Trends in evidence synthesis publishing across disciplines in Africa: A bibliometric study

Abstract

The production of evidence syntheses, such as systematic and scoping reviews, is vital to supporting evidence-based policy- and decision-making, and to inform work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The conduct of high-quality evidence synthesis requires specialized knowledge and methods. Many initiatives have been implemented to increase capacity for evidence synthesis production globally, including targeted regional efforts in Africa. The current study uses bibliometric methods to analyze trends in evidence synthesis production by Africa-based authors across disciplines, providing a baseline for future research and evaluation of capacity-building efforts. We find that evidence synthesis production in Africa has grown rapidly in the past ten years, particularly for systematic reviews in the health and medical disciplines. Other evidence synthesis methods, mainly scoping reviews, are also applied and non-health disciplines are increasingly using evidence synthesis methods to assess current knowledge. We also discuss interesting country- and discipline-specific trends.