Using the Ghanaian journal Research Review as an example for demonstrating access to African research and scholarship

Lorna Peterson

Abstract: Reports the results of bibliographic searching, indexing and citation analysis of the Ghanian journal Research Review for defined elements of barriers to access. Barriers to the dissemination of information are defined as: lack of indexing, lack of abstracting, lack of abstracting in a culturally relevant way, lack of a culturally relevant thesaurus, lack of holdings/purchasing by European and North American libraries, lack of citing indigenous African authors publishing in indigenous journals, and lack of preservation of originals for long term access. Results from searching WorldCat and RLIN indicate that Research Review is held by 48 libraries in North America and Europe. Research Review is indexed and abstracted, but not consistently and not in sources that are easily accessible, suggesting that barriers do exist regarding its dissemination that similar European or American journals do not face. Comments are made on citation analysis of selected writers as authors and cited authors. The physical condition of the journal and the efforts to digitize its contents are addressed. Recommendations for increasing the visibility and accessibility of the journal are made.

Acknowledgments

An ALISE/OCLC research award supported this research. The author also acknowledges the assistance of the following individuals in the completion of this research: Jean Dickson, librarian in the University at Buffalo, University Libraries system, Lockwood Library, Mwalimu Shujaa and Georgina Johnston both of Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia, and Stephanie H. Wical, Department of Library and Information Studies graduate assistant at the University at Buffalo, SUNY.

Background and Introduction

Scholars in developing and developed nations often decry the lack of access to developing nations' research and especially that of Africa (Gibbs 1995; Yankah 1995; Agada 2000; Cobb 2001). Although there are detractors (Stankus 1996) and apologists (Zell 2003) regarding the significance of the problem, there is little that operationalizes and measures what specifically these barriers are and their magnitude. A research grant from OCLC, Inc., allowed for the exploration of indexing, abstracting, abstracting in a culturally relevant way, identifying a culturally relevant thesaurus, citation analysis and library holdings of the journal Research Review, a social sciences and humanities journal published by the University of Ghana, Legon since 1965 and as "New Series" v. 1, no. 1 from 1985. The report was published by OCLC and placed on its web site as a PDF file under the title: "Operationalizing Barriers to Dissemination of African Research and Scholarship: Case Study," Research Review (Ghana) spring 2003.

For the purposes of this study, "culturally relevant subject headings" means that the vocabulary control reflects the culture, values, customs, aesthetics, and beliefs of the group under study. In the example of Africa, subject headings would not be Euro-centric but rather Afro-centric. Culturally relevant subject headings come from within the culture and not from outside. An example of non-culturally relevant subject headings from Research Review is how in the North American index Modern Languages Association International Bibliography, articles are indexed under "Africa" and not more specific, meaningful headings that would target an article as being about a type of dance, folklore, etc.

Print culture in Ghana

Anaba Alemna (2002) writes that books were introduced into Ghana early in its history through Islam and then much later by Christian missionaries, providing a foundation for a publishing industry. In the 1950s, print culture was assisted by the Public Library Act of 1950, and the fee-free educational system promulgated in 1957 after Ghana's independence. 1996 saw the inaugural bi-annual Ghana International Book Fair (Maissen 1997).

Regarding book and serial statistics, the 2004 International Literacy Market Place lists over 30 publishers in Ghana, five book dealers and nothing for book manufacturing. Publishers in Ghana are primarily state publishers who produce textbooks (Alemna 2002). For book and serial production statistics, the United Nations Statistical Office cites 28 books published in Ghana for 1992 (Demographic Year Book. United Nations 1997, 111-116) found at: www.overpopulation.com/faq/health/education/book_production/africa.html.

A subject search for "Ghana" in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory results in eighteen periodical titles; a search in the same database for "Ghana" under "Publisher/Distributor" results in 102 serial titles. Although not robust, these statistics do indicate a print and publishing culture in Ghana that is certainly not bleak.

Education indicators for Ghana from the United Nations Statistics Division show Ghanaians reach on average 7.3 years of schooling (2000/2001). The estimated figures for adult (15 years +) illiteracy are 19.7% for males and 36.8% for females (United Nations, 2000). There are three major universities in Ghana: University of Cape Coast, University of Ghana, and University of Science and Technology. These figures indicate a foundation for authorship, scholarship, and local consumption of Ghanaian literature creation. The University of Ghana, Legon, journal Research Review is an example of this foundation for success.

About the journal Research Review

The inaugural issue was published in 1965, and in 1985 the journal restarted as Research Review, New Series v. 1, no. 1. It is a publication by the Institute of African Studies, established in 1963 at the University of Ghana, Legon. From its 30th anniversary proclamation we learn that, "In addition to publishing the results of its research in a form in which it will be available to scholars, the Institute must be concerned with its diffusion ..." (p. 18, University of Ghana, 30th Anniversary Celebration. African Studies: The Vision and the Reality. Kwame Arhin, Director of the Institute, March 1992). It is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary scholarly journal of the humanities and social sciences in Africa, appearing twice a year. The International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is ISSN 0855 4412. This number was not assigned until 1993 when the Institute applied for and received its ISSN (phone conversation with general editor Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu, December 12, 2002). Because it did not have an ISSN until 1993, subscription, purchasing and publisher information for the journal does not appear in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory for 38 years of its existence.

Barriers to the dissemination of Research Review

From conducting a review of the literature on indexing and access to journal literature, barriers to access are defined as:

• lack of indexing
• lack of abstracting
• lack of abstracting in a culturally relevant way
• lack of a culturally relevant thesaurus
• lack of holdings/purchasing by European and North American libraries
• lack of citing indigenous African authors publishing in indigenous journals
• lack of preservation of originals for long term access

The results of bibliographic searching, indexing and citation analysis show the following:

Content Overview of Research Review 1965-2002*

*(Johnson, 2002)

Library Holdings

A search of WorldCat, OCLC's bibliographic catalog containing over 50 million records of books, serials, media, and other materials held by 20,000 libraries worldwide, and RLIN, a bibliographic utility containing over 42 million bibliographic records, revealed the following:

Although both OCLC and RLIN are international bibliographic catalogs, it cannot be said that the coverage is complete. For example, during a December 12, 2002 audio-conference with the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana-Legon and the African World Studies Institute, Fort Valley State University, general editor of the Research Review, Mary Esther Kropp Dabuku expressed surprise at the number of North American and European libraries with holdings. She also added that several German libraries subscribe that are not counted in the 48 unique libraries mentioned in the above chart. This serves as a caution to remember that American bibliographic utilities are not wholly representative of world library holdings, and that universal bibliographic control cannot be determined by using these databases. Identifying world wide library holdings for this journal remains elusive, but compare the holdings in OCLC/WorldCat for the United Kingdom serial publications Africa (1928- ), with 509 libraries showing they own that item, and Journal of African History (1960- ), with 958 libraries showing ownership, and the limited availability of Research Review becomes apparent.

Indexing

How has bibliographic control for the contents of Research Review been established? The journal provided access through:"Index to the Research Review (Old Series) v.1. (1965) - V.12 (1980)," which appears in V. 2, No. 1, (New Series) January 1986, pages 83 through 103, complied by Fred Bannerman-Williams of the Institute Library. This index is an alphabetical listing of authors and their article citation; there is no subject access. There is also no indication that the index will be updated and produced regularly.

Cataloging records produced under Anglo-American cataloging rules indicate that Research Review is indexed by the Modern Languages Association, MLA International Bibliography. A journal title search in this database results in 36 citations dated from 1967 to 1973 and one citation for 1988. Since Research Review is a social science and humanities journal, it is not expected that every article would be indexed by MLA International Bibliography but literature, drama and theater articles were published in Research Review post 1988 and are not indexed in this database. A search of the new title, Research Review. New Series results in only one 1988 article, a duplicate citation of the search that yields 36 citations. Searching under New Series results in zero citations.

Social Sciences Citation Index, produced by ISI (Institute of Scientific Information) provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references from more than 1,700 of the world's leading scholarly social sciences journals covering more than 50 disciplines. Research Review is not one of the indexed journals. Arts & Humanities Citation Index, also produced by ISI, is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary index covering the journal literature from the arts and humanities. It indexes 1,144 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals, and also covers selected, relevant items from over 6,800 major science and social science journals. Again, Research Review is not one of the indexed journals. Other databases checked where it was found that Research Review was not indexed are: The International Index to Black Periodicals Full Text, and JSTOR (Journal Storage: The Scholarly Journal Archive). In JSTOR's email survey conducted April 2002, librarians were polled at participating institutions worldwide, asking them to describe what disciplines, both new and existing, they would like to see developed in JSTOR. Over 850 librarians responded and Africa and the inclusion of African journals was not noted as an important issue (see "About Us" page www.jstor.org/about/future-collections.html, active as of October 31, 2002). JSTOR does have participating institutions from the African nations and regions Ivory Coast, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia. An interesting follow up survey might be to query librarians specifically on the availability and inclusion of African journals.

African Abstracts/ Bulletin Analytique Africaniste published by the International African Institute in London, England, does provided some indexing to Research Review; for example, its volumes for the years 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1972 are abstracted but there is limited subject access. These abstracts are arranged by region and appear in African Abstracts under the subject heading "West Africa– Ghana." A user would have to know that Research Review is a Ghanian journal in order to retrieve information. Universal subject searching on specific topics is not possible with African Abstracts. The indexes African Studies (NISC– National Information Services Corporation) and Quarterly Index to Periodical Literature, are bibliographic sources for African literature and were not checked during this stage of the research project.

Quality of Indexing

MLA International Bibliography uses very broad terms for its subject control of the articles indexed from Research Review. The subject heading "Africa" appears as one subject heading for all thirty-six items indexed. Shujaa defines this as a problem of not having culturally relevant subject access (Shujaa, 2001, A Progress Report: Online Dissemination & Preservation of the Research Review). An example of the lack of culturally relevant subject access is the citation "Agofi, Kofi Ermeleh, The Aesthetics of Creative Communication in African Performance Situations Research Review (Ghana). 4(1): 1-9. 1988"– the subject access provided through MLA International Bibliography is three subject headings established in the thesaurus: folk rituals; folk drama; Africa. "Africa" pulls up 6316 citations; "Folk Rituals" pulls up 10,487 citations; "Folk Drama" pulls up 1526 citations. Combining the three subject headings results in 131 citations– certainly less daunting to sort through, but the lack of depth in indexing obscures this particular citation. "African performance" as a keyword search results in 6 citations of which Agofi's article is one. Certainly keyword searching is powerful tool, but it cannot always be relied upon as the only way to retrieve information. With keyword searching there is the problem of false drops, variant spellings, and eliminating materials by language, for you are only searching in the language of the keyword used. In the case of articles in Research Review, performing searches in MLA International Bibliography by both thesaurus terms and keyword will only result in citations published in 1966-73, and 1988. Research Review suffers from a lack of breadth, depth and continual coverage of its language and literature research by this particular index.

Name authority also presents a problem. In the publication Research Review, the above author is given as K.E. Agovi, and not Agofi as MLA International Bibliography lists. This may be a simple typographical error or a problem of establishment in name authority in MLA International Bibliography.

Citing African authors publishing in indigenous African journals: Social Sciences Citation Index Example

Because Research Review is not adequately indexed in the North American and Western European bibliographic tools, it is no surprise that authors publishing works in Research Review generally do not have these works cited. A cited reference selection search in Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) returned 80 references for Research Review. Compare the results for an American or European journal such as Africa where the results are more matches than the SSCI system can handle.

A search of authors published in volume 3, number 2, 1967 Research Review, and the New Series volume 1, number 2, July 1985 and volume 6 number 1, 1990 in SSCI reveals the following:

K.N. (Kwabena N.) Bame, an author appearing in the 1967, volume 3 Research Review appears as a cited author 14 times, or 14 hits, in the SSCI. Bame's works, such as books (either published in North America, Europe or Africa) and articles published in non-African journals, are represented. Only one article from Research Review is pulled up.   Eboe Hutchful, a Nigerian scholar, cited a volume 7 Research Review article by K.N. Bame in: "The development of the army officer corps in Ghana, 1956-1966," Journal of African Studies, 2 (3): 163-173 Fall, 1985 (Hutchful, E., University of Port Harcourt, School of Social Sciences, Port Harcourt, Nigeria). On the other hand, Bame's works have a better chance of being cited if they appeared in a non-African published journal.

Five authors, Agovi, Arhin, Baku, Awedoba, and Asimeng, all appearing in the 1990 volume 6, number 1 New Series were checked in SSCI. For Agovi, no articles by him were found (spelled either Agovi or Agofi), but four hits were pulled up for five articles that cited his work. Arhin had ten articles as an author, and 20 hits as cited references and all in non-African journals. Baku had no articles in SSCI as an author and no hits as a cited author. Awedoba had five articles as an author, and three hits as cited references, two of which are theses (Ghana and Oxford). Asimeng had no citations as an author or as being cited. Seven authors, Addo-Fening; Arhin; M. Olaseboye Olasehinde; Wyllie, Sackey, Dakubu and Awedoba, in the volume 1, number 2, July 1985 issue were also checked. Arhin and Awedoba overlap so the five remaining authors were checked. Addo-Fening had no hits as an author or cited author. Olasehinde had one article listed and no hits as a cited author. Wyllie has ten articles listed as author and twelve hits as a cited author. Sackey has no articles as an author or hits as a cited author. Dakubu has three articles as author and ten as a cited author, but these appear in non-African publications. Other studies have noted the phenomenon that to be recognized, the best chance for a scholar's research to be cited is to place it in a North American or European publication. This marginalizes the indigenous African publication (Silver, 2002; Rosenberg, 2002).

Lack of preservation of originals for long term access

Volumes of the New Series were made available for my use. The issues published in the 1990s have a glossy white cover, pages are stapled in, and the paper used is of a quality that has not resulted in yellowing and breakage. The quality of paper suggests that these volumes will hold up well. The efforts to digitize the more recent issues of Research Review will also provide additional access. Unfortunately, the issues published in the 1980s are not in as fine a condition. The covers are of card stock in light blue, or yellow that is brittle. There is foxing and breakage of the covers and the bound pages. The July 1985 issue's paper is brown with age; in some cases the printing has faded and is very difficult to read. Care of the original paper copies needs to be a priority. Although digitalization is one solution, it should not be the only solution. The original paper copies need preservation to represent the uniqueness of the journal and its historical development and significance to modern African research dissemination. Nicholson Baker (2001) makes a strong case for the need to protect originals as well as making surrogates (whether by microfilming or digitizing) as the hallmark of preserving cultural heritage. Baker's concern has particular resonance for African publications.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Indexing, Abstracting, Relevant Thesauri: It is not enough to say that an item is indexed and/or abstracted. Depth of indexing, availability of the abstracts, cultural relevancy, and continuity are also elements that need to be measured and advocated. The availability of the bibliographic tools needs to be greater and more user friendly. For example, African Abstracts/Bulletin Analytique Africaniste is a specialized source that is best used by sophisticated bibliography researchers. There is no "in-between" source for researchers who lack the searching sophistication of subject specialists. Greater dissemination of the rich content in Research Review would be improved if a variety of indexing and abstracting commercial services would include the journal in their universe of international journals indexed and/or abstracted. For example, many American journals are indexed and abstracted by a variety of bibliographic tools arranged to meet the needs of a diverse level of audiences. There is no reason that this could not be done with selected African journals, particularly the Research Review. Perhaps it is lack of knowledge regarding the existence of such an indigenous African journal, or a bias that the journal is lacking in quality because it is an indigenous African journal, that precludes this particular journal from being indexed and abstracted by SSCI and AHCI and other indexing and abstracting services. It must be acknowledged that the American general magazine index, H.W. Wilson's Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature did not index black American owned and published magazines such as Ebony, Jet, Essence, Black Enterprise, etc. until pressure was placed upon the H.W. Wilson publishing company in the late 1960s by black and white librarians to do so. Previous to this time, Black American librarians created specialized indexes to the periodicals, magazines and newspapers by and about blacks that white American indexes ignored. Both black and white librarians placed pressure on mainstream indexes to be more inclusive of the diverse American voices, and what the mainstream did not index, maverick librarians created tools such as Alternative Press Index in 1969 to fulfill this need. This index continues to provide access to over 400 non-mainstream publications on a wide variety of topics related to cultural, economic, political and social change. There should be little surprise then, that less than 40 years later of broadening access to enrich the research and writings of minorities and the marginalized of the United States, that the international arena regarding equitable access to developing nations' research and scholarship continues to lag. Although the creation of specialized indexes by self-interested parties is necessary and laudable, it is recommended that along with the specialized efforts, more mainstream, American indexing services take on indigenous journals, and especially the title in this case study, Research Review.

Library holdings: Diminished library budgets for acquisition of materials, especially serials, presents a challenge for increasing North American and European library holdings. Forty-eight libraries were identified as owning Research Review, a number which surprised the general editor Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu as being far greater than expected. The ability to acquire Research Review does not seem to be problematic for North American and European libraries. Are developing nations, especially those on the continent of Africa, able to purchase and catalog this title for their collections? A recommendation regarding library holdings would be to increase the dialogue between developed and developing nations concerning the North American and European market for African research and scholarship. There is limited understanding by developing nations of the budget constrictions faced by libraries in the developed world. It is also recommended that Research Review find a way to get its paper copies to more African libraries. Perhaps the expensive digital efforts that are being done in Europe and America would see a better use of the money by providing subscriptions to African libraries. It is not recommended that digitizing efforts for African research and scholarship be halted, for digitizing materials is an important aspect towards increasing access (Katundu 2001; Zell 2003). But a percentage of money devoted to high-technology projects should be earmarked to continue paper subscriptions still needed by African libraries.

African publishers should also be made aware of the importance of obtaining ISSNs and being listed in directories such as Ulrich's. This would increase knowledge about a publication's availability.

Citing indigenous authors in indigenous journals: Scholars in developing nations need incentives for publishing their research in developing nations journals. The insularity and marginalization that is feared is real. Indigenous developing nations journals would be strengthened if they were indexed and abstracted broadly. Cited authors from these journals are likely to have been cited because of personal knowledge about the research and/or footnote chasing. If these authors publishing in indigenous journals were included in American and European indexes, it would increase dissemination beyond the personal knowledge.

Lack of preservation of originals for long term access: The rush to digitize and devote expensive technological solutions to this problem is a short-sighted solution. If a percentage of grant dollars could be earmarked for ways to preserve in traditional as well as electronic formats, long term access could be guaranteed. Research Review needs careful paper preservation; it needs cataloging by the institutions that have it but have not provided bibliographic access; it needs to be made available to institutions where a paper copy, and not a digital copy, is the most appropriate, resourceful way to provide access. For developing nations, there is the anxiety of not having the advances of the developed nations and a fear of being forever behind. But sometimes it is not appropriate to have the highest technology devoted to something that inexpensive, workable, low technology can do. Digitizing the journals is not the only answer, and it is hoped that an emphasis will be placed on how to best preserve the paper copies, particularly on the African continent. Diana Rosenberg found that African journals were important to the research and teaching of 70% of scholars in Africa (1999); therefore, making African journals accessible in a variety of ways could break the barriers to the dissemination of African research and scholarship. The preservation of African research and scholarship should not be an either/or proposition of digital versus paper. There is no reason that both cannot be supported and nurtured.

Barriers to the dissemination of African research and scholarship are surmountable. Improved indexing, and inclusion of African published materials by American and European international bibliographic tools can be accomplished and would help to dissolve this knowledge barrier.

References

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About the Author

Lorna Peterson is Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Studies, School of Informatics, University of Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Email: lpeterso [at] buffalo [dot] edu.