Successful universities, popular research topics? The importance of topic definition in SciVal for international scientific publishing

Abstract

In today's dynamically changing international scientific environment, conscious planning is essential for researchers. This study seeks to provide ideas and suggestions for conscious planning, with particular regard to topic definition as a function of the SciVal research support tool. In the first part, the theoretical background and some significant processes are described, and key terms are clarified. In the second part, three case studies are presented to illustrate the role of publishing based on defining relevant topics. Finally, suggestions are formulated to help authors’ work towards a more conscious and better-organized publication pattern.