Thirty Years of Research on Fine Motor Skills in Preschool and School-Aged children: A Scientometric Analysis of Trends

Research on fine motor skills in children has evolved considerably over the last 30 years. However, a scientometric analysis of these changes over time, along with an assessment of researchers’ networks and scientific productivity, is currently lacking. We conducted a scientometric analysis of the scientific literature on fine motor skills in preschool and school-aged children to evaluate key themes and trends over the past decades, thereby informing future research directions. We conducted a search in the Web of Science Core Collection from 1994 to 2024 utilizing pertinent keywords. The evolution of co-reference clusters and the performance of research networks across countries, institutions, and authors were analyzed using the Bibliometrix R package (v4.3.0) and CiteSpace (v6.4.R3). There has been an exponential growth in publications, showing a 7.5% annual increase from 2006 to 2021, and a positive correlation (R² = 0.89) between the publication year and output, indicating a promising trend in the field. The co-cited reference network analysis revealed 10 clusters in a well-structured network (Q = 0.835) with strong clustering reliability (S = 0.94). The primary research trends identifiedare: 1) the link between fine motor skills and academic achievement; and 2) the traits of fine motor impairment in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The latest research trends in fine motor skills for children include developing assessment tools and interventions for both typically developing children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders.These findings can inform future directions for funding agencies and research groups.