BM, Dhawan SM, Ahmed KK Mueen, Mamdapur Ghouse Modin. Global research
on Covid-19 disease: A scientific assessment of publications during 2020-21.
International Journal of Medicine and Public Health. 2021;11(2):76-84
7. Gupta, B. M., Dhawan, S. M. and Surulinathi, M. Select South Asian Countries in
Covid-19 Research: A Bibliometric Assessment of their Publications during 2019-21.
Journal of Young Pharmacists, 2021, 13(3S), s19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5530/
jyp.2021.13s.67
8. Koser, N.(2022). Bibliometric analysis of contribution of South Asian Countries in
research conducted on Covid-19. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
and Explorer, 2(11), 25- 38. https://doi.org/10.1212/IJMRE.2022685715
9. Gupta, B.M. (2021). India’s Research on Covid-19: A Scientometric Assessment of
Publications 2019-21. J Young Pharm, 13(3), S30-S41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5530/
jyp.2021.13s.68
10. Shah, S.A.H.; & Shaikh, A. (2020). COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) and bibliometrics of
Pakistani research. Lambert Academic Publishing
11. Gupta, B. M., Kappi, M., Walke, R., & Bansal, M. Covid-19 research in Bangladesh: A
scientometric analysis during 2020-23. Iberoamerican Journal of Science Measurement
and Communication, 2023, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.47909/ijsmc.445
12. Raut, R., Sah, R., Dixit, K., Rodriguez-Morales, A. J., Marco, Z., Dhama, K., and Lee,
A. A review of the scientific contributions of Nepal on Covid-19. Current Tropical
Medicine Reports, 2021, 1-8, 257-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-021-00247 DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-021-00247-0
Indian Journal of Information Library & Society, 36, 1-2 (2023) : 43-56
B.M. Gupta, at al