A Bibliometric Analysis of Ten Years on Positive Psychology in Foreign/Second Language Education (2012-2022)

Abstract

This bibliometric study examines the research trends, productivity, publication, and citation patterns of positive psychology in the field of foreign/second language education by analyzing 137 documents retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database between 2012-2022. Data analysis was conducted using various scientometric software, including MS Excel and Biblioshiny. Results reveal that the first publication on this topic appeared in 2012, with a major increase observed in 2021-2022, with the highest number of publications (N = 41) in 2022. The highest number of citations (n = 528) were observed in 2018. China was found to be the most productive country (N = 106), while Japan had the highest citation impact (N = 63). The most cited document received 198 citations. The study also found that the most frequently used word was \"emotion\" and the trending topic was positive psychology. The most productive university affiliation was found to be Birkbeck University of London in the UK.