Python vs. R: A Text Mining Approach for analyzing the Research Trends in Scopus Database

TL;DR

This study compares Python and R using text mining to analyze research trends in the Scopus-indexed journal IJPR from 1961 to 2017, revealing prominent topics and language suitability for research analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel comparative text mining approach using Python and R to analyze large research datasets, highlighting research trends and language effectiveness.

Findings

Identified key research topics like optimization and supplier selection.

Compared Python and R for research data analysis effectiveness.

Provided detailed temporal research trend insights.

Abstract

In the contemporary world, with the incubation of advanced technologies and tremendous outbursts of research works, analyzing big data to incorporate research strategies becomes more helpful using the tools and techniques presented in the current research scenario. This paper indeed tries to tackle the most prominent challenges relating to big data analysis by utilizing a text mining approach to analyze research data published in the field of production management as a case to begin with. The study has been conducted by considering research data of International Journal of Production Research (IJPR) indexed in Scopus between 1961-2017 by dividing the analysis incurred into 3 fragments being 1961-1990, 1991-2010 and finally 2011-2017 as a case to highlight the focus of journal. This has indeed provided multi-faceted benefits such as increasing the effectiveness of the procured data with well-established comparisons between R and Python Programming along with providing detailed research trends on the research work incubated. The results of the study highlighted some most prominent topics in the existing IJPR literature such as system's optimization, supplier selection, process design, etc. providing well-established details relating to ongoing research works. The study also compared both languages suiting to a particular field of study for better comprehension and vastness of the research topics. The current research work is one of the part of a copyright work with registration number SW-10310/2018 titled Program for Analyzing Key Trends in Research Data-set. It has been designed in Python for carrying out detailed content analysis based on the available research database in bib format as in the current context it has been applied for IJPR journal and can be replicated on articles of any domain found using keyword search.