Research impact and productivity of Benin according to the Science Citation Index Expanded (1973 to 2018)

Authors

  • Julián Monge-Nájera Universidad Estatal a Distancia, Laboratorio de Ecología Urbana, Vicerrectoría de Investigación Author http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7764-2966
  • Eustache Mêgnigbêto Bureau d’études et de recherches en science de l’information (BERSI), 09 BP 477 Saint Michel, Cotonou, Republic of Benin Author
  • Yuh-Shan Ho Trend Research Centre, Asia University, No. 500, Lioufeng Road, Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v68i3.40841

Keywords:

Web of Science Core Collection, tropical country, South Africa, scientific collaboration, scientific productivity, research areas, bibliometrics

Abstract

Introduction: In Benin, a tropical West African country of 11 million inhabitants where the economy is based on agriculture, the only bibliometric work available has focused on the role of collaboration among researchers, but there are no general long term studies of the country’s scientific output. Objective: To analyse the scientific output of Benin, according to the Science Citation Index Expanded, in a 46-year period. Methods: We searched for “Benin” in the country/region field of the index and analysed the results with descriptive statistics. Results: We found 4 557 documents, published between 1973 and 2018. They closely match the trends previously found in other small tropical countries: domination of articles over other types of publication like letters and notes; increase in total number of articles published each year; small collaborations in large American and European projects; and a long article lifespan that reflects the relatively slow accumulation of scientific research in tropical regions. Considering the size of the country’s economy, Benin has a good level of scientific productivity. Conclusion: In its scientific activity, Benin is similar to other tropical countries, and would benefit from increased cooperation among local researchers; from less dependence on small participations in international megaprojects, and from opening the door to research in areas of innovation rather than just solving immediate problems.

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Author Biographies

  • Julián Monge-Nájera, Universidad Estatal a Distancia, Laboratorio de Ecología Urbana, Vicerrectoría de Investigación

    Julián Monge-Nájera is a Costa Rican ecologist, scientific editor, educator and photographer born in 1960.

    For many years he has acted as scientific adviser for the BBC and the National Geographic Society. He was Regional Editor of the United Nations' Global Environmental Outlook ("GEO Report") and researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the National Museum of Costa Rica, the University of Costa Rica and the Distance Education University of Costa Rica. He has been part of research teams at USDA (USA), Uppsala University (Sweden), University of New South Wales (Australia), Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology (China), University of Leipzig, Germany, and Trend Research Center, Taiwan. Curator of the Encyclopedia of Life (USA) and Team Member of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Switzerland).

    He is author or co-author of 25 books published by several Costa Rican universities, Oxford University and the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and of more than 200 scientific articles in many journals, including Nature (Communications), Plos One and the Journal of the Linnean Society of London.

    In 1997 his biography was added to Who's Who in the World, followed by the Dictionary of International Biography of Cambridge in 1998, Outstanding People of the 20th Century in 2001, and 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century in 2002.

  • Yuh-Shan Ho, Trend Research Centre, Asia University, No. 500, Lioufeng Road, Wufeng, Taichung 41354, Taiwan



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Published

2020-09-30

Issue

Vol. 68 No. 3 (2020): Revista de Biología Tropical (Int. J. Trop. Biol.): Continuous publication, July - September 2020

Section

ARTICLE

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Copyright (c) 2020 Julián Monge-Nájera, Eustache Mêgnigbêto, Yuh-Shan Ho

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