Abstract:
Scientometric analysis has been used commonly for measurement and evaluation of the
research performance of researchers, departments, academic institutions and countries.
Results of such analysis can be used for ranking, awarding, budgeting and defining
research priorities. This study seeks to assess and compare the research performance of
Ghanaian Polytechnics using scientometric analysis. Research publications of each of the
ten Polytechnics in Ghana during the last five years (i.e., 2011-2015) were retrieved and
analyzed using Harzing’s Publish or Perish software. Five bibliometric indicators (i.e.,
total number of papers - TP, total number of citations - TC, average citations received per
article - ACPP, h-index and g-index) were assessed and used to rank each Polytechnic in
terms of research productivity and citation impact. The results showed that the five-year
TP (i.e., 564), TC (i.e., 1170), ACPP (i.e., 2.21), h-index (i.e., 9) and g-index (i.e., 16) of
the highest ranked Polytechnic as well as the yearly values of these bibliometric
indicators of each Polytechnic were relatively low, suggesting a relatively low research
productivity and citation impact of Ghanaian Polytechnics. There is a need to support
researchers in Ghanaian Polytechnics to increase research output and impact by
conducting and publishing high quality research.
