SA’s scientists are working more with peers abroad, boosting citations and funding opportunities
South African scientists have steadily increased the number of papers they publish over the past 17 years, and are increasingly collaborating with their international peers, according to research from the University of Stellenbosch. Greater international collaboration is important because it translates into a higher citation effect and improves access to funding opportunities. SA’s publication output rose from 3,688 publications in 2000 to 15,500 in 2017, according to an analysis by Stellenbosch University researchers Johann Mouton and Jaco Blanckenberg, based on the Web of Science database. They found SA’s share of world output, while still small, more than doubled, rising from 0.4% in 2000 to 0.91% in 2016. SA’s world ranking rose from position 34 to 28 over the 17-year period. SA currently constitutes about 0.75% of the world’s population, according to the Worldometers website.
They found the proportion of SA’s papers with at least one foreign co-author rose from a third in...
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