Research field specialisation in selected universities in Kenya

Abstract

The analysis of the subject representation of research outputs is a common occurrence in bibliometric studies, most probably because subject area analysis forms part of the indicators of ranking universities in some global ranking systems. However, the size, mission and vision of different universities seem to dictate their research niche areas, with some universities focusing on some subject areas or research fields more than others. The purpose of this study was to examine the research field specialisation in selected public universities in Kenya. The study targeted all public universities but only 17 met the threshold of 100 publications each for the period 2011-2020. The relevant data was obtained from the SCIVAL database. The findings show that Kenya produces the greatest number of publications in medicine and agriculture. The selected universities exhibited strong performance in the same fields, with four universities publishing in all research fields. In terms of field specialisation, 16 universities posted more than 10 specialisation fields, whereas only one registered fewer than 10 fields of specialisation, implying diversification of the fields of research across all the universities. Physics was the most common field of specialisation in the selected universities. The least common field of research in the selected universities was dentistry, which yielded papers in only four universities and a specialisation index greater than 1.0 in only two universities. The study makes several conclusions and recommendations for policymakers, university management and other stakeholders.