| Abstract: | This study analyzes the characteristics of publications on sustainability topics and education for sustainability in the Web of Science (WOS) database during the period ranging from 2005 to 2014. We identified the topics that are being studied within those subjects and other relevant topics. We also analyzed a special edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Emerging areas,” published in January, 2014. Our approach was both qualitative and quantitative and aimed at qualifying and quantifying certain variables related to the scientific literature on the broad subject of sustainability. The number of published pieces in the WOS focusing on sustainability issues during the period from 2005 to 2014 was 5,924. In our analysis of the special edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production, we found and analyzed 17 abstracts and full papers. The main results of our survey highlight the education, educational research, environmental sciences, ecology, and engineering areas as including the greatest number of publications. Articles, as opposed to conference proceedings or reviews, accounted for 63% of the published documents, and the year 2013 showed the largest number of publications. Huisingh, Suciu, Katane, and Barth are the most published authors on these topics. Furthermore, management, environmental studies, ecology, and environmental sciences are the “hot topics” with the best search results, meaning articles of impact and high quality. Finally, it should be emphasized that publications on the subject of sustainability appear most often in the sciences. |
