Scientometric analysis and mapping of digital technologies used in cultural heritage field

© 2019 Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2019 - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference. All rights reserved. BIM and other digital technologies are increasingly applied to buildings under construction with limited attention to existing and heritage buildings. Recent studies, through a critique of the literature, have sought to analyse the application of BIM in heritage. However, excepting the limited number of these studies, attention is often given to a specific digital technology or heritage aspect to the neglect of how other constituents of the entire digital technology regime and the recent developments therein could be applied in the heritage sector. This implies there is a knowledge gap regarding the overview of the application of digital technologies within the heritage sector. This study aims to systematically analyse the recent development of digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) or Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) in cultural heritage with the aim to provide insight into the overall potential for future research, current challenges and capabilities of digital technologies within the heritage sector. The chosen methodology for this study is scientometric analysis by using both quantitative and qualitative review processes. The findings from this study reveal that the main emerging digital technology researched in the field of cultural heritage is BIM or HBIM. There is evidence of multidisciplinary research within the body of knowledge and an increase in collaborative research between the areas of remote sensing, image science, computer science, architecture, archaeology and history. However, there is an unbalanced dominance of research partnership among authors and institutions in Europe. Research collaboration with global institutions is therefore encouraged as a necessity for advancing the applicability of digital technologies in the heritage sector. This study has implications for academics, research institutions, practitioners and policy makers, assisting these stakeholders to make vital contributions to advancing intellectual wealth to the research area of digital technology and heritage