Research by academic librarians at public universities in Ghana: A realistic expectation?

Abstract

This study explores how the academic environment facilitates the ability of academic librarians at public universities in Ghana to fulfil their research and publication mandate. A web survey of academic librarians was conducted to explore the opportunities and resources for research. Based on a bibliometric analysis of journal articles, the study also investigated the nature of research production of academic librarians in Ghana, specifically their co-authorship patterns, publication outlets and research visibility. The results show that academic librarians mainly produce single-authored articles and articles that are co-authored within their home institution, with a preference for publishing in local journals. Their research visibility, operationalised as time-based citation scores derived from data in Google Scholar, is also limited in light of a lack of international co-authorship. Opportunities and resources for project participation, funding, conference participation and publishing are all mostly linked to having completed a research qualification. The results further suggest that, for some librarians, it seems indeed possible to engage in research despite the odds.