Mapping research trends, collaboration networks, and emerging themes of virtual reality in construction safety management: a bibliometric analysis

Virtual Reality (VR) has become an increasingly important technology for improving construction safety by enabling immersive training, hazard identification, and interactive learning environments. As research in this area has expanded rapidly, understanding its intellectual development, collaboration patterns, and emerging research directions has become increasingly important. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of research on VR applications in construction safety management using publications indexed in the Scopus database between 2000 and 2024. A dataset of 432 documents was analysed using the Bibliometric package in R and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, citation performance, collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution. The findings indicate substantial growth in scientific output, particularly after 2018, reflecting the increasing adoption of digital technologies within the construction industry. The analysis identifies the leading authors, institutions, countries, and publication sources that have shaped this research domain, while revealing four dominant thematic areas: VR-based safety training, BIM-enabled digital integration, human factors and user experience, and intelligent safety systems incorporating artificial intelligence and related technologies. The results further demonstrate a gradual transition from visualisation-oriented applications toward integrated, data-driven, and human-centred approaches to construction safety management. By providing a comprehensive overview of the field's intellectual structure and research evolution, this study highlights current knowledge gaps and identifies promising directions for future research, including AI-assisted VR systems, digital twins, and adaptive immersive training environments. The findings offer useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to advance the implementation of VR technologies in construction safety management.