Measuring the Research output of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), 2000-2024: A Bibliometric approach using Web of Science (WoS)

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the research output of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) from 2000 to 2024 using the Web of Science (WoS) database. The objectives were to examine publication growth, authorship and collaboration patterns, identify prolific authors and citation impact, map collaborative networks, and analyze subject wise research distribution. Addressing a notable research gap, this is the first institution specific bibliometric study on KDU. Data extracted on 27 March 2025 were analyzed using Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, and MS Excel. A total of 367 WoS indexed articles were published during the study period, with the first appearing in 2011. Research productivity increased significantly after 2011, accompanied by strong collaborative trends, as reflected in the rising collaboration coefficient from 0.50 in 2011 to 0.77 in 2024. Overall, 2,471 authors contributed to KDU‟s research output. De Silva, A.D. was identified as the most prolific author, with 35 publications, an h index of 14, and 921 citations.
Subject analysis revealed a focus on public, environmental, and occupational health; tropical medicine; science and technology; and immunology fields with the highest citation impact. Among the top ten cited papers, Science and Immunology ranked first. Funding support was primarily from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (31 publications), the National Research Council, Sri Lanka (21), and internationally by the National Institutes of Health, United States of America (22). The study highlights KDU‟s growing research productivity, expanding collaborations, and increasing global visibility. Recommendations include promoting publications in high impact journals, improving access to scholarly databases, and fostering a research oriented environment to enhance institutional ranking and policy development.