50 years of Computers & Operations Research: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Computers & Operations Research (COR) is a leading international journal in the field of Operations Research, established with a vision to provide a platform for emphasising and promoting the application of computers and operations research techniques to problems of world concern and general interest. The journal published its first issue in 1974 and in 2024 celebrated its 50th anniversary. Motivated by this special event, this paper aims to present a complete bibliometric overview of the most significant development patterns and trends of the journal during its first half-century of publishing history from 1974 to 2023. The study uses the Web of Science Core Collection database to collect bibliographic information and analyse the data, complemented by the Scopus database and the journal’s webpage. Based on a wide range of bibliometric indicators, the results of the bibliometric analysis highlight the publication and citation structure of COR, the most cited documents, the leading authors, institutions, countries/territories, and supranational regions, and the most popular keywords and research topics in the journal. Additionally, the work also graphically maps the bibliographic material with techniques of co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-occurrence of author keywords by using the Visualization of Similarities (VOS) viewer software. The findings of the study provide strong evidence of the significant growth of COR through its lifetime development and its international diversity having publications from all over the world. The study is also useful for understanding the substantial contributions of the journal it has made to the scientific community.