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Towards a Knowledge Specialisation Index for Sub-Saharan Africa: an Informetrics Study

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Abstract

The study examines the publications produced in selected sub-Saharan African countries with the aim of assessing research intensity or prioritisation for purposes of developing a knowledge specialisation index in sub-Saharan Africa. The study used data obtained from the Thomson Reuters’ Incites™ Essential Science IndicatorsSM (ESI) database. The specialisation index for each country in sub-Saharan Africa was calculated as country X’s papers in field Y as a proportion of sub-Saharan Africa’s publications in field Y. The study found that knowledge specialisation in sub-Saharan Africa varies from country to country. Sub-Saharan Africa’s intensity is in the fields of microbiology, immunology, agriculture and clinical medicine. The least prioritised knowledge fields are chemistry, engineering, mathematics, physics, material science, computer science and space science. South Africa specialises in the largest number of knowledge fields while such countries as Guinea-Bissau, Seychelles and Mauritius are strongly represented in one knowledge field each. The most common fields of knowledge specialisation, among the 30 countries investigated in the study, were immunology, microbiology and agriculture. It was observed that knowledge production in sub-Saharan Africa addresses areas or sectors that have been considered as key to economic development in the region, namely health and agriculture. We however recommend further research to investigate the factors that may be influencing the knowledge specialisation patterns reported in the study.

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Notes

  1. ECOWAS stands for Economic Community of West African States, EAC stands for East African Community, and SADC stands for Southern African Development Community.

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  1. Department of Information Science, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, Unisa, Pretoria, 0003, South Africa

    Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha

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Onyancha, O.B. Towards a Knowledge Specialisation Index for Sub-Saharan Africa: an Informetrics Study. J Knowl Econ 11, 373–389 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-018-0548-7

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