Themes and Trends in Global Maritime Journals Using Keyword Network Analysis

This study identifies research themes and trends of international journal data in global maritime affairs, fisheries, marine and transport policy, and logistics over the last 20 years from 2000 to 2020 using keyword network analysis through degree centrality. This study pays special attention to six different types of patterns through the Delta-C algorithm. First, we discuss highly remarkable research themes that are shared throughout all the three periods defined as Type A. Second, we focus on interest-increased, interest-decreased, and newly emerging research themes shown in the most recent period (the third period) from Type B to Type F. Finally, we show the networks of researchers and the distribution and network visualization of research nations. This study shows two new findings. First, in Type A representing consistently shared themes, the main research themes change from growth and fishery management in fisheries and sustainability and governance in maritime sectors in the 2000s; to growth and aquaculture in fisheries and accessibility, China and sustainability in maritime sectors in the early 2010s; and to aquaculture and growth in fisheries and accessibility, climate change, and China in maritime sectors in the late 2010s. Second, in Type F as new trends, the top 10 keywords in newly issues illustrate that issues surrounding climate change and Green House Gas emission attract more attention in the literature, the subjects of machine learning and artificial Intelligence (AI) become popular in accordance with the development of internet of things (IoT) in the late 2010s, and Belt-Road initiative demonstrates the enlargement of China’s economic potential in the 2010s.