IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v87y2011i2d10.1007_s11192-010-0330-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowledge production through collaborative research in sub-Saharan Africa: how much do countries contribute to each other’s knowledge output and citation impact?

Author

Listed:
  • Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha

    (University of South Africa, Unisa)

  • Jan Resenga Maluleka

    (University of South Africa, Unisa)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha & Jan Resenga Maluleka, 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, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 87(2), pages 315-336, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:87:y:2011:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-010-0330-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-010-0330-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-010-0330-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-010-0330-5?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. Frenken, Koen, 2002. "The geography of collaborative knowledge production: entropy techniques and results for the European Union," ERSA conference papers ersa02p029, European Regional Science Association.
    2. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2009. "Collaboration and publication: How collaborative are scientists in South Africa?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 80(2), pages 419-439, August.
    3. Hessels, Laurens K. & van Lente, Harro, 2008. "Re-thinking new knowledge production: A literature review and a research agenda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 740-760, May.
    4. Jarno Hoekman & Koen Frenken & Frank Oort, 2009. "The geography of collaborative knowledge production in Europe," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 43(3), pages 721-738, September.
    5. Liana Marina Ranga & Koenraad Debackere & Nick von Tunzelmann, 2003. "Entrepreneurial universities and the dynamics of academic knowledge production: A case study of basic vs. applied research in Belgium," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(2), pages 301-320, October.
    6. Heinze, Thomas & Kuhlmann, Stefan, 2008. "Across institutional boundaries?: Research collaboration in German public sector nanoscience," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 888-899, June.
    7. Hoekman, Jarno & Frenken, Koen & Tijssen, Robert J.W., 2010. "Research collaboration at a distance: Changing spatial patterns of scientific collaboration within Europe," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 662-673, June.
    8. Godin, Benoit & Gingras, Yves, 2000. "The place of universities in the system of knowledge production," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 273-278, February.
    9. Laurens K. Hessels & Harro van Lente, 2008. "Re-thinking knowledge production: a literature review and a research agenda," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 08-03, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Feb 2008.
    10. 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.
    11. Katarina Prpić, 2007. "Changes of scientific knowledge production and research productivity in a transitional society," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 72(3), pages 487-511, September.
    12. Takayuki Hayashi & Yuko Fujigaki, 1999. "Differences in knowledge production between disciplines based on analysis of paper styles and citation patterns," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 46(1), pages 73-86, September.
    13. Dorothea Jansen & Regina Görtz & Richard Heidler, 2010. "Knowledge production and the structure of collaboration networks in two scientific fields," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 83(1), pages 219-241, April.
    14. Jae-Yong Choung & Hong-Ghi Min & Myeong-Cheol Park, 2003. "Patterns of knowledge production: The case of information and telecommunication sector in Korea," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(1), pages 115-128, September.
    15. Rigas Arvanitis & Roland Waast & Jacques Gaillard, 2000. "Science in Africa: A Bibliometric Panorama Using PASCAL Database," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 47(3), pages 457-473, March.
    16. Francisco Collazo-Reyes & Ma. Elena Luna-Morales & Jane M. Russell & Miguel Ángel Pérez-Angón, 2010. "Enriching knowledge production patterns of Mexican physics in particles and fields," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 85(3), pages 791-802, December.
    17. Arocena, Rodrigo & Sutz, Judith, 2001. "Changing knowledge production and Latin American universities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(8), pages 1221-1234, October.
    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. Nelson Casimiro Zavale & Patrício Vitorino Langa, 2018. "University-industry linkages’ literature on Sub-Saharan Africa: systematic literature review and bibliometric account," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(1), pages 1-49, July.
    2. Anastassios Pouris & Yuh-Shan Ho, 2014. "Research emphasis and collaboration in Africa," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 2169-2184, March.
    3. Fabio Landini & Franco Malerba & Roberto Mavilia, 2015. "The structure and dynamics of networks of scientific collaborations in Northern Africa," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 1787-1807, December.
    4. Elizabeth S. Vieira, 2022. "International research collaboration in Africa: a bibliometric and thematic analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(5), pages 2747-2772, May.
    5. Ponomariov, Branco & Toivanen, Hannes, 2014. "Knowledge flows and bases in emerging economy innovation systems: Brazilian research 2005–2009," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 588-596.
    6. Hannes Toivanen & Branco Ponomariov, 2011. "African regional innovation systems: bibliometric analysis of research collaboration patterns 2005–2009," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(2), pages 471-493, August.
    7. Iman Tahamtan & Askar Safipour Afshar & Khadijeh Ahamdzadeh, 2016. "Factors affecting number of citations: a comprehensive review of the literature," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 107(3), pages 1195-1225, June.
    8. Matthew Harsh & Ravtosh Bal & Alex Weryha & Justin Whatley & Charles C. Onu & Lisa M. Negro, 2021. "Mapping computer science research in Africa: using academic networking sites for assessing research activity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(1), pages 305-334, January.
    9. 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.
    10. Jonathan Iyandemye & Marshall P Thomas, 2019. "Low income countries have the highest percentages of open access publication: A systematic computational analysis of the biomedical literature," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-11, July.
    11. Vivek Kumar Singh & Ashraf Uddin & David Pinto, 2015. "Computer science research: the top 100 institutions in India and in the world," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(2), pages 529-553, August.
    12. Fenggao Niu & Junping Qiu, 2014. "Network structure, distribution and the growth of Chinese international research collaboration," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(2), pages 1221-1233, February.
    13. Eustache Mêgnigbêto, 2013. "International collaboration in scientific publishing: the case of West Africa (2001–2010)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 96(3), pages 761-783, September.
    14. Mingyang Wang & Zhenyu Wang & Guangsheng Chen, 2019. "Which can better predict the future success of articles? Bibliometric indices or alternative metrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(3), pages 1575-1595, June.
    15. Frederick Owusu-Nimo & Nelius Boshoff, 2017. "Research collaboration in Ghana: patterns, motives and roles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1099-1121, March.
    16. David B. Audretsch & Albert N. Link & Martijn Hasselt, 2019. "Knowledge begets knowledge: university knowledge spillovers and the output of scientific papers from U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(3), pages 1367-1383, December.
    17. Shantha Indrajith Hikkaduwa Liyanage & Fulu Godfrey Netswera, 2022. "Greening Universities with Mode 3 and Quintuple Helix Model of Innovation–Production of Knowledge and Innovation in Knowledge-Based Economy, Botswana," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1126-1156, June.
    18. 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.
    19. Abramo, Giovanni & D’Angelo, Ciriaco Andrea, 2018. "Who benefits from a country’s scientific research?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 249-258.
    20. Ali Gazni & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Fereshteh Didegah, 2012. "Mapping world scientific collaboration: Authors, institutions, and countries," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(2), pages 323-335, February.
    21. 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.
    22. Ashraf Uddin & Vivek Kumar Singh & David Pinto & Ivan Olmos, 2015. "Scientometric mapping of computer science research in Mexico," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(1), pages 97-114, October.

    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. 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.
    2. Luis Antonio Orozco Castro, 2015. "Diversidad y heterogeneidad en redes de colaboración científica. Un estudio de las escuelas de administración de América Latina," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Administración de Empresas, edition 1, number 44, April.
    3. Brixner, Cristián & Lerena, Octavio & Minervini, Mariana & Yoguel, Gabriel, 2021. "The relationship between universities and business: identification of thematic communities," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    4. Atiase, Victor Yawo & Kolade, Oluwaseun & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele, 2020. "The emergence and strategy of tech hubs in Africa: Implications for knowledge production and value creation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    5. Loet Leydesdorff, 2012. "The Triple Helix, Quadruple Helix, …, and an N-Tuple of Helices: Explanatory Models for Analyzing the Knowledge-Based Economy?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 3(1), pages 25-35, March.
    6. Rakas, Marija & Hain, Daniel S., 2019. "The state of innovation system research: What happens beneath the surface?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    7. Nelius Boshoff, 2010. "South–South research collaboration of countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 481-503, August.
    8. Julia Olmos‐Peñuela & Paul Benneworth & Elena Castro‐Martínez, 2015. "Exploring the factors related with scientists’ willingness to incorporating external knowledge," CHEPS Working Papers 201504, University of Twente, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS).
    9. Andreas Bjurström & Merritt Polk, 2011. "Climate change and interdisciplinarity: a co-citation analysis of IPCC Third Assessment Report," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 87(3), pages 525-550, June.
    10. Laurent R. Bergé, 2017. "Network proximity in the geography of research collaboration," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(4), pages 785-815, November.
    11. Sara Amoroso & Alex Coad & Nicola Grassano, 2017. "European R&D networks: A snapshot from the 7th EU Framework Programme," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation JRC107546, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    12. van Rijnsoever, Frank J. & Hessels, Laurens K., 2011. "Factors associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary research collaboration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 463-472, April.
    13. Hiroyasu Inoue & Kentaro Nakajima & Yukiko Umeno Saito, 2019. "Localization of collaborations in knowledge creation," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 62(1), pages 119-140, February.
    14. Cui Zhang & Jing Guo, 2017. "China’s international research collaboration: evidence from a panel gravity model," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(2), pages 1129-1139, November.
    15. Llopis, Oscar & D'Este, Pablo & McKelvey, Maureen & Yegros, Alfredo, 2022. "Navigating multiple logics: Legitimacy and the quest for societal impact in science," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    16. Froese, Anna & Woiwode, Hendrik & Suckow, Silvio, 2019. "Mission Impossible? Neue Wege zu Interdisziplinarität: Empfehlungen für Wissenschaft, Wissenschaftspolitik und Praxis," Discussion Papers, Research Group Science Policy Studies SP III 2019-601, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    17. Niels Stijn & Frank J. Rijnsoever & Martine Veelen, 2018. "Exploring the motives and practices of university–start-up interaction: evidence from Route 128," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 674-713, June.
    18. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, 2011. "Scientific publications of engineers in South Africa, 1975–2005," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 86(1), pages 211-226, January.
    19. Dorothea Jansen & Regina Görtz & Richard Heidler, 2010. "Knowledge production and the structure of collaboration networks in two scientific fields," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 83(1), pages 219-241, April.
    20. Montobbio, Fabio & Sterzi, Valerio, 2013. "The Globalization of Technology in Emerging Markets: A Gravity Model on the Determinants of International Patent Collaborations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 281-299.

    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:87:y:2011:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-010-0330-5. 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.