Digital discourse research in linguistics (2010-2025): A bibliometric and content analysis

Abstract

Background and Purpose: As digital technologies increasingly reshape language use and social interaction, digital discourse has become a rapidly expanding area of inquiry in linguistics. However, a systematic mapping of its intellectual structure, methodological development, and research coverage remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of digital discourse research in linguistics from 2010 to 2025. Methodology: A total of 172 peer-reviewed journal articles were retrieved from Scopus and the Web of Science Core Collection through keyword-based searches. After screening based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final dataset was analysed through CiteSpace-based bibliometric analysis and systematic content analysis. The bibliometric analysis examined publication trends, co-cited journals and authors, contributing countries and institutions, and keyword networks, while the content analysis coded discourse types, research methods, analytical tools, and theoretical frameworks. Findings: The findings show rapid growth after 2020, with Journal of Pragmatics and scholars such as Baker, Androutsopoulos, and Agha occupying central positions. Keyword analysis identifies major themes including corpus-assisted discourse analysis, computer-mediated communication, language and identity, cognitive linguistics, and conversation analysis. The field is dominated by online media discourse, especially social media, while online interactional discourse remains underexplored. Qualitative discourse analysis remains dominant, but corpus-based, computational, and mixed-method approaches have become increasingly visible. Analytical tools are diversified, while theoretical engagement remains uneven, drawing mainly on discourse-analytic, pragmatic, sociolinguistic, cognitive, and multimodal perspectives. Contributions: This study integrates bibliometric visualization with content coding to clarify the development, knowledge structure, and research gaps of digital discourse studies, offering directions for future interdisciplinary inquiry. Keywords: Digital discourse, CiteSpace, Bibliometric analysis, Content analysis, computer-mediated communication Cite as: Liu, Y., Al-Smadi, O. A., Abdullah Kamal, S. S. L., & Zhoub, C. (2026). Digital discourse research in linguistics (2010-2025): A bibliometric and content analysis. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 11(2), 278-305. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol11iss2pp278-305