Research Trends by TU-K Staff in Google Scholar, 2013-2016

Abstract

This chapter explores the research trends by Technical University of Kenya’s staff in Google Scholar for the period of 2013-2016. The study from which the chapter has been extracted analysed research output including all publications such as books, research papers, dissertations, theses, research projects, and conference proceedings produced by fulltime academic staff. The publications were collected from Google Scholar using Harzing’s “Publish or Perish” software. A total of 647 papers were published in the years 2013 to 2016. The findings revealed a steady increase in the quantity of the research output from 2013 to 2015. However, a drop in the number of publications occurred in 2016. The highest number of publications came from lecturers who produced 182 (28.1%) papers while associate professors ranked highest (12.2%) in the average publications per author. The majority 457 (70.6%) of the publications were in journals while 72 (11.0%) papers were published in institutional repositories (like theses and dissertations) and 118(18.2%) papers in conference proceedings. Out of the 647 publications analysed, only 196(30.29%) were singly authored while 451(69.71%) were co-authored. The authors recommend more collaboration between researchers. They also recommend the use of research load to complement the teaching load stipulated for researchers since teaching and research are all core activities in universities. Therefore, teaching and research should receive the same attention. Finally, the authors recommend that further research into the factors that influence researchers in the choice of channels to publish their research output in be conducted to demystify and improve journal selection and visibility of research from TU-K.