Developing a web explicit research strategy theory in African universities : a cross-comparison of specific regional efforts through an analysis of research web-pages

Abstract

The research is an analysis of Web explicit research strategies of specific African universities. The sampling was purposive. The African continent was sub-divided into four distinct cardinal regions in order to get a general overview of the whole continent. A further selective sampling was done according to international rankings, as a method for deciding which universities will be mapped. The rankings identified were: Webometrics, Academic Rankings of World Universities and Times Higher Education. Much contemporary analytical work is based on the examination of Internet data, like Google analytics. Premised on this assumption, the research resorted to analyze information available on different research Web-pages. The aim was to conceptualize research strategies currently in place (in the Internet), the respective internal and external factors which influence such strategies, and the corresponding issues that result from it. The model developed can be used by African universities in the development of their own context specific research strategies.