2024/09/20 by Mills, David, Asubiaro, Toluwase · 1 voice
#Africa #Citation indexes #Open Science #bibliodiversity #journal publishing
paper · doi:10.57832/18yw-xv96
Why does being indexed in Web of Science and Scopus matter so much for African journals? And why is getting indexed so difficult? In this paper we revisit the history of the first citation index, the logic behind its highly selective coverage, its persistent under-representation of Africa’s journals, and its symbolic importance for many researchers. We ask if the solution is to create an alternative African citation index, or if there are other ways to promote the visibility and findability of African journals. Garfield’s company, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), launched the first Science Citation Index in 1963. An analysis of extant ISI documentation shows that 95% of the first 615 science journals indexed were published in Europe and America. This coverage changed author behavior and journal choices and reinforced existing status hierarchies. Garfield later justified journal selection decisions mathematically, defending his decision to prioritize ‘core’ journals, and coining what he called ‘Garfield’s law of concentration’. In 1973, the ISI launched a Social Science Citation Index, indexing 1000 core social science journals, again with no African representation. In the 1990s, the indexes were digitized, allowing their data to be mined. The creation of university rankings amplified the reputational importance and commercial value of the indexes. Today Web of Science and Scopus continue to use the ‘citedness’ of candidate journals by journals already within the index to inform selection decisions. As a result journals published in the global peripheries, in small fields, or in languages other than English, struggle to get indexed. In 2023, if one excludes South Africa, only around 60 of the 30,000 plus journals indexed in Web of Science were published from Sub Saharan Africa. One response is to create an alternative Africa-focused journal index and database. We end by describing the history of attempts to create such an index, including current initiatives. Another is to promote the international visibility and findability of African journals through the provision of high-quality metadata, the use of DOIs and hosting on international portals.