Conclusion and limitations
The metaverse is a virtual social form that is idealised and can be edited and reconstructed independently by users [
15]. It can ultimately coexist and interact with the real world. It is related to blockchain, digital twins, artificial intelligence, and many other technologies. In this study, we used CiteSpace to visualize and analyze the literature related to metaverse in the WoS core collection database and analyzed the collaboration between countries, institutions and authors in this field. Based on the above analysis, the researchers made the following conclusions:
Firstly, it can be observed from an analysis of scientific publications that the metaverse has gradually become an extensive area of research over the last 20 years. Currently, the stages of research and development in the metaverse can be categorised into a slow development period (2005–2021) and a fast development period (2022-present).
Secondly, in terms of international cooperation network, China has the largest number of publications, but the degree of international cooperation is still lower than England, the USA and other countries. The country with the most international influence in this field is Ireland. In the analysis of the network of published institutions, the research networks with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nanyang Technological University as the cores have been formed. Of the top five authors with the most published papers, only one is Chinese. This indicates that the study of the metaverse by Chinese research institutions and Chinese authors needs to be strengthened. In addition, there are 66 core authors in the field of metaverse research, less than 1/3 of the total number of authors.
Thirdly, this paper explores the knowledge base and research fronts of metaverse. Current research related to the metaverse is spread across many disciplines, including business, engineering, computer science, environmental safety, healthcare, materials science, and more. Of these, the medical and engineering fields are currently the newest categories of research. The knowledge base of metaverse literature focuses on the disciplines of computer science, economics, politics, and sociology, while the research frontiers of metaverse papers focus on the disciplines of mathematics, economics, psychology and education. The publishers of the most cited journals for the relevant literature are mainly Elsevier and MDPI. And the current research in the highly cited literature focuses on technical and history reviews of the metaverse as well as its development in the field of education. Artificial Intelligence and utaut2 are the underlying clusters of cited literature in this research area.
Finally, this paper explores the recent research hotspots and frontiers of the last 20 years based on an analysis of the evolution of topics in the field of knowledge. Through the scientific econometric analysis of keywords, it can be seen that virtual reality and artificial intelligence are the most popular research objects in the field of metaverse related research. The nonfungible token is the most recent and fastest growing research object in metaverse research. Generally speaking, research hotspots in the academic community mainly focus on virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, digital twins and artificial intelligence. In addition, as the concept of the metaverse becomes more widely known in 2022, more keywords begin to appear from different fields, such as 5G, streaming media, system, integration, and green. But most of these words are short-lived in a period of rapid development.
Several significant limitations require consideration in this investigation. The methodological approach has some limitations as it only utilizes the WOS database, potentially leading to the exclusion of essential sources from other databases, such as Dimensions, Scopus, CORE, CiteSeerX and so on. Consequently, research findings related to metaverses may have been overlooked. Moreover, the bibliometric analysis in this paper was conducted in Dec 2023. As the metaverse research is rapidly developing, it is possible that some of the latest research literature will not be included in the bibliographic database when this paper is published, which may result in the absence of cutting-edge literature. Furthermore, although this paper has taken some consideration of metaverse's search keywords, the lack of an authoritative definition of metacomes at present means that the research presented in this paper may lack some essential keywords, leading to the absence of some relevant documentation. Moreover, it is important to note that analyzing bibliometrics has limitations in several aspects, such as research objectives, perspectives, and methods. Currently, there are no verification methods for the precision or reliability of bibliometrics analysis results. It affects the robustness and rigour of research outcomes to some extent. In the future, we will widen our database search to uncover more objective and verifiable bibliometric methods and tools so that we can enhance the results of this paper.
Future research prospects
The areas of scientific research that are most active tend to have the highest levels of uncertainty [
31]. The evidence revealed in this study suggests that metaverse is a Stage I specialty according to Shneider’s four-stage model. Technological advancements in high-precision recognition models and deep learning-based naturally occurring models are contributing to the enhancement of the Metaverse through diverse factors such as mobile-based constant access and the utilization of virtual currencies to establish a connection with reality. The integration of improved social interactions and neural network methodologies necessitates a novel characterisation of the Metaverse [
9].
Although prolonged attention and study in recent years, the metaverse still offers vast potential for research. The metaverse's study abounds in infinite possibilities and endless imagination. Despite the much existing literature, further research is necessary. This paper presents a new theoretical perspective for the study of the metaverse, based on the analysis of research hot topics and core evolutionary pathways, as well as related research articles and reviews. Currently, research on the metaverse encompasses three different ideas:
1.
The cross-study of the metaverse with other fields. At present, combined research on the metaverse has emerged in various fields including education [
32], entertainment [
33], news [
34], business [
35], medicine [
36], and other areas of study. Scholars have started to study the changes in the actual daily life of humans from the metaverse perspective. They have also explored ways and strategies to apply the concepts related to the metaverse to real-life situations. In the medical field [
37,
38], medical professionals can use the metaverse to improve efficiency in diagnosis, education, and treatment. The interaction between medical staff and patients can be enhanced in the digital space [
39]. The scope of emergency medicine in the virtual environment must be updated. Product marketing in the metaverse [
40] alters consumer perception from a 2D product catalog to a 3D immersive virtual space. Such an environment better assists consumers in determining purchase factors and selecting well-designed products through digital advertising during the complete review process [
41]. People carry out various activities in real society, the core of social life. Researching other fields is vital to stimulate the creation of virtual individuals and communities in the current universe while addressing the division between virtual communities and real society. Virtual individuals and societies offer people concurrent and diverse identity validation and spatial–temporal experiences. Interdisciplinary studies facilitate developing several spaces in the metaverse. With a change of identity by the physical body, avatar or otherwise, people better emotional engagement and immersion [
42,
43]. Simultaneously, research into the metaverse across various fields can also advance technological innovation in its practical applications. For instance, when safeguarding cultural inheritance [
44], adopting the meta-ecology of cultural heritage as a research subject improves the likelihood of establishing a methodical process of building cultural heritage's meta-ecology, which could lead to more effective solutions for things like tourism guidance, site maintenance, heritage protection, among others.
2.
Research on related technologies and supporting infrastructure of the metaverse. The development of the metaverse is inseparable from the progress of science and technology. At present, technologies such as blockchain, mixed reality, holographic transmission, software engines, hardware products and more are flourishing. The fundamental basis of the metaverse is blockchain technology [
45], which gives creators complete digital ownership of their content. With traceable features that ensure data can't be tampered with, the mateverse creates a unique trusted mechanism. In August 2022, Canadian scientists successfully transmitted a person as a holographic image from Alabama to Ontario, marking the first international two-way holographic transmission. The immersive interactive virtual space, created using the virtual engine, allows users to move around highly intelligent virtual time and space freely, and adjust the space–time dimension and jump speed [
46‐
48]. In January 2022, Nvidia released Omniverse, a software that empowers artists and creators to generate mateverse virtual worlds for free. That same year, Zuckerberg unveiled four VR prototypes [
49]. These technologies have had gradual advancements, primarily during the swift progression of research on the mateverse. It is apparent that scientific research can accelerate the progress of technology. Additionally, the progress made in the related technology can provide feedback to the theoretical research on the mateverse, allowing for the exploration of new connotations and forms in the same. In the future, the leading-edge research on the mateverse will continue to move towards overcoming the technical limitations. These technologies could not only facilitate the mateverse's entry into the real world more effectively but also enhance the quality of people's lives. In the future, it is conceivable that there will be a new technological revolution, as the mateverse's content and structure continue to evolve.
3.
Research on the technology ethics and governance policy of the metaverse. The application area of metaverse is expanding, and related technologies are rapidly advancing. Numerous technical hazards and ethical risks may arise as a result. The metaverse will present challenges that question existing legal and moral norms. To address this, not only research on the academic level but also anticipatory preparation during product development is essential. The risks of political parties [
50], economic fraud [
51], loss of human subjectivity [
52], excessive social entertainment [
53] and technical safety problems [
54] all demand attention. Furthermore, acceptable behaviours and privacy considerations require attention. There is a risk of disenfranchising those who lack access to the required infrastructure to enter the metaverse [
5]. Scholars from around the globe have presented visionary ideas on regulating and governing metaverse applications in aspects like politics, economics, society, culture and technology [
55]. Meta introduces the "Personal Boundary" feature, aiming to prevent sexual harassment in the metaverse. In the past two years, concerned authorities in China have introduced management strategies for digital collection trading, metaverse investments, and digital copyright. Ben Falchuk envisaged a novel control layer in 2018 to boost privacy safeguards in the metaverse, where all avatars possess similar capabilities and comply with the "rules of the game" [
56]. From a future-oriented standpoint, Facebook research aims to use the peripheral nervous system and a brain-computer interface to input text. The ongoing advancements in brain-computer interfaces and Neuralink could manifest into a version that offers an encounter that is challenging to differentiate from veracity in the Metaverse [
9]. In the future, there will be additional self-regulatory measures and technological standards for the multiverse industry. Hence, it is imperative to explore the mechanisms for regulating the development of the metaverse, guiding science and technology to create good, and promoting the autonomy of the metaverse industry through academic research
However, further research in metaverse also has certain limiting factors such as sustainability of metaverse users, hardware and software limitations and development huddle[
9]. Operating the metaverse within XR demands different and greater resources and expenditures compared to the physical reality. Meanwhile, the user's learning expense for adapting to this new medium will also increase [
57].