IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v59y2004i3d10.1023_bscie.0000018541.29653.f5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

South African research in selected scientific areas: Status 1981–2000

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Ingwersen

    (Royal School of Library and Information Science Centre for Informetric Studies Copenhagen)

  • Daisy Jacobs

    (University of Pretoria Republic of)

Abstract

The paper is a bibliometric study of the publication and citation patterns and impact of South African research 1981–2000 in five selected research fields: Animal & Plant sciences; Chemistry; Biochemistry; Microbiology & molecular biology, including genetics; and Physics, excluding Space science. Data are collected from Science Citation Index via the ISI product National Science Indicators. With the exception of Microbiology & molecular biology and Physics the results demonstrate a decrease of SA publications from 1986–1990. The SA world share declines for all five fields. First from the period 1994–1998 the Animal & plant sciences and Microbiology & molecular biology turn the decline into an increase. Absolute citation impact is increasing for all the fields from 1989–1993, except for Chemistry. One reason for the decline is a lower publication output. General & internal medicine, as an supplementary volume-heavy field observed, declines in citations until that same period from which it becomes stable, also in impact, but with a marked decrease in cited paper proportion. In citation world shares the five fields combined show positive signs also since 1989–1993, after which period the international eco-political embargo of SA was lifted. However, Biochemistry and Chemistry continue to decline during the 1990s. Citation impact relative to the world shows a similar pattern, but stagnation appears towards the end of the 1990s in all the observed fields combined. The trends are quite similar to those of Mexico and New Zealand. It is thus highly uncertain if a general citation embargo of SA occurred; yet, in some fields like the Animal & plant sciences, Veterinary science, Chemistry, and General & internal medicine there are signs that a mild citation embargo might have occurred. However, the economic embargo, combined with a significant brain drain, may have had an effect on the publication productivity, after it was lifted. For all indicators Chemistry is undergoing a marked decline during the last decade. This is in line with the negative trends for General & internal medicine, whereas some other medical specialities, biology, economics and other social sciences, the engineering fields and materials sciences keep stable or increase their production. SA is in line with the Mexican development but below that of New Zealand, seemingly losing ground to the developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Ingwersen & Daisy Jacobs, 2004. "South African research in selected scientific areas: Status 1981–2000," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 59(3), pages 405-423, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:59:y:2004:i:3:d:10.1023_b:scie.0000018541.29653.f5
    DOI: 10.1023/B:SCIE.0000018541.29653.f5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1023/B:SCIE.0000018541.29653.f5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1023/B:SCIE.0000018541.29653.f5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nora Narváez-Berthelemot & Jane M. Russell & Rigas Arvanitis & Roland Waast & Jacques Gaillard, 2002. "Science in Africa: An overview of mainstream scientific output," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 54(2), pages 229-241, June.
    2. Daisy Jacobs & Peter Ingwersen, 2000. "A Bibliometric Study of the Publication Patterns in the Sciences of South African Scholars 1981–96," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 47(1), pages 75-93, January.
    3. Wolfgang Glänzel & András Schubert & Tibor Braun, 2002. "A relational charting approach to the world of basic research in twelve science fields at the end of the second millennium," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 55(3), pages 335-348, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2010. "Science and scientific collaboration in South Africa: apartheid and after," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 373-390, August.
    2. Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha, 2020. "Towards a Knowledge Specialisation Index for Sub-Saharan Africa: an Informetrics Study," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(1), pages 373-389, March.
    3. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2009. "Do types of collaboration change citation? Collaboration and citation patterns of South African science publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 81(1), pages 177-193, October.
    4. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2019. "Scientific knowledge in South Africa: information trends, patterns and collaboration," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(3), pages 1365-1386, June.
    5. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2009. "Collaboration and publication: How collaborative are scientists in South Africa?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 80(2), pages 419-439, August.
    6. Robert J. W. Tijssen, 2007. "Africa’s contribution to the worldwide research literature: New analytical perspectives, trends, and performance indicators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 71(2), pages 303-327, May.
    7. Carmen Osuna & Laura Cruz-Castro & Luis Sanz-Menéndez, 2011. "Overturning some assumptions about the effects of evaluation systems on publication performance," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 86(3), pages 575-592, March.
    8. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2010. "Medical research in South Africa: a scientometric analysis of trends, patterns, productivity and partnership," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(3), pages 863-885, September.
    9. Torben Schubert & Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2010. "Can the centre–periphery model explain patterns of international scientific collaboration among threshold and industrialised countries? The case of South Africa and Germany," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 83(1), pages 181-203, April.
    10. Anastassios Pouris, 2010. "A scientometric assessment of the Southern Africa Development Community: science in the tip of Africa," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 85(1), pages 145-154, October.
    11. Alejandro Vega-Muñoz & Paloma Gónzalez-Gómez-del-Miño & Juan Felipe Espinosa-Cristia, 2021. "Recognizing New Trends in Brain Drain Studies in the Framework of Global Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-27, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2010. "Medical research in South Africa: a scientometric analysis of trends, patterns, productivity and partnership," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(3), pages 863-885, September.
    2. Robert J. W. Tijssen, 2007. "Africa’s contribution to the worldwide research literature: New analytical perspectives, trends, and performance indicators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 71(2), pages 303-327, May.
    3. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2009. "Do types of collaboration change citation? Collaboration and citation patterns of South African science publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 81(1), pages 177-193, October.
    4. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2009. "Collaboration and publication: How collaborative are scientists in South Africa?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 80(2), pages 419-439, August.
    5. Juan A Crespo & Ignacio Ortuño-Ortín & Javier Ruiz-Castillo, 2012. "The Citation Merit of Scientific Publications," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(11), pages 1-9, November.
    6. Jan Resenga Maluleka & Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha & Isola Ajiferuke, 2016. "Factors influencing research collaboration in LIS schools in South Africa," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 107(2), pages 337-355, May.
    7. Anastassios Pouris, 2010. "A scientometric assessment of the Southern Africa Development Community: science in the tip of Africa," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 85(1), pages 145-154, October.
    8. Toluwase Asubiaro, 2019. "How collaboration type, publication place, funding and author’s role affect citations received by publications from Africa: A bibliometric study of LIS research from 1996 to 2015," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(3), pages 1261-1287, September.
    9. Wolfgang Glänzel & Balázs Schlemmer & Bart Thijs, 2003. "Better late than never? On the chance to become highly cited only beyond the standard bibliometric time horizon," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(3), pages 571-586, November.
    10. Wolfgang Glänzel & Bart Thijs, 2004. "The influence of author self-citations on bibliometric macro indicators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 59(3), pages 281-310, March.
    11. Chi, Yuxue & Tang, Xianyi & Liu, Yijun, 2022. "Exploring the “awakening effect” in knowledge diffusion: a case study of publications in the library and information science domain," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4).
    12. Pedro Albarrán & Ignacio Ortuño & Javier Ruiz-Castillo, 2011. "Average-based versus high- and low-impact indicators for the evaluation of scientific distributions," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 325-339, October.
    13. Mladen Andreis & Maja Jokić, 2008. "An impact of Croatian journals measured by citation analysis from SCI-expanded database in time span 1975–2001," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 75(2), pages 263-288, May.
    14. Jamali, Seyedh Mahboobeh & Md Zain, Ahmad Nurulazam & Samsudin, Mohd Ali & Ale Ebrahim, Nader, 2015. "Publication Trends in Physics Education: A Bibliometric study," MPRA Paper 79524, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2015.
    15. Claude Robert & Concepción S. Wilson & Jean-François Gaudy & Charles-Daniel Arreto, 2006. "A snapshot of EU publications in sleep research: A scientometric survey," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 67(3), pages 385-405, June.
    16. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2010. "Science and scientific collaboration in South Africa: apartheid and after," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 373-390, August.
    17. Péter Vinkler, 2003. "Relations of relative scientometric indicators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(3), pages 687-694, November.
    18. Bar-Ilan, Judit, 2008. "Informetrics at the beginning of the 21st century—A review," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-52.
    19. Nora Narváez-Berthelemot & Jane M. Russell & Rigas Arvanitis & Roland Waast & Jacques Gaillard, 2002. "Science in Africa: An overview of mainstream scientific output," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 54(2), pages 229-241, June.
    20. Christian Schneijderberg & Nicolai Götze & Lars Müller, 2022. "A study of 25 years of publication outputs in the German academic profession," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(1), pages 1-28, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:59:y:2004:i:3:d:10.1023_b:scie.0000018541.29653.f5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.