Using Web of Science to Analyze Research and Collaborations within the University of Arkansas College of Engineering via Microsoft Excel and VBA Programming

For bibliographic databases such as Web of Science (WoS), metadata can provide a wealth of information with minimal data analysis.Metadata for an article can reveal keywords, research areas, affiliations, and more.When considering the body of literature produced by an entire department or college, a clear view of research trends and multidisciplinary collaboration can be unveiled.The advanced search features of WoS, combined with the ability to export metadata as a Microsoft Excel file, allow for VBA programing to be used to perform a bibliometric analysis.Most engineers are highly proficient in MS Excel, making it an ideal data analytical tool.In this study, the eight departments within the University of Arkansas College of Engineering have been assessed.Using VBA, a program has been designed to take the raw data from the exported WoS file and condense the information into a more meaningful and helpful format.Trends regarding research areas, preferred journals, proficiency, and collaboration will be discussed.Quickly determining these trends would be advantageous to researchers seeking networking, incoming students seeking research areas, or businesses looking for areas excelling in a particular field.While this study only looks at one college within the University of Arkansas, it serves as a model for using WoS and MS Excel for bibliometric analysis.