Browsing by Author "Basson, Isabel"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Do open access journal articles experience a citation advantage? Results and methodological refections of an application of multiple measures to an analysis by WoS subject areas
    (Springer, 2021) Basson, Isabel; Blanckenberg, Jaco P.; Prozesky, H. E. (Heidi Eileen)
    This study is one of the first that uses the recently introduced open access (OA) labels in the Web of Science (WoS) metadata to investigate whether OA articles published in Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) listed journals experience a citation advantage in comparison to subscription journal articles, specifically those of which no self-archived versions are available. Bibliometric data on all articles and reviews indexed in WoS, and published from 2013 to 2015, were analysed. In addition to normalised citation score (NCS), we used two additional measures of citation advantage: whether an article was cited at all; and whether an article is among the most frequently cited percentile of articles within its respective subject area (pptopX %). For each WoS subject area, the strength of the relationship between access status (whether an article was published in an OA journal) and each of these three measures was calculated. We found that OA journal articles experience a citation advantage in very few subject areas and, in most of these subject areas, the citation advantage was found on only a single measure of citation advantage, namely whether the article was cited at all. Our results lead us to conclude that access status accounts for little of the variability in the number of citations an article accumulates. The methodology and the calculations that were used in this study are described in detail and we believe that the lessons we learnt, and the recommendations we make, will be of much use to future researchers interested in using the WoS OA labels, and to the field of citation advantage in general.
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    An investigation of open access citation advantage through multiple measures and across subject areas for articles published from 2005 to 2014
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Basson, Isabel; Prozesky, Heidi; Mouton, Johann; Blanckenberg, Jaco; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Advocates for open access (OA) practices proclaim it to have several benefits, for researchers, for science and for society at large. One of the proposed benefits is that the increased visibility provided by gratis access to research leads to OA publications receiving more citations than those publications of which no OA versions are available. This study investigated the veracity of this claim, by determining whether OA journal articles (defined in this study as gold OA articles) experience a citation advantage when compared to non-OA journal articles. To do so, an analysis was conducted of all articles and reviews published from 2005 to 2014 and indexed in the Clarivate Analytics Web of ScienceTM (WoS). This study included a description of the presence of OA journal articles in comparison to non-OA journal articles to provide context for the citation analysis. Three different measures of citation advantage were applied, as formulated in the following research questions: 1)Do OA journal articles attain a higher mean normalised citation score (MNCS) than non-OAjournal articles? 2)Do a higher percentage of OA journal articles than non-OA journal articles receive at least onecitation within two years after publication? 3)Is there a higher percentage of OA journal articles than non-OA journal articles among themost frequently cited 1%, 5%, and 10% of articles? These questions were explored firstly for all the articles, and then for articles published in each of the years separately. Secondly, the data were disaggregated by subject area and analysed for all the articles, and then only for those published in 2014. In addition, the percentage of articles that were published in OA journals was ascertained. Whether OA journal articles experienced a citation advantage was determined through a three-fold process. Firstly, it was determined whether OA or non-OA journal articles had a higher score or percentage in terms of the measure of the citation advantage in question. Following that, the statistical significance of the difference was tested, and, lastly, the effect size was determined as an expression of the variability in the measure that access status accounts for. This study found that the percentage of articles published in OA journals had increased considerably, from 3.3% in 2005 to 13.1% in 2014. This is likely due to the launch of new OA journals, considering the retroactive assignment of the OA tag in WoS. While the vast majority of subject areas exhibited an increase in the percentage of articles published in OA journals, seven displayed a decrease. By 2014, the majority of articles, in all but three subject areas (of 274), had been published in non-OA journals. This study determined that there is no general OA or non-OA journal citation advantage, as access status accounts for little of the variability in the number of citations articles receive. This was the case for the majority of subject areas as well. OA journal articles experienced a definite citation advantage in only a few subject areas. It is therefore misleading to claim that publishing in an OA journal will necessarily lead to a citation advantage. It is likely that other factors, such as whether the journal is established and the practices of OA journals, have a stronger effect on the number of citations articles receive.
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    A review of methodological trends in South African sociology, 1990–2009
    (Taylor & Francis, 2015-11-26) Basson, Isabel; Prozesky, Heidi Eileen
    This article reviews the research methods and methodologies employed by South African sociological researchers when conducting research, as published in academic peer-reviewed journals during the period of 1990 to 2009. Specific attention was given to trends in terms of qualitative and quantitative methodologies employed, as well as sampling, data collection and data analysis methods utilised. The article addresses, among others, the concern expressed in the literature that an over-emphasis on one approach is unhealthy for the development of the social sciences in a country; and it explores whether such an over-emphasis occurred. Data were obtained from a stratified, systematic sample of 111 research articles sourced from various online databases, and both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted. Data analysis primarily involved the use of descriptive statistics, but bivariate analysis and chi-square tests were also employed. The main findings of the research are that, from 1990 to 2009, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were employed to an equal extent, while among sampling methods non-probability methods predominated. Both local and international collaboration increased over the years, and a quantitative methodology was significantly more likely when international collaborators were involved.
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    A review of methodological trends in South African sociology, 1990–2009
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) Basson, Isabel; Prozesky, Heidi Eileen; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The thesis investigates the research methods employed by South African sociological researchers, as published in academic peer-reviewed journals during the period 1990 to 2009. Specific attention was given to the trends in terms of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and related methods employed. Methodological pluralism, the viewpoint that a mature sociology should incorporate explanatory, predictive and humanistic methods, has been the focus of various authors internationally and locally. A concern that has been reiterated in the literature is that an over-emphasis on one methodology or one type of method is unhealthy for the development of the social sciences in a country. No recent review of the methods and methodologies employed in sociology in South Africa has been conducted, and with no clear view of the recent and current situation, no strategy can be formulated to address this potential concern. This thesis aims to address this issue by describing the situation in South Africa from 1990 to 2009. The empirical research presented in this thesis employed a content analysis design and quantitative methodology. Data were obtained from a sample of research articles collected from various online databases. Probability sampling was conducted, by making use of the method of stratified systematic sampling with a random start. Data analysis was both cross-sectional and longitudinal, and made use primarily of descriptive statistics, but bivariate analysis and chi-square tests were also employed. Various aspects of the research reported in the articles were analysed, which included methodology, research design, sampling methods, data collection methods, data analysis methods and author collaboration. The main findings of the thesis are that, during the past two decades both quantitative and qualitative methodologies have been employed to an equal extent, but that the use of non-probability sampling methods was higher than anticipated. Both local and international collaboration has increased over the past 20 years, and a quantitative methodology was significantly more likely if international collaborators were involved in the research. The thesis concludes that research methods in general, and sampling methods in particular, are poorly reported in published sociological research.