Research growth and citation impact of Tanzanian scholars: A 24 years scientometric study

Abstract

A scientometric analysis was conducted to map the research growth and citation impact of Tanzania scholars over a period of 24 years starting from 1991 to 2015. We analyzed data for research publications of all Tanzania scholars obtained from the SCOPUS database. The study analyzed the yearwise distribution of publications, subject-wise distribution of publications, the authorship pattern, degree of collaboration, and the citation impact. A total of 12,379 articles were published from 34 academic and research institutions. The top three universities with high cumulative number of publications were Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Dar es salaam and Sokoine University of Agriculture. The top subject was medicine. The maximum number of citations received in a single publication was 1914. Publications metrics scores varied a lot based on indices chosen to rank the Tanzanian scholars. The study findings call for a need for scholars to collaborate with external partners within and outside the country, and publish in journals with a higher impact.

The influence of openness to change on academics' research publication in public higher education institutions in Tanzania

“…UDSM has been selected as it is the oldest and leading higher education institution in the country (Makulilo, 2021). SUA and MUHAS have been selected based on the uniqueness of the programs offered which are more related to health and agriculture (TCU, 2019; Sangeda & Lwoga, 2017). NM-AIST was selected as it offers postgraduate and postdoctoral studies as well as research in science, engineering and technology and majority of its academics are lecturers, senior lecturers, associate professors and professors who served the purpose of the study.…”

“…This is due to fact that majority of academics who are expected to engage in research focuses only on teaching (Mushemeza, 2016). Tanzania on the other hand, is found to be among African countries with relatively low research output (Ali & Elbadawy, 2021;Sangeda & Lwoga, 2017). The University of Dar es salaam, which is the leading higher education institution in the country, had a target of attaining at least 2000 publications in a year based on the Corporate Strategic Plan (2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021)(2022)(2023).…”

Scholarly Journal Publishing Forums in Tanzania Universities:

“…Studies by Sangeda and Lwoga (2017), Sife, andLwoga, (2014), Thomas (2018), Chirwa and Sife (2018), Fussy (2019), and Kazoka and Wema (2020), Ndumbaro and Wema (2016) that have been conducted in Tanzania provide useful information on collaborative scholarly research, which is key in generating new knowledge. However, they do not provide a comprehensive and informative state of scholarly journal publishing in Tanzania and.…”

The Influence of Ethical Guidance on Academic Staff’s Teaching Performance in Public Universities in Tanzania

“…The performance of academic staff in HLIs is measured by teaching, research, and consultancy services (Muriisa, 2015). Evidence indicates that Tanzania produces a great deal less research and teaching than other African nations (Sangeda & Lwoga, 2017;Confraria & Godinho, 2015;Fussy, 2019). For example, 64% of the region's 2014 World Future Council (WFC) was accounted for by South Africa, with Egypt, Kenya, Algeria, and Tunisia following (Sangeda & Lwoga, 2017).…”

“…Evidence indicates that Tanzania produces a great deal less research and teaching than other African nations (Sangeda & Lwoga, 2017;Confraria & Godinho, 2015;Fussy, 2019). For example, 64% of the region's 2014 World Future Council (WFC) was accounted for by South Africa, with Egypt, Kenya, Algeria, and Tunisia following (Sangeda & Lwoga, 2017). According to nearly identical results from another study, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, and Nigeria were the top five nations in terms of research outputs (Confraria & Godinho, 2015).…”