A Bibliometric Study on the Use of Grey Literature in the Savannah Journal of Agriculture
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A Bibliometric Study on the Use of Grey Literature in the Savannah Journal of Agriculture M. K. Usman1, A. Y. Dansale2 & M. S. Kabir3 Bayero University, Kano. [email protected] Abstract Purpose: The study used the Bradford’s Law of scattered dispersion to measure how grey literatures are used by scholars in the field of agriculture. Methodology: Citation analysis was used to study a cross-section of articles published in The Savannah Journal of Agriculture (SJA) from 2006 to 2015, of which 131 articles and 2,422 bibliography citations were analyzed. Findings: Findings of the study show an 8.6% improvement on the 20% Bradford’s assumption underlying the study, yet, a dismal use of grey literature exist in the Savannah Journal of Agriculture, only 694(28.6%) of the 2,422 citations were grey literature, compared to published literatures such as books and journals. 6 types of grey literatures were used in the journal of which conference proceeding was the most used while handbook/manual was the least used. The online accessibility of grey literature was awful, only 42(6.1%) of the 694 grey literatures identified had online links that were used to access them. Implications: Findings of the study shows that there is a wide gap between the use of published and unpublished resources and this buttress the need to embark on the marketing of unpublished resources commonly known as grey literature. Originality/value: It was recommended that there is the need to embark on marketing the benefits to be derived from grey literatures, so that their use would catch up with other published literatures. There is also the need for scholars to improve their citation technique such that grey literatures obtained online are duly acknowledged with their URL. Keywords: Agriculture, Bibliometrics, Bradford’s Law, Grey Literature, Savannah Journal of Agriculture, Citation Analysis Paper type: Bibliometrics/Citation Analysis organization in electronic and print formats not Introduction controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where Bibliometrics entails document verification and publishing is not the primary activity of the publication analysis, it is synonymous with producing body, (www.greynet.org). Aina scientometrics. It is an old preoccupation of (2000) corroborates that the debate over what librarians that has taken a center stage in exactly constitutes grey or fugitive literature promoting information work. Essentially, its resulted in a consensus definition at the third virtue begins with determining the use of library International Conference on Grey Literature held resources, to a scale of ascertaining growth rate in Luxembourg in 1997. The consensus of publications to portray the growth and definition stated that “Grey literature is that development of areas of knowledge overtime. which is produced by government, academies, Bibliometrics as an approach of measuring businesses and industries, both in print and scientific publications looks at how scholars cite electronic formats, but which is not controlled one another in their publications, with a view to by any commercial publishing interests and facilitate building a network of scholarly where publishing is not the primary activity of communication. the [authoring individual] or organization”. Grey literature is a field in library and Pelzer and Wiese (2003) corroborated that what Information science that deals with the is known as grey literature are intended for low production, distribution, and access to multiple distribution to a limited readership, never document types produced on all levels of reaching dispersion through normal book trade government, academics, business, and channels. 33 | Page Journal of Applied Information Science and Technology, 10 (2) (2017) A Bibliometric Study on the Use of Grey Literature in the Savannah Journal of Agriculture Though an information system called ‘Greynet’ exist for over two decades ago to facilitate dialogue, research, and communication between information resource. This study is carried out persons and organisations in the field of grey with the aim of; literature, its mandate as an information system lacks touch with articles from Nigeria. Measuring the use of grey literature in the Essentially, it needs to be upgraded based on the savannah journal of agriculture observed inadequate coverage of Nigeria in the Identifying the types of grey literatures Greynet information system. used in articles published in the journal The fact that grey literature publications begin Estimating online versus offline access to and end with their authors still undermines its grey literatures access for scholarship and researchers. In a Literature Review study, Lisée, Larivière and Archambault (2008) informed that, “despite that it has been shown by Earliest bibliometric studies and even a great several researchers that other types of literature majority of the subsequent ones serve as library are often published and cited by researchers, the records that shed light on issues such as; trends most frequently used source material in in publication, the relative importance of bibliometric studies which consist of published different special fields, title dispersion, subject scientific papers”. Similarly, Kousha, scattering, time span and period of usefulness, (2008)noted that researchers’ interest in language distribution of pertinent literature and bibliometrics has predominantly concentrated on the national origin of published materials. In the citation relationships within formal recent times, bibliometric studies have grown publications such as books and journals, beyond the level of publication analysis; many neglecting informal publications such as communities utilize them as a strategy for conference proceedings, thesis and dissertation, gathering information that could be useful in government publications and etcetera that are understanding a phenomenon or even the growth classified as grey literatures. Some of the of their local science (Nwagwu, 2006). established cases whereby grey literatures were Bibliometrics is best addressed based on the neglected include, Harande (2013); Grandbo is application of fundamental theoretical and Behesti (2014); Bhanudasrao and Khaparde frameworks that influence and leverage the (2016); Tupe & Khaparde (2016). The fourth understanding of library users’ information issue in the sixth volume of the International interest and needs. Accordingly, fundamental Journal of Library and Information Studies bibliometric laws such as Bradford’s law, Hirsh (2016) proves it all regarding the neglect of grey index law, Leimkuhler Law, Lotka Law as well literatures in the work of bibliometrics. as the Zipf Law, (Iskra, 2013), are some of the Essentially, the journal had a total of 21 articles possible hypothetical basis of denoting the out of which 9 articles had to do with growth in the production and use of grey bibliometrics, scienctometrics or even literatures. webometrics, but only 1 had done a bibliometrics on a grey literature coming as This study adopted the Bradford’s law to portray Ph.D dissertation, (Reddy & Babu, 2016). that if the bibliographies of citation in a given article are grouped (preferentially) based on Thus, apart from the fact that greynet.com is still forms of information resources, they may be deficient in covering developing countries like divided into a nucleus of bibliographies that Nigeria, the need to have a general balance in represent different types of information presenting the information available about the resources, thereby forming a basis of gauging use and growth of both published and the extent of using publications that emanated unpublished documents, makes this study more from commercial publishing outlets from those imperative. It is hoped that this study portray the that are not from commercial publishing outlets. growth in the production and use of grey literatures in support of teaching, learning and The Bradford’s law of scattered dispersion has research. The implication thereof is to; establish been the most popular theoretical law of a basis for an aggressive marketing of grey bibliometrics and has attracted a lot of interest in literature in libraries that collect them as an studies such as Iskra (2013); Harande (2013); Manley (2011) and Hiremath, et al (2016) whose studies have predominantly portrayed inquiries 34 | Page Journal of Applied Information Science and Technology, 10 (2) (2017) M. K. Usman1, A. Y. Dansale2 & M. S. Kabir3 carried out with a view of ascertaining those scientific research”, whose value ought to be characteristics inherent in a document, especially ascertained. Though, the study revealed that a those that aim at looking at how authors have slight growth was recorded from 8% to 10% created a chain of scholarly reference among references on cited conference proceedings in themselves in a particular field of knowledge. engineering documentsfrom1980 to 2005,an increase from 0.32 in the 1980s to 0.38 as at The Bradford’s law is also adopted to guide this 2005 was the average number of proceedings study with a view of discovering how grey citations per paper in 25 years. It was proven literature has taken a center stage in the literary that conference proceedings have a relatively output of scholars in the field of life science, limited impact which is approximately 2% of most specifically agriculture. Basically, the total citations; in essence, it represents only Bradford’s law is anchored on portraying the 1.7% of reference citations that were made