Do discounted journal access programs help researchers in sub-Saharan Africa? A bibliometric analysis (original) (raw)
Other Titles
Abstract
Prior research has suggested that providing free and discounted access to the scientific literature to researchers in low-income countries increases article production and citation. Using traditional bibliometric indicators for institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, we analyze whether institutional access to TEEAL (a digital collection of journal articles in agriculture and allied subjects) increases: 1) article production; 2) reference length; and 3) number of citations to journals included in the TEEAL collection. Our analysis is based on nearly 20,000 articles—containing half a million references—published between 1988 and 2009 at 70 institutions in 11 African countries. We report that access to TEEAL does not appear to result in higher article production, although it does lead to longer reference lists (an additional 2.6 references per paper) and a greater frequency of citations to TEEAL journals (an additional 0.4 references per paper), compared to non-subscribing institutions. We discuss how traditional bibliometric indicators may not provide a full picture of the effectiveness of free and discounted literature programs.
Journal / Series
Volume & Issue
Description
Sponsorship
Keywords
sub-Saharan Africa
;
libraries
;
information transfer
;
citation analysis
Location
Effective Date
Expiration Date
Sector
Employer
Union
Union Local
NAICS
Number of Workers
Committee Chair
Committee Co-Chair
Committee Member
Degree Discipline
Degree Name
Degree Level
Related Version
Published version available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/20110406
Related DOI
Related To
Related Part
Based on Related Item
Has Other Format(s)
Part of Related Item
Related To
Related Publication(s)
Link(s) to Related Publication(s)
References
Link(s) to Reference(s)
Previously Published As
Learned Publishing, Volume 24, Number 4, October 2011 , pp. 287-298