Google Trends Applications for COVID-19 Pandemic: A Bibliometric Analysis

Overview

Journal Digit Health

Specialty Medical Informatics

Date 2025 Jan 6

PMID 39758260

Authors

Hao Li

Ning Zhang

Xingxing Ma

Yuqing Wang

Feixiang Yang

Wanrong Wang

Yuxi Huang

Yinyin Xie

Yinan Du

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 is one of the most severe global health events in recent years. Google Trends provides a comprehensive analysis of the search frequency for specific terms on Google, reflecting the public's areas of interest. As of now, there has been no bibliometric study on COVID-19 and Google Trends. Therefore, the aim of this study is to perform a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of existing Google Trends research related to COVID-19.

Methods: We retrieved 467 records from the Web of Science™ Core Collection, covering the period from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2023. We then conducted scientific metric analyses using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and the Bibliometrix package in R-software to explore the temporal and spatial distribution, author distribution, thematic categories, references, and keywords related to these records.

Results: A total of 467 valid records, comprising 418 articles and 49 reviews, were collected for analysis. Over the 4 years, the highest number of publications occurred in 2021. The United States had the most published papers, followed by China. Notably, the United States and China had the closest collaborative relationship. Harvard University ranked as the institution with the highest number of published papers. However, there appeared to be a lack of collaboration between institutions. The research hotspots related to COVID-19 in Google Trends encompassed "outbreak," "epidemic," "air pollution," "internet," "time series," and "public interest."

Conclusion: This study provides a valuable overview of the directions in which Google Trends is being utilized for studying infectious diseases, particularly COVID-19.

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