Mapping the Landscape of Research Data Management Publications in East Africa: A Bibliometric Analysis

Mapping the Landscape of Research Data Management Publications in East Africa: A Bibliometric Analysis

Grace E. Msoffe and Daudi D. Mashoto
Directorate of Library Services, The University of Dodoma
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Abstract
Research data management (RDM) has gained popularity in East Africa. Despite its growth, the publication landscape remains unclear. This study maps the RDM publication landscape in East Africa. Specifically, the study establishes trends and country-wise contribution of RDM publications and types of RDM publications, identifies sources used to produce RDM publications, analyses the RDM citation distribution, and establishes the keyword analysis used in RDM publications. Four countries of the East African region with the highest number of data sets in the Data Citation Index were purposively selected. The advanced features of the Scopus bibliographic database were used to harvest RDM publications. Using Scopus, RDM publications were retrieved, capturing publication year, country affiliation, document type, and citation count. Findings indicate a growing RDM research trend but a low citation distribution. The study concludes that RDM is an emerging library and information science specialisation that contributes to knowledge and inspires further research.

Keywords: Research Data Management, bibliometric analysis, East Africa, open science, data stewardship.

Proceedings of the 6th COTUL Scientific Conference, 11–12 November 2024 at TMDA, Mwanza, Tanzania