Saudi Arabia research: academic insights and trend analysis

Bibliometric studies are increasingly employed for research assessment by using statistical methods to analyze scientific outputs and impacts. The main objective of this study is to investigate the research performance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with a focus on KSA’s most productive universities. The study describes the research profile of KSA in terms of productivity, scientific impact, and collaboration dimensions. We evaluated the scientific activities of KSA from the period 2011 to 2020 and identified the most productive universities by considering the average national production, analyzing data year by year and identifying research trends. In addition, we examined and compared different collaboration patterns in KSA to understand researchers’ directions and interests in possible national areas of research going forward. The implication of our study is to provide evidence-based highlights (empirical pieces of evidence) to researchers and policymakers through our analyses of research in KSA.