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1. Use a Unified Data Format

Convert Data Formats: Before analysis, convert both Scopus and Web of Science data into a common format. This can help reduce discrepancies in how citations are recorded. For example, you can export both datasets into a CSV format that includes standardized fields for authors, titles, and citations.

2. Employ Advanced Bibliometric Techniques

Hybrid Approaches: Consider using hybrid methods that combine bibliographic coupling and co-citation analysis. As indicated in the results from the studies, bibliographic coupling often outperforms co-citation analysis. Implementing a method that leverages both could enhance the robustness of your findings.

Category-Based Coupling: Explore techniques like Bibliographic Coupling with Category-based Co-citation (BCCCC), which improves bibliographic coupling by considering the categories of cited references. This method can enhance the precision of your analysis by linking articles more effectively based on their shared citations within specific research topics.

3. Utilize Additional Citation Databases

Integrate Multiple Databases: To enhance the reliability of your analysis, consider integrating additional citation databases. Combining data from multiple sources can provide a more comprehensive view of citation patterns and improve the accuracy of co-citation metrics.

4. Implement Robust Data Cleaning Procedures

Standardize Author Names and Titles: Ensure that author names and article titles are standardized across datasets to avoid duplicates or mismatches. This may involve using algorithms to match similar names or titles that may have slight variations.

Remove Duplicates: Before conducting analyses, remove duplicate entries in your combined dataset to ensure that each article is only counted once in co-citation or coupling calculations.

5. Visualization Tools

Use VOSviewer Efficiently: When visualizing results in VOSviewer, ensure that you import data correctly by following its guidelines for formatting and structure. This will help maintain accuracy in visual representations of co-citation networks.

Explore Alternative Visualization Software: If VOSviewer does not meet your needs, consider other visualization tools like Gephi or CiteSpace that may offer different functionalities for analyzing and visualizing citation networks.

6. Validate Findings with Sensitivity Analysis

Conduct Sensitivity Analysis: After running your bibliometric analyses, perform sensitivity analyses to understand how changes in data input affect your results. This can help identify any weaknesses in your methodology and improve overall robustness.