Four and a Half Decades of Quantitative Science Studies: A Multidimensional Bibliometric Assessment of the Journal Scientometrics (1978–2025)

This study presents a comprehensive, multidimensional bibliometric assessment of the journal Scientometrics (Springer/Akadémiai Kiadó), which was founded in 1978 and is evaluated here using a Scopus-derived dataset of 7,779 records covering the publication years 1979-2025-the full span of Scopus-indexed content available as of 8 May 2026.The investigation systematically analyses research output dynamics, authorship patterns, citation behaviour, institutional and country-level contributions, major funding sponsors, document typology, and evolving research themes.The total publication output grew from 16 papers in 1979 to a peak of 450 in 2021, accumulating 295,024 citations and yielding an overall dataset h-index of 179.The Degree of Collaboration increased markedly from 33.33% in the 1979-1988 period to 86.83% in 2019-2025, evidencing the globalisation of quantitative science studies.Four and A Half Decades of Quantitative Science Studies: A Multidimensional Bibliometric Assessment of the Journal Scientometrics (1978-2025) https://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJSIM 2 editor@iaeme.comChina (16.71%) and the United States (13.82%) collectively lead national contributions.The most cited paper in the corpus-the VOSviewer software survey by van Eck and Waltman (2010) with 16,764 citations-underscores the central role of bibliometric instrumentation in shaping the field's citation landscape.Keyword analysis reveals sustained dominance of bibliometrics, citation analysis, and the hindex, with emerging themes including altmetrics, open access, and research integrity.The findings collectively affirm the journal's status as the pre-eminent international venue for quantitative science studies and provide a longitudinal empirical baseline for future editorial and policy assessments.