Publishing and perishing? Publishing patterns of information science academics in Kenya

• Published in: Information development 2020-03, Vol.36 (1), p.5-15
• Main Author: Kwanya, Tom
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bibliometrics; Information science; Research funding; Scholarly communication; Scholarly publishing; Scholars; Workloads
• ISSN: 0266-6669; 1741-6469
• DOI: 10.1177/0266666918804586

This study investigated the publishing patterns of information science academics in Kenya. Using a bibliometric approach, the author conducted an analysis of the quantity, quality and visibility of the publications indexed by Google Scholar. Data for the analysis was collected using Harzing’s “Publish or Perish” software from Google Scholar and presented using VOSviewer software. The findings of the study revealed low quantity, quality and visibility of research publications by information science academics in Kenya. Twenty (22.4%) serving academics are yet to publish any scholarly work. Similarly, 185 (42%) of the published papers have not been cited. This low publishing performance can be attributed to lack of scholarly communication skills; inadequate research funding and facilitation; limited access to scholarly communication channels; and heavy teaching workloads, among other factors. The quantity, quality and visibility of publications by information science academics in Kenya can be enhanced by training the lecturers on scholarly communication; accrediting journals and publishers; increasing research funding; strengthening research collaboration; increasing scholarly forums and platforms; and balancing lecturers’ teaching and research workloads.