This study provides the first bibliometric examination of global research on Proxy Means Testing (PMT) and evaluates its usefulness for strengthening zakat eligibility assessment in Malaysia. The objectives are to trace the development of PMT scholarship, identify key contributors, and capture thematic patterns linked to poverty targeting in contexts where income is informal or undocumented. Using Scopus as the primary database, 94 publications dated between 1999 and 2026 were retrieved and analysed through performance metrics and science-mapping methods. Harzing’s Publish or Perish supported citation profiling, while VOSviewer was applied to visualise co-authorship relationships and keyword co-occurrence networks. The findings show a gradual increase in PMT research activity, with more than half of all studies published after 2019. The majority of publications fall within the Social Sciences and Economics and originate mainly from the United States and Europe. Contributions from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa remain limited despite widespread implementation of PMT in these regions. The most influential papers focus on practical execution of PMT, targeting efficiency and eligibility model design. Keyword analysis reveals five major thematic streams that structure the field: poverty measurement, health-sector targeting, programme performance, analytical and methodological development, and vulnerable or mobile populations. The study identifies four major research gaps with direct relevance to zakat governance. These relate to the absence of PMT applications in non-state welfare systems, limited evidence from Muslim-majority contexts, uneven use of advanced analytic tools and minimal exploration of crisis-affected communities. Practical implications point to opportunities for Malaysia to trial PMT-informed zakat screening aligned with informal household income profiles and supported by emerging digital systems. The originality of the study lies in connecting PMT knowledge with Islamic social finance priorities and demonstrating how bibliometric evidence can support the development of more consistent and transparent eligibility frameworks for asnaf.
Hairunnizam Wahid, Mohd Suffian Mohamed Esa, S. E. Yaacob et al.· Multidisciplinary Reviews· 0 citations
This study examines the development of global school immersion program research over the past five decades by identifying publication trends, influential contributors, thematic evolution, and emerging research directions while deriving lessons for Malaysia’s multicultural educational context. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using 1,491 journal articles indexed in the Scopus database between 1976 and 2026. Performance analysis and science-mapping techniques were applied using Harzing’s Publish or Perish and VOSviewer to analyse publication patterns, citation performance, collaboration networks, and keyword co-occurrence relationships. The results reveal substantial growth in school immersion program research, particularly after 2015, indicating increasing global interest in immersion-based education. Research output is dominated by the United States and Canada, while bilingual education, language immersion, and intercultural learning remain the core themes. Keyword analysis shows a gradual expansion towards medical education, experiential learning, virtual reality, e-learning, and professional competency development. The findings suggest that immersion scholarship has evolved from a language-focused domain into a broader interdisciplinary field encompassing educational, behavioural, technological, and professional learning contexts. The study extends the conceptualisation of school immersion from language-focused learning towards a broader interdisciplinary conceptual framework integrating intercultural, behavioural, experiential, technological, and competency development dimensions. The findings provide insights for policymakers and educational institutions, particularly in Malaysia, to strengthen immersion-related planning, teacher preparation, intercultural learning, and technology-enhanced educational initiatives. This study offers one of the earliest comprehensive bibliometric analyses of school immersion program research, providing a structured understanding of its intellectual development, research gaps, and future directions.
Zarawahida Zakaria, Mohd Suffian Mohamed Esa· International journal of res...· 0 citations
This study examines the global evolution of performance audit research over the past five decades by identifying publication trends, influential contributors and dominant thematic developments. A bibliometric methodology was employed using 800 publications indexed in the Scopus database from 1975 to 2025. Performance analysis and science-mapping techniques were conducted using Harzing’s Publish or Perish and VOSviewer to analyse citation patterns, co-authorship networks and keyword co-occurrence relationships. The findings reveal substantial growth in performance audit scholarship, particularly after 2010, with the United States, United Kingdom and Australia emerging as dominant contributors. The literature remains strongly centred on public-sector governance, accountability and managerial reform, while themes related to ESG reporting, digital governance, AI-assisted auditing, sustainability evaluation and cross-sector applications remain comparatively underdeveloped. Citation patterns further indicate that influential studies primarily emphasise performance measurement and organisational control rather than broader public value and societal outcomes. Theoretically, the study demonstrates that performance audit research has evolved operationally but remains institutionally driven and conceptually fragmented, highlighting the need for more integrative and outcome-oriented frameworks. Practically, the findings provide insights for policymakers, Supreme Audit Institutions and statutory bodies, including zakat institutions, to strengthen performance auditing as a mechanism for organisational learning, governance improvement and outcome-oriented accountability. The originality of this study lies in providing one of the earliest comprehensive bibliometric syntheses of global performance
Mohd Suffian Mohamed Esa, Hairunnizam Wahid, S. E. Yaacob· International Research Journ...· 0 citations
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