A Scientometric Review of Practical Applications in Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP): Trends, Gaps, and Research Opportunities
Valmiro Ribeiro da Silva, Fábio Rocha Barbosa, Jasson Carvalho da Silva +3 more
Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP) is an emerging interdisciplinary field that connects quantum computing and natural language processing (NLP), with the goal of improving language models through quantum algorithms. Although the field has gained increasing attention, research in QNLP remains fragmented, with limited studies mapping its evolution or practical implementations. This article presents a comprehensive scientometric analysis of QNLP research, revealing its conceptual foundations, research dynamics, and emerging directions. Using bibliographic data from the Scopus (2014-2024) and Web of Science (2014-2024) databases and analytical tools such as VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, we examined 116 publications following the PRISMA guidelines. The analysis covers publication growth, author productivity, leading journals, influential countries, and keyword trends. Network visualizations highlight the intellectual structure of the field, co-authorship patterns, and thematic clusters. The results indicate a sharp increase in QNLP studies since 2021, driven by advances in quantum hardware, frameworks such aslambeq, and growing interdisciplinary collaborations. However, during the literature mapping, we identified a significant gap regarding the applications of QNLP in various specific domains such as healthcare field. This study offers a quantitative mapping of the QNLP landscape, providing a structured overview of its development and outlining promising avenues for future exploration.
IEEE Access•Jan 1, 2025•1 citation