Beyond the numbers: Unveiling trends and patterns in inclusive higher education research

Abstract This study conducted a systematic and comprehensive examination of the existing literature using bibliometric and science mapping analysis, identifying the volume and growth of research over time, key themes, influential authors and geographic contributions to the field. Bibliometric data for the present study was gathered from the Scopus database using appropriate keywords whereby a total of 2176 publications were retrieved and included in the analysis. The analysis was conducted using VOSViewer while certain graphs were produced using Microsoft Excel. While a geometric increase in the volume of publications is identified, the average citation remained more or less constant between one and two citations. While the major global contributors were the US, the UK and Spain, contributions from Russia, South Africa, Brazil and India are noteworthy. Florian, Sharma and Moriña were the three most influential authors in terms of citations. As for the major themes of knowledge, (i) provision of education to the disabled and special needs, (ii) provision of education in an inclusive setting and (iii) initial teacher preparation and learning design are significant. These are potential areas which can be further explored in future research.