Using the Ghanaian journal Research Review as an example for demonstrating access to African research and scholarship

Abstract

Reports the results of bibliographic searching, indexing and citation analysis of the Ghanian journal Research Review for defined elements of barriers to access. Barriers to the dissemination of information are defined as: lack of indexing, lack of abstracting, lack of abstracting in a culturally relevant way, lack of a culturally relevant thesaurus, lack of holdings/purchasing by European and North American libraries, lack of citing indigenous African authors publishing in indigenous journals, and lack of preservation of originals for long term access. Results from searching WorldCat and RLIN indicate that Research Review is held by 48 libraries in North America and Europe. Research Review is indexed and abstracted, but not consistently and not in sources that are easily accessible, suggesting that barriers do exist regarding its dissemination that similar European or American journals do not face. Comments are made on citation analysis of selected writers as authors and cited authors. The physical condition of the journal and the efforts to digitize its contents are addressed. Recommendations for increasing the visibility and accessibility of the journal are made.