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Automated Detection of Different Publication Patterns of Online Deliberation as a Research Domain
The paper intends to contribute to a better comprehension of literature on online deliberation and demonstrate possibilities of using software provided for automated processing of information arrays downloaded from bibliographic databases for scientometric analysis of a complex interdisciplinary research domain. We present a descriptive analysis of sources and authors in order to detect what meanings (networked) deliberation may have, comprising a short review on basic directions of research domain. Also, the conceptual structure of research field is analyzed using bibliometric analysis which allows to generate a map of main and highly relevant themes studied. As a result, we suggest future research directions for deliberative studies. In total, 1946 publications from databases of Scopus during the period 1968–2022 are analyzed. The outcomes indicate on an opportunity of effective using the functionality of Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to investigate trends in science. Qualitative interpretation of results assists to propose a few valuable directions for deliberative studies which should be developed further. The first prominent observance is a lack of studies exploring e-deliberation and its quality in the conditions of exogenous shocks (war, pandemics, natural disasters). One more less discovered venue correlates with studying citizens’ motivations and purposes to participate in political conversation via online platforms. The third research idea is devoted to understanding what online deliberation represents and what effects it may have on citizenry and government.