An Informetric Analysis of African Traditional Medicine Research Between 1998 and 2018: A Case of South Africa

Israel R. Odede, Delta State University, Abraka

Document Type Article

Abstract

Purpose: South Africa, as a member of the World Health Organisation, has been set on the path of institutionalising African traditional medicine which have attracted various research. Hence, this study adopted informetric approach to analysis research publications on traditional medicine in South Africa from 1998 to 2018.

Design: This study is an informetric analysis of publication trends. This study adopted informetric approach to analysis research publications on traditional medicine in South Africa from 1998 to 2018. Data used in this study were obtained from the online version of the ISI Web of Science: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-Expanded). Descriptive informetric was used to analyse the data.

Findings: From the 469 documents retrieved from the database, majority were published as research articles. The trend of African Traditional Medicine research in South Africa has continue to exhibit interval increase. Despite the upward trend of growth experienced in 2015 to 2017, the downward movement in terms of number of publications in 2018 was of great concern considering efforts been made to encourage research in traditional medicine in South Africa.

Practical implications: Apart from adding to the body of knowledge in scholarly communication, this study established a baseline in terms of the trends in traditional medicine research in South Africa.