Bhagwat, K and Venkata Santosh Kumar, D (2022) A systematic review of construction safety research: Quantitative and qualitative content analysis approach. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 12(2), pp. 243-261. ISSN 2044-124X
Abstract
Construction safety management (CSM) has been intensively researched in the last four decades but hitherto mostly aimed at understanding root causes of accidents, recommending preventive measures and evaluating their implications. However, a systematic effort to present a comprehensive picture of construction safety research is hardly witnessed. Therefore, the study aims to investigate construction safety research contributors, ontologies, themes, evolution, emerging trends and future directions using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. A total of 877 journal articles were extracted using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and Scopus literature database and were analyzed using VOSviewer and Nvivo tools to present a comprehensive picture of the CSM body of knowledge. The study observed rapid growth in construction safety research with contributions from various countries, organizations and researchers. This study identified 3 research levels, 8 project phases, 10 project types, 6 research instruments and 19 research data sources along with their usage in the research domain. Further, the study identified 13 emerging research themes, 4 emerging research trends and an observed paradigm shift from reactive to proactive CSM approach. The comprehensive study on the emerging themes and findings on proactive CSM has strategic implications to practice to incorporate safety. The identified future directions can assist researchers in bridging the existing gaps and strengthening emerging research trends. The study presents a comprehensive picture of the CSM body of knowledge using the content analysis approach that was absent in past literature and opened future research avenues.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | safety management; content analysis; qualitative analysis; ontology; occupational safety; safety; safety research; automation; accident prevention; legal medicine; construction accidents & safety |
| Index terms: | journal, qualitative analysis, construction safety, occupational safety, body of knowledge, safety management, strengthening, systematic literature review, automation, evolution, accident prevention, safety research, legal medicine, database, content analysis, ontology, construction accident, meta-analysis, paradigm |
| Subjects: | research evaluation and metrics, occupational health and safety management, legal systems, environmental science, research dissemination and communication, structural engineering, environmental health, knowledge management, data management, education and knowledge transfer, data analysis and analytics, automation and robotics, research design and methodology |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Legal Issues, Health and Safety, Digital Applications, Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here