Evaluation of Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

Informetrics is simply the study of quantitative aspects of information. It uses statistical and mathematical aspects to reveal the growth of literature in many fields of study. This study sought to examine the trends of knowledge sharing research publications in higher education institutions in Kenya between the years 2014 and 2018. An informetric technique was used to examine the growth trend, forms in which articles are published in, subject domains and the nature of authorship of these knowledge sharing publications. Lastly, the study sought to propose a practical knowledge sharing framework applicable for higher education institutions in Kenya. The population of this study constituted knowledge sharing publications indexed by eleven purposively selected databases. A literature review was also conducted to establish different knowledge sharing frameworks used in higher education institutions. Data from databases was extracted using Herzing’s Publish or Perish Software and exported in Excel and notepad for further analysis. Findings show that there is steady growth of the knowledge sharing research publications. The coverage of knowledge sharing research published by universities in Kenya in the key bibliographic databases is still minimal. The total 64 publications found were only indexed in four databases - Scopus, Emarald, PubMed and Google Scholar. The rest did not generate any search results. Google Scholar had the highest with 26 (40.62%) publications. The years 2014 and 2018 had lowest and highest number of publications respectively. The average publication growth rate was 20%. Journal was the most preferred channel of publishing and disseminating knowledge sharing research publications. The second most preferred channel was conference papers. Information sciences, health sciences, public health and agriculture were the most favored subject of publication respectively. Concerning the authorship, most knowledge sharing publications were single authored. The average number of authors per article was 2.27. Even with this, it was also observed that collaborative authorship is increasingly gaining popularity. Rewards, culture, collaboration, and technology were the key elements of knowledge sharing frameworks for higher education institutions in Kenya. This study recommends training of junior researchers/graduate scholars on research and publication skills. In addition, they should also be encouraged to collaborate with seasoned researchers and seek sponsorship for participation in seminars, conferences and workshops so that they can develop their skills through peer learning. It is envisaged that the study findings will be useful to scholars in higher education institutions to establish the areas of strength that can be amplified, and weakness be invigorated. It can also be useful in decision-making on areas of collaboration and also as a reference and a contribution to the field of informetrics. In conclusion, this study recommends further investigation on the nature of author collaborations and its effect on research output and impact. Finally, an inquiry of the most prolific researchers in knowledge sharing in Kenyan universities would be beneficial not only to local researchers and scholars but also internationally especially on establishing who to collaborate with in their future research work.