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University · Kimberley · South Africa

Sol Plaatje University

In research, Sol Plaatje University stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,426 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,463 of 10,521 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#8,011 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Education — Education is 4.1× its share of world research.

spu.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,011
of 28,054 · #16,820 all time
Rank in South Africa
#36
of 87
Research works
606
▲ 818% vs 2013–17
Citations
3k
4.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
66%
world 28%

What is Sol Plaatje University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesField #1,426 of 6,365 33.8%132 #2106
Social SciencesDomain #2,463 of 10,521 33.3%214 #4047
Physical SciencesDomain #8,011 of 12,888 23.7%123 #15850

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Sol Plaatje University sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#2,106 #1,426
  2. Social Sciences#4,047 #2,463
  3. Physical Sciences#15,850 #8,011
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Sol Plaatje University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Education takes 4.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. EducationSubfield · 47.6 works4.1×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1.31× its world share, 24 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.25× its world share, 5 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.23× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.30× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.26× its world share, 38 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.65× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.70× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.37× its world share, 21 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.17× its world share, 41 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.38× its world share, 5 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.37× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.44× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.18× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.63× its world share, 6 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.10× its world share, 7 worksMedicineNursing: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.28× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.68× its world share, 19 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.53× its world share, 19 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.47× its world share, 9 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.87× its world share, 24 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.98× its world share, 11 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.73× its world share, 132 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 2.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Sol Plaatje University?

Ranked on the composite score, Simbarashe Gukurume, David Morris and Ibidun Christiana Obagbuwa lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Sol Plaatje University.

  1. 1 Simbarashe Gukurume South Africa · #597,001 worldwide 31 citations · 16 works
  2. 2 David Morris South Africa · #1,495,356 worldwide 8 citations · 18 works
  3. 3 Ibidun Christiana Obagbuwa South Africa · #1,630,385 worldwide 2 citations · 16 works
All ranked researchers at Sol Plaatje University

Which keywords describe research at Sol Plaatje University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Colonialism, Machine Learning, Globalization, Social Justice, Higher Education, Nationalism, Economic Growth and Education.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Machine Learning29▲ 2.4×44 topics
  2. Globalization24▲ 3.2×31 topics
  3. Education20▲ 3.0×21 topics
  4. Deep Learning17▲ 1.33×36 topics
  5. Colonialism17▲ 9.3×9 topics
  6. Economic Growth17▲ 5.1×18 topics
  7. Social Justice16▲ 7.3×15 topics
  8. Higher Education16▲ 7.6×12 topics
  9. Nationalism15▲ 8.4×6 topics
  10. Climate Change14▲ 1.35×38 topics
  11. Sustainability13▲ 1.38×25 topics
  12. History10▲ 3.8×5 topics
  13. Technology Integration10▲ 8.6×7 topics
  14. Political Economy10▲ 10×6 topics
  15. Remote Sensing10▲ 2.1×14 topics
  16. Online Learning10▲ 3.0×6 topics
  17. Land Reform8▲ 46×2 topics
  18. Student Engagement8▲ 5.1×8 topics
  19. Reflective Practice8▲ 11×5 topics
  20. Teacher Professional Development8▲ 12×5 topics
  21. Agrarian Relations8▲ 227×1 topic
  22. Zimbabwe8▲ 227×1 topic
  23. Student Perceptions7▲ 9.9×6 topics
  24. Fiscal Policy7▲ 8.2×5 topics
  25. Inequality7▲ 7.7×5 topics
  26. Multilingualism6▲ 10×4 topics
  27. Experiential Learning6▲ 31×5 topics
  28. Lifelong Learning6▲ 7.8×6 topics
  29. Professional Development6▲ 8.0×9 topics
  30. Professional Learning Communities6▲ 35×2 topics
  31. South Africa6▲ 58×3 topics
  32. Gender Inequality6▲ 11×5 topics
  33. Language Policy6▲ 11×3 topics
  34. Global Change6▲ 5.7×4 topics
  35. Postcolonialism6▲ 12×7 topics
  36. Bilingual Education6▲ 12×2 topics
  37. Educational Leadership6▲ 12×2 topics
  38. School Improvement6▲ 18×2 topics
  39. Biomass Estimation5▲ 9.0×3 topics
  40. Teacher Preparation5▲ 20×4 topics

Which research topics does Sol Plaatje University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: African studies and sociopolitical issues, Teacher Education and Leadership Studies, Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth and Online Learning and Analytics.

African studies and soci…8African studies and sociopolitical issues: 8 fractional worksTeacher Education and Le…5Teacher Education and Leadership Studies: 5 fractional worksFiscal Policy and Economic Growth: 5 fractional worksOnline Learning and Anal…5Online Learning and Analytics: 5 fractional worksAfrican history and cult…4African history and culture studies: 4 fractional worksSouth African History and Culture: 4 fractional worksRemote Sensing in Agriculture: 4 fractional worksEducation and Critical T…4Education and Critical Thinking Development: 4 fractional worksHigher Education Practises and Engagement: 3 fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 3 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceEducationEconomics and EconometricsComputer Science Applications3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  2. 2 Teacher Education and Leadership Studies Education 5 works
  3. 3 Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth Economics and Econometrics 5 works
  4. 4 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 5 works
  5. 5 African history and culture studies Anthropology 4 works
  6. 6 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  7. 7 Remote Sensing in Agriculture Ecology 4 works
  8. 8 Education and Critical Thinking Development Education 4 works
  9. 9 Higher Education Practises and Engagement Education 3 works
  10. 10 Second Language Learning and Teaching Literature and Literary Theory 3 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available66.5%not open33.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors14.5%domestic only85.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Sol Plaatje University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 818% higher than in 2013–2017.

201020152020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Kimberley

All research institutions in Kimberley

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.