From foundations to frontiers: Half a century of fuzzy logic research in Iran
نویسندگان
1 Department of Mathematics, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, 126 Pracha Uthit Rd, Bang Mot, Thung Khru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand.
2 Renewable Energy Research Centre (RERC), Department of Teacher Training in Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Technical Education, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand.
3 Department of Mathematics, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, 126 Pracha Uthit Rd, Bang Mot, Thung Khru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand.
4 School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia.
5 School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia.
doi
10.22105/jfea.2025.530194.1960چکیده
Iran is currently the 4th most productive country with 15,392 publications and 367,510 total citations to fuzzy research through its researchers, whose work reflects a growing interest in both the theoretical and applied aspects. However, the extent and impact of these contributions remain unexplored in scholarly evaluations. Thus, this study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of fuzzy research in Iran from 1976 to 2024, utilizing the Web of Science (WoS) core collection database and VOSviewer software. The key bibliometric indicators, including h-index, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence, have been evaluated. The main findings show a significant growth, with Total Publications (TP) increasing from 126 (1976–2003) to 6,755 (2020–2024). Early research focused on foundational concepts like fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic, while recent studies emphasize applied domains such as decision-making, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Leading contributors include Bijan Davvaz (163 publications) and Islamic Azad University (IAU), with 4,199 TP, emerging as the most productive institution. Collaboration analysis identifies Malaysia, Vietnam, the USA, and China as the primary partners, and Tofigh Allahviranloo (198 publications, 4,310 citations) from Türkiye, as a prominent collaborator. The topical and keyword analysis reveals the focus of the area of research and its alignment with global trends in fuzzy theories, and a significant contribution across diverse disciplines. Iran's fuzzy research community shows a diversified portfolio of research, which includes both theoretical progress and application research (e.g., in Mathematics, Physics, Environmental Sciences, Business Economics, and Medical Informatics). Fields like Public Health, Biology, and Medical Informatics, however, still have a low output, indicating potential rising opportunities to incorporate and integrate fuzzy logic more in addressing complicated problems in health, biology, and society.
