An Assessment of Scholarly Contributions and Web Visibility among Scientists of CSIR-Building and Road Research Institute, Ghana

Abstract

The introduction of the internet has revolutionized the dissemination and assessment of research outputs with renewed emphasis on the impact of scholarly publications. The purpose of this study was to measure scholarly presence and citation impact of research scientists of the Building and Road Research Institute (CSIR-BRRI) on the internet. Bibliometrics was employed as a quantitative research method for this study using Google Scholar. The results showed that majority (77.5%) of scientists had at least one scholarly reference on the internet. It also found that, almost all (96.5%) scientists who had scholarly works online showed affiliation to the CSIR-BRRI. Again, it was observed that most mentions/hits were journal publications (59%) followed by thesis (35%). However, the study found that there was a weak positive relationship between number of journal articles and citations online, a clear indication that a web presence does not automatically reflect the usefulness of a scholarly output. It is recommended that scientists identify and research into globally relevant topics and also publish in reputable journals to enhance their visibility.

Research Visibility of Indian Academics as reflected in Web of Science: A Study

“…The Web of Science, described as the most trusted publisher-independent citation database globally, is acclaimed as the search engine that affords researchers great access, reliable discovery and assessment (Web of Science Group, 2019). Mingle et al (2020) stated that regarding academic publications, web presence indicators may include keywords (pointers to a scientist's area of specialization), choice of the journal (journal impact factor), and parent institution (website mentions/profiles and Institutional Repository), number of hits (total number of works/articles in a Google search); and citation counts (how many times an individual have been cited). 2016) study reflected on the representation of the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) and Moi University (MU)'s research publications in WoS (Web of Science) and Scopus between 2003 and 2013 as an indicator of active research engagement, quality, and international visibility.…”

“…Further, it is noticed that research publications form an integral part of the operations of research institutes, government agencies and academic departments of universities, particularly in the sciences. Indeed, scientific publications play a central role in systematically documenting research findings and facilitating the exchange of information between researchers (Mensah & Bekoe, 2010; Klain-Gabbay & Shoham, 2018; Mingle, 2020). Research productivity refers to innovative thoughts and ideas that lead to publishing articles in leading journals, patent registration or documentation.…”