Trends in gambling studies research: quantifying, categorizing, and describing citations.

As opportunities to gamble have increased during the 20th century, so has gambling research. This study used new strategies, methods, and technology to examine citation trends and the growth of knowledge in the field of gambling studies. The sample included 2,246 citations that were published between 1903 and 2003. By using multiple keywords to classify each citation into distinct topic areas, this study yielded a more comprehensive analysis than was previously available. The results reveal that gambling-related research has grown at an exponential rate. The most prevalent topics explored within gambling studies citations have been pathology, risk-taking, decision-making and addiction. Between 1999 and 2003, studies addressing epidemiology, drug abuse, comorbidity and neuroscience have become increasingly prevalent. Based on these trends and their implications, this paper provides several recommendations for both future areas of inquiry within the field of gambling studies and better classification techniques for citations within all fields of psychology.