Journals / Akdeniz Spor Bilimleri Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 9 Sayı: 1

A Bibliometric Analysis of Studies on Sports Refereeing

Spor Hakemliği Üzerine Yapılan Çalışmaların Bibliyometrik Analizi

Soner Sivri(BURDUR MEHMET AKİF ERSOY ÜNİVERSİTESİ, SPOR BİLİMLERİ FAKÜLTESİ)0000-0002-7966-2191
Kadriye Tukenmez(CELAL BAYAR UNIVERSITY)0000-0001-9125-0301
Esin Kıratlı(İstanbul Gençlik Spor ve İl Müdürlüğü)0000-0002-5182-7660
Pages
1–15
Publication Date
2026-09-10
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

It also shows that the presence of keywords such as “retention” highlights a current research focus on professional continuity, indicating a trend toward viewing refereing not only as a momentary decision-making role but also as a sustainable domain of professional expertise.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:Referees play a vital role in the regulation of organized sports.
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Key Findings & Data:The number of articles covering the topics "sports" and "refereeing" has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
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Conclusion & Impact:It also shows that the presence of keywords such as “retention” highlights a current research focus on professional continuity, indicating a trend toward viewing refereing not only as a momentary decision-making role but also as a sustainable domain of professional expertise.
🔬Design:Experimental Field Trial
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Spor hakemliği · Bibliometrik analiz · VOSviewer

Abstract

Referees play a vital role in the regulation of organized sports. Their primary responsibilities include enforcing rules, maintaining social order, and ensuring safe and fair competition. Recognizing this importance, researchers have conducted dozens of studies on sports officiating. The aim of this study is to create a scientific map of the field by conducting a bibliometric analysis of articles indexed in WoS that include the phrases 'sport' and 'officiating' in their titles, abstracts, or keywords (TOPIC field), reflecting the broader scope of sports refereeing literature. This study was shaped within the framework of coauthorship, co-occurrence of author keywords and citation author analysis. The research was conducted via document analysis, and the data analysis was conducted via VOSviewer software. The number of articles covering the topics "sports" and "refereeing" has more than doubled in the last 10 years. This result suggests that researchers are focusing more on this field and that refereeing is receiving greater attention in the sports literature. This study demonstrates that the focus of the literature has evolved over time towards a framework that increasingly emphasize the performance-based and cognitive aspects of refereeing. It also shows that the presence of keywords such as “retention” highlights a current research focus on professional continuity, indicating a trend toward viewing refereing not only as a momentary decision-making role but also as a sustainable domain of professional expertise.

Özet

Hakemler, organize sporların düzenlenmesinde hayati bir rol oynamaktadır; birincil sorumlulukları arasında kuralları uygulamak, sosyal düzeni korumak ve güvenli ile adil bir rekabet ortamı sağlamak yer almaktadır. Bu sistemsel önemin farkında olan araştırmacılar, spor hakemliği üzerine hatırı sayılır bir literatür oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection veri tabanında indekslenen makalelerin bibliyometrik analizini gerçekleştirerek bu alanın bilimsel bir haritasını çıkarmaktır. Arama stratejisinde, spor hakemliği literatürünün geniş kapsamını yansıtmak amacıyla, TOPIC (başlık, öz ve anahtar kelimeler) alanında "sport" ve "officiating" ifadeleri kullanılmıştır. Yöntem olarak araştırma, doküman analizi yoluyla yürütülmüş; veri görselleştirmesi ve ağ modellemesi ise VOSviewer yazılımı kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Analitik çerçeve; ortak yazarlık ağları, yazar anahtar kelimelerinin birlikte bulunma (co-occurrence) analizi ve yazar atıf analizleri etrafında şekillendirilmiştir. Bulgular, spor hakemliğini kapsayan makalelerin hacminin son on yılda iki kattan fazla arttığını ortaya koymaktadır. Bu hızlı artış, alana yönelik araştırmacı ilgisinin ivme kazandığını ve hakemliğin spor bilimleri literatüründe çok daha fazla ampirik dikkat çektiğini göstermektedir. Ayrıca bu çalışma, literatürün tematik odak noktasının kronolojik olarak evrildiğini; hakemliğin bilişsel, psikolojik ve performansa dayalı yönlerini giderek daha fazla vurgulayan bir çerçeveye doğru kaydığını kanıtlamaktadır. Bununla birlikte, "retention" (hakem tutundurma/mesleki devamlılık) gibi anahtar kelimelerin belirgin bir şekilde öne çıkması, mesleki sürekliliğe yönelik güncel bir araştırma odağını net bir şekilde ortaya koymaktadır. Bu değişim, hakemliğin yalnızca anlık bir karar alma rolü olarak değil, aynı zamanda uzun vadeli ve sürdürülebilir bir uzmanlık alanı olarak kavramsallaştırılmasına yönelik büyüyen bir eğilime işaret etmektedir.

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Cite This Article

Sivri, S., Tukenmez, K., Kıratlı, E. (2026). A Bibliometric Analysis of Studies on Sports Refereeing. Akdeniz Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 1, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.38021/asbid.1979032

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