A comparative knowledge map of PhD research in relation to priority environmental issues in Sout Africa

Abstract

The content, nature and characteristics of South African PhDs in environmental management are unknown. It is not clear what the research themes or trends between 1998 and 2017 were, and if the strategic research themes that are important for South Africa (included in legislation, policies and plans) were taken into consideration. The PhDs and the strategic driver documents were compared to establish if there is any alignment between the two. There is no synthesised document that compares the current body of knowledge, in the form of PhDs, to that of the key strategic drivers that South Africa ascribes to, which in turn may guide future research needs and identify niche research areas. The study aimed to establish the level of alignment between South African environmental management and science PhD knowledge production and priority environmental issues in South Africa. The philosophy that underpinned this research was interpretivism, which involves a researcher to interpreting elements of a study and focusing on meaning, which mostly only materialises at the end of the study. The method used for this study was a systematic literature review and content analysis. The data, in this case completed PhDs, were manually examined, and then, to ensure objectivity, the text-mining software program, Leximancer, was used for further analysis. A comparative knowledge map was then generated from the data analyses as a strategic tool to support knowledge translation to address the future priority research areas that needs to be addressed. The results of the study indicated that research mostly focused on biodiversity, habitat and resources, and social environmental aspects relating to the people of South Africa. Two major issues that did not receive much attention was the waste and greenhouse gas and the green or low carbon economy, renewable energy themes. In terms of the government documents, the Biodiversity Act and Air Quality Act were well represented. Many PhDs addressed aspects in the themes that were identified from the State of the Environment reports. The aspects identified by a report from Kok and Pietersen from 1999 and the NDP 2030, received less coverage in the completed PhDs. This study identified research gaps that need to be explored to ensure that PhDs are relevant to the development goals of South Africa, as stipulated in the strategic environmental documents. It is recommended that prospective PhD students consider the national environmental strategic drivers and objectives when considering research themes, especially the NDP 2030. This will ensure that greater alignment is achieved between the knowledge production of PhD studies and the strategic environmental goals, legislation, policies and plans for developing the country.