Yogyakarta – Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has once again proven its reputation as a world-class research university. Based on the results of a bibliometric study published in the Record and Library Journal, 104 UGM faculty articles related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are listed as highly cited articles in the Scopus database. The article was authored through a cross-unit collaboration of UGM administrative staff (Tendik), namely Syahrul (Faculty of Psychology), Purwoko (Faculty of Engineering), Winarsih (Faculty of Geography), and Maryono (UGM Library and Archives).
The article, titled “The Most Cited Article on Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis”, analyzed 17,834 publications containing the keyword “SDGs” in Scopus as of May 31, 2024. Among them, UGM publications stood out for their strong interdisciplinary contributions, ranging from public health, renewable energy technology, environmental management, to food security.
“Scientific publications and citation counts are important indicators to measure a scholar’s contribution in the public eye. That’s why we wanted to know which articles had the greatest impact in SDGs research,” explained Winarsih, one of the study’s authors.
Of the 104 articles examined, the highest-cited work was by Astuti and Ysrafil (2020), titled “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): An Overview of Viral Structure and Host Response”, which has been cited 691 times. This research contributes to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and served as a key reference in formulating prevention and treatment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other highly cited achievements include:
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Wijayanta et al. (2019) – Liquid hydrogen, methylcyclohexane, and ammonia as potential hydrogen storage (303 citations, SDG 7)
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Noviana et al. (2021) – Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices: From Design to Applications (279 citations, SDG 17)
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Syamsiro et al. (2014) – Plastic waste processing technology into fuel (272 citations, SDG 7)
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Susastriawan et al. (2017) – Small-scale biomass gasifier design (270 citations, SDG 7)
Publication Distribution by SDGs
From the 105 articles analyzed, the distribution of UGM’s contributions to the SDGs is as follows:
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SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Dominates publications, with over one-third addressing public health, infectious diseases, and medical innovations.
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SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Features leading research in renewable energy technology and energy efficiency.
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SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals – Reflects strong international collaboration.
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Significant contributions were also recorded in SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
Most of the UGM faculty publications involved research partners from countries such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, and Japan. This international collaboration reflects UGM’s commitment to building a global academic network that can strengthen and broaden research impact.
The study not only identified the most influential articles but also mapped the top seven journals that most frequently publish SDG-related research, identified the most active academic institutions, analyzed cross-country collaboration trends, and ranked journals based on their CiteScore Quartile. As part of its commitment to transparency, the authors provided a complete list of all 104 articles, publicly accessible via the following link: ugm.id/ugmidMCASDGs. The dataset includes the article title, authors, year of publication, journal source, citation count, collaborating countries, and the SDGs supported.
Maryono from the UGM Library and Archives hopes this study will serve as a platform to promote UGM faculty’s scholarly work, especially highly cited SDG-themed publications. Through this publication, UGM not only proves its contribution to global knowledge development but also reinforces its commitment to achieving sustainable development targets.
Based on its keywords, this article is an output focusing on SDG 4 & SDG 17.
Note: As of August 12, 2025, the citation count for Astuti and Ysrafil’s (2020) article had risen to 777 citations.
Author: Fauzi
Editor: Zufar