Title: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of signature verification spanning four decades

Authors: Sameera Khan; Dileep Kumar Singh

Addresses: Vardhaman College of Engineering, Hyderabad, Telangana, India ' Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Abstract: This article conducts a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis spanning four decades of research in the field of signature verification (SV). SV holds substantial significance in practical domains like finance, law enforcement, and document authentication. The primary objective of this study is to offer a comprehensive overview of SV's evolution, pinpoint research trends, and illuminate gaps within the existing literature. The review encompasses 1,552 studies published from 1982 to the present, with analysis focusing on various SV facets such as feature extraction, classification algorithms, datasets, evaluation metrics, and applications. The findings underscore substantial growth and diversification within the field, showcasing the development and testing of diverse approaches. Nevertheless, challenges such as the absence of standardised evaluation metrics and limited accessibility to public datasets emerge. The article concludes with a discourse on prospective directions for SV, considering the potential influence of emerging technologies like deep learning and biometric authentication on the field's future.

Keywords: signature verification; SV; bibliometric analysis; thematic evaluation; cluster analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBM.2025.145911

International Journal of Biometrics, 2025 Vol.17 No.3, pp.252 - 291

Received: 19 Sep 2023
Accepted: 15 Mar 2024
Published online: 30 Apr 2025 *

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