Knowledge production through collaborative research in sub-Saharan Africa : how much do countries contribute to each other's knowledge output and citation impact?
Loading...
Authors
Onyancha, Omwoyo Bosire
Maluleka, Jan Resenga
Issue Date
2011
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Research collaboration , Knowledge production , Sub-Saharan Africa , Citation impact
Alternative Title
Abstract
This paper examines co-authorship of research articles in Thomson Reuters
citation indexes in order to assess knowledge co-production in selected sub-Saharan
African countries. Two indicators, namely publications and citations, were analysed to
establish the patterns of knowledge co-production and its scientific impact, respectively.
The study found that knowledge production through collaborative research among sub-
Saharan African countries is minimal and contributes only a small percentage when
compared to collaboration between sub-Saharan African countries and their foreign
counterparts. Similarly, the scientific impact of international collaboration was higher than
that of continental collaboration. Countries belonging to the same geographic region
contributed to each other’s knowledge production more frequently than they did to the
countries outside their region. It is recommended that, for knowledge co-production in sub-
Saharan Africa to improve, various measures such as encouraging student and staff
exchange, hosting more regional conferences and encouraging research networks need to
be put in place.
Description
Citation
Onyancha, O.B. & Maluleka, J.R. 2011,'Knowledge production through collaborative research in sub-Saharan Africa : how much do countries contribute to each other's knowledge output and citation impact?',
Scientometrics, vol. 87, pp. 315-336.
Publisher
Elsevier