KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF ACADEMIC PUBLISHING: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF AL WASL UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

Abstract

Background of the study: Al Wasl University Journal (AWUJ) is the official journal of Al Wasl University – Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was established in the academic year 1989–1990 by a resolution of the Board of Trustees, under the title: Journal of the College of Islamic and Arabic Studies – A Refereed Islamic Intellectual and Cultural Journal. Beginning with issue No. 18, it was described as a refereed Islamic intellectual journal. From issue No. 28 to issue No. 56, it was referred to as a refereed scientific journal. Since the academic year 2018–2019, with issue No. 57, the journal underwent a name change and has since been known as: Al Wasl University Journal for Islamic and Arabic Studies – A Semi-Annual Refereed Scientific Journal. Starting from issue No. 60, it became officially titled as Al Wasl University Journal.

Purpose: This study is a bibliometric analysis of Al-Wasl University Journal. The journal was launch in 1990 as an semi-annual publication of the university. The bibliometric analysis covered a seven-year period from 2019 to 2025.

Method: The study employed bibliometric measurements and the compilation of lists that invent the intellectual output by referring to the actual issues of the journal, a total of 138 publications from 14 issues of AWUJ published from 2019 to 2025.

Findings: Authorship pattern shows that most of the papers were single-authored, and since the journal is of Emirati origin, most of the authors were from the United Arab Emirates. Authors from 15 foreign countries also contributed to this journal, as revealed in the study of 14 volumes, indicating that the journal has an international reach. However, it still requires wider circulation, which is why its issues have been made available online in recent years. Authors from Al Wasl University contributed the highest number of papers, followed by Zayed University. Most of the papers (98.55%) were written in Arabic. A total of 138 research papers contained 5,236 references, most of which were books (91.97%) .