Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
University · Kimberley · South Africa

Sol Plaatje University

In research, Sol Plaatje University stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,323 of 9,585 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,620 of 5,988 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#5,140 of 10,670 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Education (Education is 4.2× its share of world research).

spu.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#4,446
of 22,385 · #8,414 all time
Rank in South Africa
#25
of 75
Research works
606
▲ 179% vs 2018-21
Citations
3k
4.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.4%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.13×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
66%
world 40%
International
14%
world 18%
Sol Plaatje University

What is Sol Plaatje University known for in research?

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

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #2,323 of 9,585 15.9%214 #4314
Social SciencesField #2,620 of 5,988 15.4%132 #4351
Physical SciencesDomain #5,140 of 10,670 14.5%123 #7948

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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

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

  1. Social Sciences#4,314 #2,323
  2. Social Sciences#4,351 #2,620
  3. Physical Sciences#7,948 #5,140
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

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

Which fields of science does Sol Plaatje University work in?

In 2022-now, 56% of research at Sol Plaatje University is in Social Sciences, 32% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (35%), Environmental Science (11%), Computer Science (10%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 250 fractional works · 55.9% of its workSocial Sciences: 157 fractional works · 35.0% of its workEducation: 57 fractional works · 12.8% of its workSociology and Political Science: 41 fractional works · 9.3% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 9 fractional works · 2.0% of its workAnthropology: 8 fractional works · 1.8% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workLaw: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workGender Studies: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSafety Research: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workLinguistics and Language: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workArcheology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCommunication: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workUrban Studies: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHuman Factors and Ergonomics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDevelopment: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPublic Administration: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDemography: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 27 fractional works · 5.9% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 22 fractional works · 4.8% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workFinance: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 23 fractional works · 5.2% of its workStrategy and Management: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workAccounting: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workManagement Information Systems: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workBusiness and International Management: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 20 fractional works · 4.4% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 8 fractional works · 1.8% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workPhilosophy: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMusic: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHistory: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPsychology: 14 fractional works · 3.1% of its workSocial Psychology: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workClinical Psychology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 10 fractional works · 2.3% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysical Sciences: 142 fractional works · 31.8% of its workEnvironmental Science: 48 fractional works · 10.7% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 11 fractional works · 2.4% of its workEcology: 9 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPollution: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workWater Science and Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEcological Modeling: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 44 fractional works · 9.7% of its workInformation Systems: 14 fractional works · 3.1% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 13 fractional works · 3.0% of its workComputer Science Applications: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSignal Processing: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEngineering: 25 fractional works · 5.6% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 5 fractional works · 1.2% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMechanical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMedia Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAerospace Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workStatistics and Probability: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workModeling and Simulation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workApplied Mathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMaterials Science: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBiomaterials: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.0% of its workAtmospheric Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnergy: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 37 fractional works · 8.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 28 fractional works · 6.4% of its workPlant Science: 11 fractional works · 2.4% of its workSoil Science: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workFood Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workMolecular Biology: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 18 fractional works · 4.0% of its workMedicine: 9 fractional works · 2.1% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInfectious Diseases: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth Professions: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Information Management: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNursing: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workVeterinary: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKSol PlaatjeUniversity448fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences8%Physical Sciences32%Health Sciences4%Social Sciences56%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences15735.0%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance275.9%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting235.2%
    4. Arts and Humanities204.4%
    5. Psychology143.1%
    6. Decision Sciences102.3%
    1. Environmental Science4810.7%
    2. Computer Science449.7%
    3. Engineering255.6%
    4. Mathematics61.4%
    5. Materials Science61.3%
    6. Earth and Planetary Sciences41.0%
    7. Physics and Astronomy40.9%
    8. Chemistry30.6%
    9. Energy30.6%
    10. Chemical Engineering00.1%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences286.4%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology61.4%
    3. Neuroscience10.3%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.2%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.0%
    1. Medicine92.1%
    2. Health Professions81.7%
    3. Nursing10.1%
    4. Dentistry00.1%
    5. Veterinary00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Sol Plaatje University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Education takes 4.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. EducationSubfield · 57.5 works4.2×
← 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: 1.34× its world share, 28 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.27× its world share, 6 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.20× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.36× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.25× its world share, 44 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.61× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.61× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.37× its world share, 25 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.15× its world share, 48 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.38× its world share, 6 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.21× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.42× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.15× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.64× its world share, 8 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.11× its world share, 9 worksMedicineNursing: 0.23× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.52× its world share, 20 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.61× its world share, 23 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.38× its world share, 10 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.77× its world share, 27 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.01× its world share, 14 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.77× its world share, 157 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 2.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Economics, Econometrics and Finance2.77×27 works
  2. Social Sciences2.77×157 works
  3. Decision Sciences2.38×10 works
  4. Environmental Science2.15×48 works
  5. Business, Management and Accounting1.61×23 works
  6. Arts and Humanities1.52×20 works
  7. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.34×28 works
  8. Computer Science1.25×44 works
  9. Mathematics1.21×6 works
  10. Psychology1.01×14 works
  11. Health Professions0.64×8 works
  12. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.61×4 works
  13. Energy0.61×2 works
  14. Physics and Astronomy0.42×4 works
  15. Materials Science0.38×6 works
  16. Engineering0.37×25 works
  17. Chemistry0.36×2 works
  18. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.27×6 works
  19. Veterinary0.24×0 works
  20. Nursing0.23×0 works
  21. Neuroscience0.20×1 works
  22. Immunology and Microbiology0.18×1 works
  23. Chemical Engineering0.16×0 works
  24. Dentistry0.15×0 works
  25. Medicine0.11×9 works
  26. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.07×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Sol Plaatje University?

Ranked on the quality score, Nhamo Chaukura, Simbarashe Gukurume and Jeremia Shale Sefadi lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Sol Plaatje University.

  1. 1 Nhamo Chaukura South Africa · #230,886 worldwide 5.6k citations · 118 works
  2. 2 Simbarashe Gukurume South Africa · #443,253 worldwide 777 citations · 65 works
  3. 3 Jeremia Shale Sefadi South Africa · #464,109 worldwide 1.3k citations · 38 works
  4. 4 Dean Collin Langeveldt South Africa · #646,793 worldwide 84 citations · 23 works
  5. 5 Christelle Meniago South Africa · #930,609 worldwide 277 citations · 24 works
  6. 6 Ibidun Christiana Obagbuwa South Africa · #1,065,691 worldwide 940 citations · 102 works
  7. 7 Micheal Olusoji Olusanya South Africa · #1,072,444 worldwide 326 citations · 40 works
  8. 8 Wiets Botes South Africa · #1,108,177 worldwide 65 citations · 21 works
  9. 9 Tshele John Moloi South Africa · #1,533,616 worldwide 76 citations · 16 works
  10. 10 Tendai Musvuugwa South Africa · #1,541,723 worldwide 351 citations · 16 works
All ranked researchers at Sol Plaatje University

What are the most cited papers from Sol Plaatje University?

The most cited paper from Sol Plaatje University is "A Wake-Up Call: Equity, Inequality and Covid-19 Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning" (Laura Czerniewicz et al., 2020), with 401 citations. Next come "Estimation of the Transmission Risk of 2019-nCov and Its Implication for Public Health Interventions (2019-nCov的传播风险估计及其对公共卫生干预的意义)" (301) and "Morphology and Properties of Electrospun PCL and Its Composites for Medical Applications: A Mini Review" (227).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 A Wake-Up Call: Equity, Inequality and Covid-19 Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning Laura Czerniewicz et al. · Postdigital Science and Education Open access 23 Sep 2020 401
2 Estimation of the Transmission Risk of 2019-nCov and Its Implication for Public Health Interventions (2019-nCov的传播风险估计及其对公共卫生干预的意义) Biao Tang, Xia Wang, Qian Li et al. · SSRN Electronic Journal PreprintOpen access 2020 301
3 Morphology and Properties of Electrospun PCL and Its Composites for Medical Applications: A Mini Review Mokgaotsa Jonas Mochane, Teboho Simon Motsoeneng, Emmanuel Rotimi Sadiku et al. · Applied Sciences Open access 29 May 2019 227
4 Pharmaceuticals in wastewater and their photocatalytic degradation using nano-enabled photocatalysts Deborah T. Ruziwa, Abimbola E. Oluwalana, Mathew Mupa et al. · Journal of Water Process Engineering Open access 16 Jun 2023 199
5 Thermoplastic Processing of PLA/Cellulose Nanomaterials Composites Teboho Clement Mokhena, Jeremia Shale Sefadi, Emmanuel Rotimi Sadiku et al. · Polymers Open access 9 Dec 2018 184
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Sol Plaatje University?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Social Justice, Colonialism, Higher Education, Nationalism, Machine Learning, 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-now 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 Learning32▲ 2.1×46 topics
  2. Globalization31▲ 3.5×36 topics
  3. Education21▲ 2.7×22 topics
  4. Social Justice20▲ 7.7×16 topics
  5. Colonialism19▲ 9.2×9 topics
  6. Deep Learning19▲ 1.22×37 topics
  7. Economic Growth18▲ 5.0×18 topics
  8. Higher Education18▲ 7.6×15 topics
  9. Sustainability17▲ 1.54×32 topics
  10. Nationalism17▲ 8.3×7 topics
  11. Climate Change16▲ 1.32×44 topics
  12. Technology Integration12▲ 8.7×7 topics
  13. Educational Technology12▲ 2.3×17 topics
  14. History11▲ 3.7×5 topics
  15. Political Economy11▲ 10.0×7 topics
  16. Online Learning11▲ 2.9×7 topics
  17. Land Reform9▲ 45×2 topics
  18. Reflective Practice9▲ 11×5 topics
  19. Teacher Professional Development9▲ 13×5 topics
  20. Student Engagement9▲ 5.0×9 topics
  21. Agrarian Relations9▲ 211×1 topic
  22. Zimbabwe9▲ 211×1 topic
  23. Experiential Learning8▲ 36×5 topics
  24. Student Perceptions8▲ 9.9×6 topics
  25. Professional Development8▲ 8.5×9 topics
  26. Inequality7▲ 7.2×5 topics
  27. Teacher Preparation7▲ 22×4 topics
  28. Multilingualism7▲ 9.8×4 topics
  29. Professional Learning Communities7▲ 31×2 topics
  30. Fiscal Policy7▲ 7.4×5 topics
  31. Lifelong Learning7▲ 7.4×6 topics
  32. Educational Leadership7▲ 12×2 topics
  33. Language Policy7▲ 11×3 topics
  34. Postcolonialism7▲ 10×7 topics
  35. School Improvement7▲ 18×2 topics
  36. South Africa6▲ 53×4 topics
  37. Gender Inequality6▲ 10×5 topics
  38. Bilingual Education6▲ 12×2 topics
  39. Qualitative Research Methods6▲ 32×1 topic
  40. Teacher Identity6▲ 33×1 topic

Which research topics does Sol Plaatje University publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: African studies and sociopolitical issues, Teacher Education and Leadership Studies, Online Learning and Analytics and African history and culture studies.

African studies and soci…9African studies and sociopolitical issues: 9 fractional worksTeacher Education and Le…6Teacher Education and Leadership Studies: 6 fractional worksOnline Learning and Analytics: 5 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 5 fractional worksFiscal Policy and Economic Growth: 5 fractional worksSouth African History and Culture: 4 fractional worksRemote Sensing in Agricu…4Remote Sensing in Agriculture: 4 fractional worksEducational Theory and Curriculum Studies: 4 fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 4 fractional worksGeography Education and …4Geography Education and Pedagogy: 4 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceEducationComputer Science ApplicationsAnthropology4 others

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

  1. 1 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 9 works
  2. 2 Teacher Education and Leadership Studies Education 6 works
  3. 3 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 5 works
  4. 4 African history and culture studies Anthropology 5 works
  5. 5 Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth Economics and Econometrics 5 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 Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  9. 9 Second Language Learning and Teaching Literature and Literary Theory 4 works
  10. 10 Geography Education and Pedagogy Geography, Planning and Development 4 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: 40% of research is openly available.

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

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Sol Plaatje University's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 179% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting2010201520202025
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Sol Plaatje University as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0019% in 2024.

still counting0.0010%0.0020%0.0030%Sol Plaatje University0.0024% in 202520102020

Fractional works of Sol Plaatje University over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%30%Sol Plaatje University20.7% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 20.7% in 2025.

Other research institutions in Kimberley

All research institutions in Kimberley

Share Sol Plaatje University's ranking

Sol Plaatje University on Science Explorer

A card with Sol Plaatje University's standing and the fields it leads in, for a post or a slide. A link to this page previews as the same card.

Download the card

1200 × 630 PNG, sized for social posts, drawn from the latest snapshot.

Badges for a website1Each links back here and updates with every snapshot

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Sol Plaatje University. Posts are plain text and can be reported.