Trends in Research Collaboration: Experiences in Tanzanian Institutions of Higher Learning

This study investigated trends in research collaborative network among Tanzanian institutions of higher learning. The study focused primarily on online journals based on the fact that they can be easily accessed and stored as compared to print media. It employed a concept analysis design because it didn’t make use of field-based study. It used convenience sampling to get 118 online Journals authored by educators in Tanzanian institutions of higher learning. The findings indicate the majority of sampled articles were authored without collaboration, an aspect that reduces research quality and credibility. It is also worth noting that majority of collaborative authorship involved inter institutional collaboration. This suggests that university educators need to be encouraged to continue with national and international collaboration in order to increase university efficacy in terms of research and publications. Finally, the rate of domestic collaboration was higher than that of international collaboration. While this is recommendable, there needs to be a leap for more rates in international collaboration. This can be achieved through capacity building on the importance of local and international collaboration.