Country-wise collaborations in HIV/AIDS research in Kenya and South Africa, 1980-2005

This study uses co-word and factor analyses to identify and measure country collaborations between Kenya and South Africa and their respective country collaborators. Using the widely accepted indicator of research collaboration, co-authorship of papers, the study used three measurement indicators, namely, the Eigenvectors/scores, the collaboration coefficients (CC) and the strengths (S) of term association to identify key collaborators and evaluate their degree and strengths of collaboration over time. The influence of research collaboration on research impact in Kenya and South Africa was also explored. Results indicate that the two countries largely collaborate with foreign countries, with the USA emerging as the strongest collaborator. Kenya exhibited stronger links with foreign countries while South Africa had much of its papers published through internal collaborations. There have been shifts in research partnerships in the two countries. From the standpoint of impact, Kenya's papers produced a higher average impact than South Africa's papers. Co-authored papers yielded a higher average impact than the single-authored papers, thereby providing a strong argument for encouraging research collaboration not only within the countries but internationally.