Communication Patterns in the Pure and Applied Sciences in Ethiopia: A Citation Study of Local Journals
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Date
1997-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This thesis entails a citation analysis study of selected source journals in the pure and
applied sciences, in Ethiopia. The basic aim was to determine the communication
patterns of scientists in Ethiopia through the documents that they cited in the research
articles, over a ten-year period from 1985 to 1994.
By employing a selection criteria-based purposive sampling technique, three source
journals were selected namely: Ethiopian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (EJAS);
Ethiopian Medical Journal (EMJ); and SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Sciences (SINET).
Bibliographic data from a total of 4496 citations were processed, analyzed and presented
in accordance with the set objectives. dBASE IV, SAS and WordPerfect 5.1 software were
thus used.
Results obtained, showed that the frequency distribution of the age of cited documents,
conformed to a type of exponential distribution. It was also found that most of the cited
documents (at least 77.34 percent) were published outside Ethiopia, and also at least
74.36 percent of the cited documents comprised primly sources of information. The
most prolific and most cited authors were determined as well as the most frequently
communicated subjects in each source journal, respectively.
Ultimately, several suggestions pertaining to the future betterment of the observed
communication patterns, were posed. Possible future roles of the local libraries and
information centers supporting S & T research activities in Ethiopia were highlighted,
on the basis of the implications of the communication patterns observed.
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Keywords
Information Science