Bibliometric and content analysis of the South African Journal of Human Resource Management and the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology from 2006 to 2016.

Abstract

In South Africa there is limited research available on the patterns of knowledge production. Given the discriminatory past of South Africa, there is a special scarcity of research concerning the racial and gender profiles of academic authors. This study aims to analyse the bibliometric, demographic and thematic trends of scholarly literature within management studies. Particularly within the fields of human resource management and industrial psychology. Articles published in the South African Journal of Human Resource Management and the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology between 2006 and 2016 were analysed. The scope of this research is concentrated around the author’s biographical information as well as the research types, approaches, themes, software packages and types of intersectionality used to produce each article. Gathered data was analysed using a mixed methods approach. Inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data and a thematic analysis was applied to generate qualitative themes. From both journals, a combination of 585 articles were examined and a total of 928 authors were identified. The results revealed that predominantly White male lecturers produced research articles. It was further discovered that authors who published the most frequently were based at historically White universities, however, overall there was a fair international representation of authors. In terms of research methods, over 60% of articles were quantitative with questionnaires being used to collect data. Many authors chose the software package SPSS to analyse raw data. Popular trends included work-family balance, employee wellbeing, emotional intelligence and organisational health and safety, amongst others. The purpose of this research is to assist universities and policymakers to reassess their research output patterns. Currently, the trends reflect traditional research methods with little variation. Furthermore, the biographical details reveal that black female authors have not been very active in publishing articles over the 10-year period. Going forward it is hoped that this research will help facilitate change in the current status quo and that the research environment becomes a diverse and equal platform for the publishing of scholarly literature.