BlBLlOMETRlC STUDIES ON AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS RES EARCH LITERATURE: A REVIEW OF AUTHORSHIP PATTERN

Abstract

45-49Compares author collaboration in the periodical literature of African Trypanosomiasis. The study was based on the literature abstracted in the 1990- 2000 articles of Tropical Diseases Bulletin and Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Quarterly (TTQ) using the counting method. It is found that both the annual rates and the cumulation of author collaboration for the period for each of the ten years was high although the figures obtained for 1992- 1995 and 1998 -2000 were higher than those for 1990- 1991 and 1996 - 1997. Concludes that though author collaboration exists in African Trypanosomiasis literature for the ten years studied, it is generally high but each year's literature is dominated by multiple authorship, and in all, two and three authored papers were predominant. The extent of collaboration was up to 11 authors per article, and this calls for more collaboration to extend the authorship beyond 11 authors per paper, as it is noted in other scientific disciplines. The study has provided factual information in support of information services in the field of African Trypanosomiasis literature