Research Trends in Applied Linguistics from 2005 to 2016: A Bibliometric Analysis and Its Implications

Using data of articles from 42 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)-indexed journals of applied linguistics, this study renders a bibliometric analysis of the 2005–16 research trends in the field. The analysis focuses on, among other issues, the most frequently discussed topics, the most highly cited publications, and the changes that have occurred in the research trends. The results show that while most of the frequently discussed topics have remained popular over the 12 years, some (especially sociocultural/functional/identity issues) have experienced a significant increase of interest, but some others (particularly certain phonological/grammatical/generative linguistic topics) have witnessed a substantial decrease of interest. There has also been an increased use of new theories including those coming from distant disciplines. Furthermore, while the number of publications from traditional publication powerhouses, such as the USA, has shown a slow, albeit steady decline proportionally, those from some other countries, such as China, have exhibited a substantial steady rise. The latter countries’ increasing publication rates appear to have contributed to the increased discussion of issues specific to their context. Implications of the findings are also discussed.