ONLINE VISIBILITY OF PHARMACY RESEARCH IN TANZANIA: A SCIENTOMETRIC STUDY

Objective: This scientometric analysis was carried out to map the online visibility of pharmacy research at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) from 1981 to 2016.Methods: Publish or Perish software was used to collect data for 33 scientists from the School of Pharmacy at MUHAS. We retrieved data on scholars' publications, citation counts, the number of authors per publication, average citations per paper, average citations per year, h-index, g-index, contemporary H-index (Hc index) and the HI-norm index.Results: A total of 499 publications were recorded for all scholars and the most (61; 12.2%) productive was 2013. The whole study period recorded the mean relative growth rate (RGR) and doubling time (Dt) of 1.62 and 0.46 respectively. A great majority (484; 97%) of the publications were multiple-authored with nearly one third (157; 31.5%) of these being jointly contributed by six or more authors. The maximum number of citations received in a single publication was 241. The degree of collaboration among scientists was as high as 0.97. The top ranked pharmacy researchers showed variation in various metrics.Conclusion: The study findings indicate a continuous growth of pharmacy publications at MUHAS since 1981. There is a high level of collaboration among scholars and many publications have made a great impact through citations.Â

E-learning uptake among academicians and students in Tanzanian universities

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent of current e-learning uptake in Tanzanian universities. The quantitative approach involving survey design was adopted in the collection of data. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 400 respondents, with a rate of return 85.5%. The average reliability of variables 0.949 was determined using Cronbach's Alpha. Fuzzy Logic model and t-test were adopted for data analysis. The findings revealed that the average extent of current e-learning uptake among students and academicians were less than half of threshold amounting to 50% (i.e. level of awareness was 16%, availability was 20.6%, accessibility was 17%, attitude was 15% as variables used). There was no statistically significant difference in e-learning uptake among students and academicians as the value of p > 0.05. The findings of this study established a base ground and guidelines to inform the e-learning stakeholders and policymakers to find and establish suitable policy as well as mechanism to adopt and encourage sustainable use of e-learning systems for life-long teaching and learning. The originality of this study is based on the addition of new variables and methodologies employed as empirical evidence based on the extent of e-learning uptake in Tanzanian universities.               Keyword:  ICTs, e-learning uptake, fuzzy logic model, students, academician

Web Search Behaviour of Postgraduate Students at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

A study was conducted on the Web search behaviour of postgraduates at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Specifically, the study sought to understand the search characteristics of postgraduates, reasons for using the Web, usage of various web features, web search skills and problems faced while using the Web. The study population comprised of all postgraduates pursuing masters and doctoral programmes at SUA. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire that were distributed randomly and they were analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate that most postgraduates were experienced Web users and they accessed the Internet mostly through their own modems. Most students relied on Web resources for their research, class assignments, and communications, and they had positive attitudes towards these resources. Many students were using search engines such as Google and Yahoo as well as social media tools mostly Facebook and Wikis. The findings also indicate that majority of students were using simple search while advanced search features were rarely used. The use of e-journal databases among postgraduates at SUA was very low. Slow Internet connectivity and restrictions in downloading e-resources were regarded serious constraints in using the Web resources. It is recommended that libraries and their parent should promote e-resources and integrate information literacy into their curricular. Libraries should address contextual and technical issues in order to promote usage levels. Libraries should also look into the possibility of integrating e-resources into OPACs for greater visibility and to enable users search several databases simultaneously

User-perceived Quality of Selected Tanzanian Public University Websites

A study was conducted to assess the quality of websites of five selected public universities in Tanzania. The main purpose of the study was to understand the quality of university websites from users’ perspectives. This study employed a 22-item instrument measuring four dimensions of web quality namely technical adequacy, information quality, service ability and web appearance. Data were collected through email survey and they were analyzed using SPSS and Ms Excel. The study findings show that, of the five university websites evaluated, the SUA website ranked the highest followed by that of UDSM. The websites of SUZA, OUT and MU were ranked in the third to fifth positions respectively. Service ability is a construct that was highly supported in the five websites evaluated whereas web appearance is the construct that required improvements in all five websites. It is recommended that improvements should be done in some of the quality dimensions such as appearance in order to ensure that these websites deliver information to intended audience. Regular updating of websites is also essential to make them effective and meet the changing needs of users

Running wild, running free : capturing, harnessing and disseminating knowledge flows in support of animal health

The Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) was established by Parliamentary Act No. 21 of 1991, which elevated the former University Library to a national agricultural library. Therefore, SNAL serves both as a University Library as well as a national agricultural library. SNAL’s overall goal is to develop and maintain library and information services in agricultural sciences and related disciplines. As a university library, SNAL aims at supporting efficiently and effectively teaching, research, extension, consultancy and other academic activities of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). The Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) consists of many academic units that include four faculties; namely; the Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. This paper examines the capacity of SNAL in disseminating veterinary information. Electronic information resources available at SNAL are assessed with the aim of examining the coverage of veterinary information in comparison to other agricultural related fields offered by SNAL. Major electronic information resources include: CD-ROMs, e-journals and an OPAC. Additionally, the information needs and seeking behavior of veterinary scientists and students at SUA are identified in order to establish the extent to which SNAL meets their needs. The quality of library human resources at SNAL in relation to their capacity to provide veterinary information was observed as well.Includes bibliographical references[by] Alfred Said Sife and Wanyenda Chilimohttp://www.library.up.ac.za/vet/icahi

African web-based animal health information

The quantity of research information being made available on the World Wide Web in various disciplines is increasing tremendously. This study examined the coverage of animal health information published on the web from Africa or about Africa. Challenges and opportunities of publishing and disseminating animal health information online in Africa were also examined. Websites and online databases which offer agricultural information were included in the analysis, but the main focus was on research, education and extension information in the core areas of animal health. Content analysis method was used to determine what agricultural academic indexing and abstracting databases have in terms of quality researched animal health information published from Africa or about Africa. Well-known databases, such as AGRICOLA, AGRIS, CAB Direct, PUBMED and Cochrane Library were investigated. The criteria used to determine the African animal health information included the content of research animal health information available on the website, how easy it is to locate information once the site has been located, the usefulness of the information, and how current and up-to-date the information is. It was found that the representation of African animal health information on the web is generally low. The poor coverage of animal health information on the web emanates from many factors: poor ICT (Information Communications Technology) infrastructure in many African countries, lack of ICT literacy, awareness and mindset, lack of recognition of all the values of information services, poor state of African indexing and abstracting services, inadequate funds, and perceived misconceptions of actual causes of the problem. Thus, this situation has led to the web being dominated by the animal health information from developed countries. Despite the challenges faced by African researchers in publishing their research findings on the web, most animal health scholars collaborate well with some international organizations in disseminating animal health information on the web. It is recommended that the researchers in Africa should fully utilize Internet services to publish and disseminate the animal health information on the web

Mapping the research productivity and scholarly impact of the traditional medicine scholars in Tanzania: A scientometric analysis

International Journal of Digital Library Services, Vol.3, July –September 2013, Issue-3A scientometric analysis was conducted to map out the research productivity and scholarly impact of researchers at the Institute of Traditional Medicine (ITM) in Tanzania for the period between 1980 and 2013. The study analyzed the growth of the ITM’s scholarly literature; ascertained the year-wise distribution of publications; determined the authorship pattern and degree of collaboration; and analyzed individual scholars’ productivity and impact. Data were obtained using the Publish or Perish software that employs Google Scholar to retrieve scholars’ publications and their citations. The findings show that there were a total of 381 publications published between 1980 and 2013, giving an average of 11.2 publications per year. The year 2012 had the most (12.3%) number of publications followed by 2007 and 2008 with 8.9% of all publications each. A vast majority (91.9%) of the publications were multiple-authored with 35.2% of the publications having six or more authors. The degree of collaboration was 0.92 and the ratio between team work and single author work was 11:1. Overall, M.J. Moshi and Z.H. Mbwambo were the top ranking scholars followed by R.L.A. Mahunnah and F.C. Uiso. All ITM researchers showed variation in their performance as no single scholar maintained the same rank in all nine metrics. The study findings call for scholars to recognize the importance of publishing in visible journals in order to receive large citation counts. Institutions are urged to employ scientometrics in evaluating the research performance of their scholars since such techniques take into account a combination of several measures

Mapping the research productivity and scholarly impact of the traditional medicine scholars in Tanzania: A scientometric analysis

International Journal of Digital Library Services, Vol.3, July –September 2013, Issue-3A scientometric analysis was conducted to map out the research productivity and scholarly impact of researchers at the Institute of Traditional Medicine (ITM) in Tanzania for the period between 1980 and 2013. The study analyzed the growth of the ITM’s scholarly literature; ascertained the year-wise distribution of publications; determined the authorship pattern and degree of collaboration; and analyzed individual scholars’ productivity and impact. Data were obtained using the Publish or Perish software that employs Google Scholar to retrieve scholars’ publications and their citations. The findings show that there were a total of 381 publications published between 1980 and 2013, giving an average of 11.2 publications per year. The year 2012 had the most (12.3%) number of publications followed by 2007 and 2008 with 8.9% of all publications each. A vast majority (91.9%) of the publications were multiple-authored with 35.2% of the publications having six or more authors. The degree of collaboration was 0.92 and the ratio between team work and single author work was 11:1. Overall, M.J. Moshi and Z.H. Mbwambo were the top ranking scholars followed by R.L.A. Mahunnah and F.C. Uiso. All ITM researchers showed variation in their performance as no single scholar maintained the same rank in all nine metrics. The study findings call for scholars to recognize the importance of publishing in visible journals in order to receive large citation counts. Institutions are urged to employ scientometrics in evaluating the research performance of their scholars since such techniques take into account a combination of several measures

Running wild, running free : capturing, harnessing and disseminating knowledge flows in support of animal health

The quantity of research information being made available on the World Wide Web in various disciplines is increasing tremendously. This study examined the coverage of animal health information published on the web from Africa or about Africa. Challenges and opportunities of publishing and disseminating animal health information online in Africa were also examined. Websites and online databases which offer agricultural information were included in the analysis, but the main focus was on research, education and extension information in the core areas of animal health. Content analysis method was used to determine what agricultural academic indexing and abstracting databases have in terms of quality researched animal health information published from Africa or about Africa. Well-known databases, such as AGRICOLA, AGRIS, CAB Direct, PUBMED and Cochrane Library were investigated. The criteria used to determine the African animal health information included the content of research animal health information available on the website, how easy it is to locate information once the site has been located, the usefulness of the information, and how current and up-to-date the information is. It was found that the representation of African animal health information on the web is generally low. The poor coverage of animal health information on the web emanates from many factors: poor ICT (Information Communications Technology) infrastructure in many African countries, lack of ICT literacy, awareness and mindset, lack of recognition of all the values of information services, poor state of African indexing and abstracting services, inadequate funds, and perceived misconceptions of actual causes of the problem. Thus, this situation has led to the web being dominated by the animal health information from developed countries. Despite the challenges faced by African researchers in publishing their research findings on the web, most animal health scholars collaborate well with some international organizations in disseminating animal health information on the web. It is recommended that the researchers in Africa should fully utilize Internet services to publish and disseminate the animal health information on the web.Includes bibliographical referencesEdda Tandi Lwoga and Alfred Said Sifehttp://www.library.up.ac.za/vet/icahi