Department of Industrial Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
Department of Safety Science and Engineering, School of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 7;17(9):3255. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17093255.
Risk communication is a significant research domain with practical importance in supporting societal risk governance and informed private decision making. In this article, a high-level analysis of the risk communication research domain is performed using scientometrics methods and visualization tools. Output trends and geographical patterns are identified, and patterns in scientific categories determined. A journal distribution analysis provides insights into dominant journals and the domain's intellectual base. Thematic clusters and temporal evolution of focus topics are obtained using a terms analysis, and a co-citation analysis provides insights into the evolution of research fronts and key documents. The results indicate that the research volume grows exponentially, with by far most contributions originating from Western countries. The domain is highly interdisciplinary, rooted in psychology and social sciences, and branching mainly into medicine and environmental sciences. Narrative themes focus on risk communication in medical and societal risk governance contexts. The domain originated from public health and environmental concerns, with subsequent research fronts addressing risk communication concepts and models. Applied research fronts are associated with environmental hazards, public health, medical risks, nuclear power, and emergency response to various natural hazards. Based on the results, various avenues for future research are described.
风险沟通是一个具有重要实践意义的研究领域，对于支持社会风险治理和知情的私人决策至关重要。本文采用科学计量学方法和可视化工具，对风险沟通研究领域进行了高层次的分析。确定了输出趋势和地理模式，并确定了科学类别的模式。期刊分布分析提供了对主导期刊和该领域知识基础的洞察。通过术语分析获得了主题集群和焦点主题的时间演变，共被引分析提供了对研究前沿和关键文献演变的洞察。结果表明，研究数量呈指数级增长，迄今为止，绝大多数贡献来自西方国家。该领域高度跨学科，植根于心理学和社会科学，主要分支为医学和环境科学。叙述主题侧重于医学和社会风险治理背景下的风险沟通。该领域起源于公共卫生和环境问题，随后的研究前沿涉及风险沟通概念和模型。应用研究前沿与环境危害、公共卫生、医疗风险、核能以及各种自然灾害的应急响应有关。基于这些结果，描述了未来研究的各种途径。
