R&D productivity for science, technology and innovation policy development in Nigeria: A scientometric analysis of academic literature

Abstract

This study purposively selected 148 Science and Engineering Journals out of the 221 Journals registered on the African Journal Online (AJOL) directory. Data harvested were analyzed on a year-wise basis from 2012 to 2016, to identify the positive or negative growth trend of research output. The open source software “Publish or Perish” was used to query metrical data for the purposively selected journals by accessing the Google scholar database over the internet. Data were obtained to determine the degree of collaboration based on the 19 thematic areas as identified in the Nigerian Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy document. It was further examined by measuring the authorship pattern and co-authorship index (CAI). The analysis from the study provides information on the productivity of research that has been carried out in the various thematic areas in Nigerian Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy. It also provides information on the nature and extent of collaboration of research among the actors in the research and development system. It thus serves as a reference tool for policymakers to review science, technology and innovation policy in Nigeria.