Bibliometric revision regarding the use of survival analysis in seed germination studies

ABSTRACT: Studies on seed science are developed for a wide range of purposes, being the statistical analysis of data essential for experimental reliability and evidence. Due to the characteristics of seed data, several statistical methods can be applied, among them the survival analysis stands out, in virtue of allocating censored data and describing phenomena over time. Therefore, this bibliometric study verified the use of survival analysis in studies with seed germination and to examine the applications of survival analysis in original articles from the Web of Science database for the period from 2000 to 2020. For the application of survival analysis, there was a low number of publications related to seed science, with the USA being the country with the highest number of publications mainly to studies in plant ecology and physiology. In general, the researches were most involved to the evaluation of factors influencing dormancy, physiological stresses, dispersion capacity, population differences and habitats of development which affected seed germination. Therefore, the qualitative overview demonstrates that the survival analysis is a statistical tool of great potential regarding the studies in the area.摘要：种子科学研究拥有广泛的应用场景，而数据统计分析是保障实验可靠性与论证严谨性的核心环节。由于种子数据具有独特特性，可选用多种统计分析方法，其中生存分析（survival analysis）因能够处理删失数据（censored data）并刻画随时间动态变化的研究对象，而脱颖而出。为此，本文献计量研究旨在验证生存分析在种子萌发相关研究中的应用情况，并梳理2000年至2020年间Web of Science数据库收录的原创论文中生存分析的应用场景。结果显示，种子科学领域涉及生存分析的出版物数量相对较少，其中美国的发文量位居全球首位，相关研究多聚焦于植物生态学与生理学方向。总体而言，现有相关研究多围绕影响种子萌发的休眠因素、生理胁迫、扩散能力、种群差异及发育生境等展开评估。综上，本定性综述表明，生存分析是该领域极具应用潜力的统计分析工具。