Title: Research on shipping studies

Authors: M.K. Michael Ng; Y.H. Venus Lun; Kee-hung Lai; T.C.E. Cheng

Addresses: Shipping Research Centre, Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' Shipping Research Centre, Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' Shipping Research Centre, Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' Shipping Research Centre, Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Abstract: Shipping research has proliferated significantly in recent years. Researchers have devoted considerable effort to advance the knowledge frontier of shipping studies as well as the theoretical foundation. Scholarly journal publications are important to facilitate knowledge sharing among researchers. This paper attempts to analyse the development, trends, and classifications of shipping studies. Another objective is to assess the impact of academic shipping research from a longitudinal perspective. We have collected shipping research data from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge database between 1987 and 2011. We analysed a total of 405 articles published in 17 reputable shipping-related journals and categorised them into ten key topic areas. The results show a significant growth in volume in shipping research in recent years. Based on the findings, we discuss their implications and provide suggestions for future research on shipping.

Keywords: shipping research; shipping studies; maritime transport; journal publishing; SSCI; Web of Knowledge; ISI; Social Science Citation Index; scholarly journals; scholarly publications; knowledge sharing; literature review; academic research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2013.050613

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2013 Vol.5 No.1, pp.1 - 12

Received: 31 May 2012
Accepted: 31 May 2012

Published online: 28 Feb 2014 *

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