A Bibliometrics and Visual Analysis of Global Publications for Cognitive Map

Cognitive map is a comprehensive research field of many disciplines, such as psychology, geography, computer science, and sociology. This multidisciplinary synthesis reflects the complexity of the cognitive map itself, which until now has lacked a unified conceptual definition because of its complexity. The literature on cognitive maps is increasing yearly, but few bibliometric studies on cognitive maps exist. To fill this gap, this paper uses literature relations and visualization tools Biblioshiny, Origin, and VOSviewer software to review systematically, cluster, country, author cooperation, and keyword analysis of cognitive map documentation data in different fields to understand the study hotspots and development situation of cognitive maps in different disciplines. This research found that the number of documents published in the past five years (2018-2022) increased the most, with nearly a third of the total number of studies published. Cognitive maps mainly focused on four research areas: computer science, engineering electrical electronic, geography, neuroscience, and psychology. This study draws its scientific overview through bibliometrics, explores the global profile, theme change, and frontier trend of cognitive map research results, and provides the direction and way for future research.