# Application of Blockchain Technology in Emergency Management Systems: A Bibliometric Analysis
## 5 Discussion
### Main Findings  
Below are the findings responding to the research questions outlined earlier in the paper. RQ1: Which countries, institutions, and authors collaborate in the research on blockchain technology applications in emergency management systems, and what are their contributions to advancing this field? Our analysis of the country cooperation network identified significant international interaction, reflected in the large number of nodes (69) and edges (256). The high proportion of nodes (94%) in the largest connected component indicates strong interconnectedness among research groups from different countries. While China leads in the number of publications (92), the USA (33 publications, centrality 0.30) and India (32 publications, centrality 0.32) demonstrate higher betweenness centrality scores, indicating their key role in connecting different research directions within the international network. Other countries such as Saudi Arabia (19 publications), Italy (18), Australia (14), Pakistan (12), Taiwan (12), Canada (11), and France (9) also make notable contributions, highlighting the global interest in this research area. The moderate modularity score (Q = 0.3971) suggests the presence of certain research clusters that are well-defined and internally consistent, as indicated by the high weighted mean silhouette score (0.8498). Overall, the international collaboration network demonstrates a robust and cohesive structure, facilitating knowledge exchange and the development of the field. Our analysis of the institutional cooperation network revealed a large number of active institutions (166 nodes) but a relatively low density of connections (0.0104), indicating limited direct collaboration between them. Among the leaders in publication count, Chinese institutions such as Anhui University (7 publications), Anhui University of Science and Technology (6), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (6) dominate. At the same time, institutions from other countries, including Charles Darwin University (Australia), King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), Egyptian Knowledge Bank (Egypt), and COMSATS University Islamabad (Pakistan) also contribute, albeit with fewer publications. The low density of the institutional cooperation network indicates significant potential for expanding international partnerships to integrate diverse expertise and accelerate the development of effective blockchain solutions for emergency management systems. Our analysis of the author collaboration network (183 nodes, 157 edges) also reveals low network density (0.0094), indicating limited direct collaboration between researchers. Most authors work independently or in small, loosely connected groups, as evidenced by the small size of the largest connected component (only nine authors). Among the leaders in publication count, authors affiliated with Chinese institutions prevail, reflecting the overall trend of Chinese research dominance in this field. The co-citation analysis identified key authors whose work is foundational to research in blockchain technologies. These include [PERSON] (40 co-citations, centrality 0.09) and [PERSON] (18 co-citations, centrality 0.01), whose work continues to have a significant impact. The increasing number of co-citations of authors such as [PERSON] (17 co-citations, centrality 0.15) and [PERSON] (9 co-citations, centrality 0.04) indicates growing interest in the application of blockchain technologies in various fields, including emergency management. Although some authors have high citation counts, their low centrality values suggest limited interdisciplinary integration within the author network. RQ2: What are the main research clusters, hotspots, and evolving trends in the application of blockchain technology within emergency management systems?