Illustrating Impact: Applying Altmetrics to Southern African Research

Abstract

Universities are under growing pressure to illustrate the "impact" of research they produce, perhaps especially institutions in the developing world, which are expected to balance social responsiveness with the rigours of a competitive global higher education environment. Institutions worldwide are engaging with more sophisticated business intelligence for the purposes of better governance and funder engagement. In higher education, Altmetrics – "alternative metrics" – are being used to measure and track scholarship in new ways. A key question is whether institutions in sub-Saharan Africa are in a position to meet demands for the improved measurement and dissemination of research outputs. The Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme (SCAP) explored the state of scholarly communication at four Southern African universities, and probed the alignment between their mission statements, the values of their academic communities, and the reward and incentive frameworks that govern academic careers.