Scholarly Mapping of Research Productivity of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka using Scopus Metrics

Universities are augmenting knowledge via high-caliber research publications, encouraging innovative methodologies, and enacting substantial reforms to facilitate national progress. Research productivity is widely acknowledged as a significant indicator of advancements in the quality of a university. The Eastern University, Sri Lanka (EUSL), established in 1986, has expanded with multiple faculties and actively engages in various research activities. Despite its academic endeavors, no formal assessment of its research productivity has been conducted. This study attempts to map the research productivity of EUSL based on the articles indexed in the Scopus database. The study employed bibliometric methods and VOS viewer network maps to analyze the data extracted from the Scopus database. It was found that total of 639 documents and 169 authors affiliated with EUSL (Scopus ID 60071086) from 1989 to 2023. The majority of publications are journal articles (85.2%), followed by conference papers (8.8%), reviews (2.4 %), book chapters (2%), Erratum (1.3%), Letter (0.2%) and Retracted (0.2%).
The growth rate of EUSL's publications was moderately progressive up to 2023, with a peak in 2021 and 2023 with 126 publications. Citations for the publications consistently increased from 1989 to 2023. The primary field of study for authors affiliated with EUSL is "Physics and Astronomy" with 312 articles, followed by "Chemistry" with 96 articles and 87 papers were published in “Materials Science”. The preferred journal for authors from EUSL is "Journal of High Energy Physics" (88 articles), followed by "Acta Crystallographica Section E Structure Reports Online" (43 articles). EUSL primarily contributed to the field of Physics, with less attention given to other disciplines especially Arts and Humanities. At the time authors in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Computing were contributing significantly to the university's research output. The study suggests that the academics of the EUSL should be encouraged to publish their research in reputed journals and international conferences. Also introducing faculty wise rewarding system for research publications, providing access to renowned databases, and subscribing anti-plagiarism software will enhance the research productivity of the university. Moreover, the library should take necessary steps to boost research productivity by offering workshops and fostering a research-oriented environment for the academics. University academics should also create profiles on research networks like Google Scholar, Research Gate, and Scopus to upsurge their visibility and university’s rank.