Abstract
Background: There are low levels of research productivity among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa, a situation that is likely to compromise the development agenda of the continent if not addressed. We conducted a systematic literature review to determine the factors associated with research productivity in HEIs in Africa and the researchers' motives for research. Methods: We identified 838 papers related to research productivity in HEIs in Africa from various databases, from which we included 28 publications for review. The inclusion criteria were that (i) the paper's primary focus was on factors associated with research productivity; (ii) the setting was on the higher education institutions in Africa; (iii) the type of publication was peer-reviewed papers and book chapters based on primary or secondary data analysis; and (iv) the language was English or French. Essays, opinions, blogs, editorials, reviews, and commentaries were excluded. Results: Most of the studies operationalized research productivity as either journal publications or conference proceedings. Both institutional and individual factors are associated with the level of research productivity in HEIs in Africa. Institutional factors include the availability of research funding, level of institutional networking, and the degree of research collaborations, while individual factors include personal motivation, academic qualifications, and research self-efficacy. Conclusions: Deliberate efforts in HEIs in Africa that addressed both individual and institutional barriers to research productivity are promising. This study recommends that the leadership of HEIs in Africa prioritizes the funding of research to enable researchers to contribute to the development agenda of the continent. Moreover, HEIs should build institutional support to research through the provision of research enabling environments, policies and incentives; strengthening of researchers' capabilities through relevant training courses, mentorship and coaching; and embracing networking and collaboration opportunities.
Highlights
There is a close association between research and development, both of which play a crucial role in economic growth (Bayarçelik & Taşel, 2012; Blanco et al, 2016)
The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to determine the factors associated with research productivity in higher education institutions in Africa; and, 2) to identify what motivates researchers working in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa to do research
The results revealed that academic qualifications, motivations, gender and research self-efficacy, were the most reported individual-related factors related to research productivity in African HEIs, and these factors were identified in a similar review (Mantikayan & Abdulgani, 2018)
Summary
There is a close association between research and development, both of which play a crucial role in economic growth (Bayarçelik & Taşel, 2012; Blanco et al, 2016). There are low levels of research productivity among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa, a situation that is likely to compromise the development agenda of the continent if not addressed. Methods: We identified 838 papers related to research productivity in HEIs in Africa from various databases, from which we included 28 publications for review. The inclusion criteria were that (i) the paper’s primary focus was on factors associated with research productivity; (ii) the setting was on the higher education institutions in Africa; (iii) the type of publication was peer-reviewed papers and book chapters based on primary or secondary data analysis; and (iv) the language was English or French. Results: Most of the studies operationalized research productivity as either journal publications or conference proceedings Both institutional and individual factors are associated with the level of research productivity in HEIs in Africa. Key output of post-graduate students’ research has been thesis/dissertation, and less focus on publications as shown in the review
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