Mapping the Landscape of Open Science Research in Africa: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

his study conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to map the landscape of open science research in Africa. Open science practices, including open-access publishing, open data sharing, open educational resources, open source, and open collaboration, have the potential to enhance scientific transparency, innovation, and collaboration. However, the adoption and implementation of open science principles vary across regions, and there is a need to understand the current state of open science research within the African context. A total of 302 datasets of documents from Scopus (Elsevier), from inception to 2023, were extracted, analysed, and visualised using software like MS Excel, Harzing’s Publish or Perish and VOSviewer. A team of information specialists crafted the requisite keywords and verified the final search strategy. The results showed an increasing trend in new documents in open science in Africa. The most active source titles were Library Philosophy and Practice with 17 (7.02%), followed by Open Access Implication for Sustainable Social, Political, and Economic Development, and the African Journal of Library, Archives, and Information Science with 8 (3.31%). South Africa and Nigeria were the most influential countries contributing 59 (19.54%) and 56 (18.54%) publications in the subject area, respectively. The most productive authors were Ezema, I. J., and Nwagwu, W.E. with four documents each. The University of South Africa and the University of Nigeria were the most influential institutions with a total of publications 17 and 13, respectively. The citation analysis of highly cited articles pointed out that Mentis et al. (2017) and Duan et al. (2019) were the most cited articles in the subject area with 140 and 100 cites, respectively. The keywords analysis showed that open access, Africa, and open data were the most frequently used author keywords with 49 (20.25%), 35 (14.46%), and 34 (14.05%) total publications, respectively. The co-occurrence of research terms revealed four clusters of interconnected concepts, thematically organised around open access, human, Africa, and open-source software. The research will enhance comprehension within the field and is anticipated to assist researchers, students, and educators in pinpointing research areas, developments, high-quality scientific literature, and suitable journals for disseminating their findings related to open science. Furthermore, the study gives insights into the present state of open science research in Africa, which will guide policies, financing strategies, and capacity-building programmes targeted at supporting open science practices and furthering scientific research and innovation across the continent.