Scientometric impact assessment of a research policy instrument: the case of rating researchers on scientific outputs in South Africa

The influence of the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) rating system on the productivity of the South African social science researchers is investigated scientometrically for the period from 1981 to 2006. Their output performance is mainly indicated by their research publications. Following international best practice in scientometrics as well as the behavioural reinforcement theory, we employed the “before/after control impact (BACI) method”, as well as the well known econometric breakpoint test as proposed by Chow. We use as control group the publications in the field of clinical medicine. The field is not supported by NRF and hence clinical medicine researchers are not affected by the evaluation and rating system. The findings show a positive impact of the NRF programme on the research outputs of social sciences researchers and the implementation of the programme has increased the relevant population of research articles by an average of 24.5% (during the first 5 years) over the expected number of publication without the programme. The results confirm the scientometric findings of other studies (e.g. that of Nederhof) that ratings promulgate research productivity.     

A scientometric assessment of agricultural research in South Africa

This article reports the results of a scientometric assessment of agricultural research in South Africa over the period 1974–1984. The Science Literature Indicators Database of CHI is used and South Africa is compared with 7 other countries spread in America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. The criteria used for the assessment are the contribution of each country to international agricultural literature (in terms of publications) and their impact in the Schubert-Glänzel-Braun Impact Scale. It was found that, although the South African contribution has improved in that period, it is comparable to that of Brazil and Argentina; that Nigeria and Israel produce 3 times more, and: that Australia and Canada contribute more than one order of magnitude of publications more than South Africa. As far as research impact is concerned Plant Science research in South Africa is rated fair in the Schubert-Glänzel-Braun scale, whilst Dairy and Animal Science and Veterinary research are rated poor.     

A bibliometric study of bioinformatics research in South Africa

This paper reports on the practises of bioinformatics research in South Africa using bibliometric techniques. The search strategy was designed to cover the common concepts in biological data organisation, retrieval and analysis; the development and application of tools and methodologies in biological computation; and related subjects in genomics and structural bioinformatics. The South African literature in bioinformatics has grown by 66.5% between 2001 and 2006. However, its share of world production is not on par with comparator countries, Brazil, India and Australia.     

Laser research in India: Scientometric study and model projections

An analysis of 785 papers, books and reports, in the field of laser, published from India during 1967–84, indicates that Indian output comprises almost 1% of the international output. The total output came from 77 academic and research institutions, out of which 10 institutions contributed almost 23%. Major portion of these publications appeared in foreign journals of repute, as reflected by their impact factors. Emphasis has been on theoretical aspects of laser research. The laser research performed in India appears to be a part of mainstream science as indicated by the pattern of publications and citations. The study also indicates that Indian scientists have few international collaboration in this field. A mathematical model for growth of literature output shows that though the rate of Indian literature output peaked at about the same time as that of the world output, Indian output may start getting marginalised by 1995. The model indicates that reasons for this lie in relatively less emphasis in India on experimental and applied aspects of laser research compared to international averages.     

The fishing industry research institute (South Africa)

An introduction to the activities of the South African fishing Industry Research Institute is given with emphasis on chilling and refrigeration.     

Fluorine research in South Africa and four benchmarking countries: Comparative mapping and assessment

Fluorine research has been identified as a priority area in South Africa and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) is embarking in an effort to expand its hydrogen fluoride and aluminium trifluoride production capacity. On the eve of those efforts this article reports the findings of an effort to map and assess fluorine research in South Africa in comparison to four other countries i.e. Malaysia, Australia, Germany and Italy. The results of the assessment are aimed at guiding future directions for fluorine research in the country, at identifying centres of expertise nationally where new research chairs could be established, at identifying international centres of expertise to be utilised for collaboration and of course for inter-temporal benchmarking of fluorine research in South Africa. South Africa is identified to be producing a small number of fluorine research publications in comparison to other countries like Germany and Italy which produce orders of magnitude larger number of publications and in comparison to country’s total research effort. Furthermore the relevant research effort appears to be dispersed geographically and in disciplinary terms. Relevant recommendations are provided with particular emphasis on the pluralistic science policy approach followed in the country.     

Nanoscale research in South Africa: A mapping exercise based on scientometrics

This article reports the findings of a scientometric analysis of nanoscale research in South Africa during the period 2000–2005. The ISI databases were identified as the most appropriate information platform for the objectives of the investigation and have been interrogated for the identification of South African authors publishing in the field. The article identifies trends over time, major institutional contributors, journals in which South African authors publish their research, international collaborators and performance in comparison to four comparator countries (India, Brazil, South Korea and Australia). The major findings of the investigation are as follows: nanoscale research in South Africa is driven by individual researchers interests up to date and it is in its early stages of development; the country’s nanoscale research is below what would one expect in light of its overall publication output; the country’s nano-research is distributed to a number of Universities with subcritical concentration of researchers.     

Scientometric analysis of the topical content of scientific research and its particularities

A new method for quantitative evaluation of the topical content of scientific research is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of the number and topic of publications in different fields. A mathematical model, describing the connection between level and width of research, between topic renewal and concentration of research is developed. Furthermore, coefficients characterizing various aspects of research are introduced. The theoretical conclusions fit well the factual data obtained from the INIS system. A nucleus of terms defining the most developed directions of research is found in each case. The analysis indicates that the growth rate of publications cannot serve as a reliable criterion of research topicality.     

Scientometric indicators for evaluating medical research output of mid-size countries

The medical research output of eleven mid-size countries were compared with the aid of scientometric indicators. Papers published by clinical medicine journals and those of professors working at clinical faculties were used for comparison. The professors proved to be more productive authors than average scientists of the same country, but no particular eminence of the professors could be revealed. A correlation was found between the quality of clinical medicine papers (as reflected by their relative citation rate) and the infant mortality of the countries in question.     

Practice as policy in ICT for education: Catalysing communities of practice in education in South Africa

The e-Education policy was introduced into schools with the intention of “transforming learning and teaching” ([14], p. 1). The policy places an obligation on education to use educational technology to deliver on expectations of quality education for economic growth and social development. Utilising a case study approach and backward mapping principles to policy implementation, this study sets out to explore how teachers appropriate¹ information and communication technology (ICT) policy to influence teaching and learning in South African schools. Qualitative methods were employed to capture data through classroom observations, interviews and document analysis. Data was analysed using grounded theory methods. Findings that are unique to the South African context were fivefold. First, the national e-Education policy existed as an invisible policy within the school context. Second, there was a lack of policy support and district presence in schools. Third, districts and schools had conflicting ideas of establishing collaborative support. Fourth, teachers' beliefs, attitudes and agency promoted ICT practice as policy. And fifth, the absence of district support catalysed the emergence of communities of practice. This study asserts the notion that for policy to be implemented teachers should be instrumental partners in the formulation of policy. Teachers should be encouraged to form ICT communities of practice to support their teaching practice and foster policy implementation.     

Membrane development in South Africa

This article gives a broad overview of the advances in membrane research and development in South Africa. In particular, the more recent innovations are discussed.     

Scientometrics of a pandemic: HIV/AIDS research in South Africa and the World

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is of international interest with the 2008 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine having being awarded for the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS. South Africa has a particular interest in the field of HIV/AIDS research as it is the country with the largest number of HIV infections in the world and the issue has created a number of political and scientific debates. This investigation identifies the state of HIV/AIDS related research in South Africa vis-a-vis the rest of the world using evaluative scientometrics in order to inform relevant policy. South Africa is identified as producing an increasing number of HIV/AIDS related publications, making it one of the most prolific fields in the country. The rest of the world appears to have stabilized its research efforts after the development of highly active antiretroviral therapies. The USA is identified as the main producer of HIV/AIDS research while Europe appears to under-emphasise the issue. Comparison of the world??s most prolific universities with those in South Africa identifies that the latter has a fragmented system. A number of policy issues are discussed.     

Politics and Photography in Apartheid South Africa

Resistance or struggle photography is a term describing the photographic documentation of conflict between oppressed and oppressor from the perspective of the subjugated. An example of this genre is explored in the context of apartheid South Africa during the 1980s through the work of a collective called Afrapix. This group's images of the repression of Black and Coloured populations by the apartheid regime, although largely curbed in South Africa, found an extensive international reception. These photographs contributed to the worldwide condemnation and sanctions that ultimately led to the collapse of the apartheid government. Whether photographs should be used as weapons in the political struggle, a position fostered by the African National Congress (ANC) and accepted by Afrapix, is explored through the divergent views of the photographer David Goldblatt. The decline of Afrapix is examined in relation to shifting market and aesthetic considerations following the end of apartheid.     

The objectivity of national research foundation peer review in South Africa assessed against bibliometric indexes

This paper examines the strength of association between the outcomes of National Research Foundation (NRF) peer review based rating mechanisms, and a range of objective measures of performance of researchers. The analysis is conducted on 1932 scholars that have received an NRF rating or an NRF research chair. We find that on average scholars with higher NRF ratings record higher performance against research output and impact metrics. However, we also record anomalies in the probabilities of different NRF ratings when assessed against bibliometric performance measures, and record a disproportionately large incidence of scholars with high peer-review based ratings with low levels of recorded research output and impact. Moreover, we find strong cross-disciplinary differences in terms of the impact that objective levels of performance have on the probability of achieving different NRF ratings. Finally, we report evidence that NRF peer review is less likely to reward multi-authored research output than single-authored output. Claims of a lack of bias in NRF peer review are thus difficult to sustain.     

Medical research in South Africa: a scientometric analysis of trends,patterns, productivity and partnership

Being a scientifically active country in Africa, South Africa has made significant strides in the production of scientific publications. Medicine is one branch of science that has achieved a remarkable position in this regard. Extracting and analyzing medical publications for three decades and at regular intervals (1975–2005) from the SCI database, this paper pioneers an attempt to find out whether the reported pace of growth in the production of scientific papers in medicine is an effect of partnerships that scholars have with their counterparts within the organization, within the country, or with those in other countries. This paper also presents the unique patterns of scientific research in medicine, taking into account factors such as the count and fractional count of papers, citations, trends of growth, sectoral participation, partners, and publication outlets, and seeks to provide new insights into the directions medical science is taking in South Africa today.     

Scientometric investigations in the USSR

The following is a review of scientometric investigations in the USSR. Scientometrics has been taken in the rigorous sense of the term, defined as an approach of the science of science which attempts to measure sciencereproducibly. The state of scientometric research in the Soviet Union is compared to that of other countries.