Creative Education, 2015, 6, 576-584
Published Online April 2015 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ce
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.66057
How to cite this paper: Pinho, L. A., Mota, F. B., Conde, M. V. F., Alves, L. A., & Lopes, R. M. (2015). Mapping Knowledge
Produced on Problem-Based Learning between 1945 and 2014: A Bibliometric Analysis. Creative Education, 6, 576-584.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.66057
Mapping Knowledge Produced on
Problem-Based Learning between
1945 and 2014: A Bibliometric Analysis
Luis Antonio de Pinho
1
, Fábio Batista Mota
2
, Mariza Velloso Fernandez Conde
2
,
Luiz Anastácio Alves
3
, Renato Matos Lopes
3*
1
Instituto Federal do Acre—Câmpus Rio Branco, Acre, Brasil
2
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
3
Laboratório de Comunicação Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Email:
*
rmatoslopes@gmail.com
Received 24 December 2014; accepted 10 April 2015; published 16 April 2015
Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
Problem-based learning (PBL) has been systematized for over forty years. However, there is still a
lack of studies that seek to visualize the evolution of scientific literature on the subject. This paper
seeks to fill this gap through the development of a bibliometric analysis by carrying out a data
search on the Web of Science™ database and subsequently transferring the acquired data for
treatment to the VantagePoint
©
software package. The data indicate that research on PBL shows a
strong progression since the end of the twentieth century, with a high volume of the most impact-
ing studies being carried out by a group of researchers who are currently linked to or used to be
connected to the Maastricht University. As a result of these studies, a geographical (from North
America and Europe to Asia) and academic (from research in medical education to other biomed-
ical and engineering areas) spread of scientific production regarding this teaching methodology
has arisen.
Keywords
Problem-Based Learning, Data Mining, Bibliometrics
1. Introduction
Problem-based learning (PBL) was systematized in the medicine course at McMaster University, in Canada, in
*
Corresponding author.