25 Years of the Journal For Semitics: An Analysis of Research Topics

Abstract

Published in association with the Southern African Society for Near Eastern Studies (formerly the Southern African Society for Semitics), Journal for Semitics has been available since 1989. Articles on any topic in Semitics are considered for inclusion, including the linguistic study of Semitic languages, history, literature, and culture. In this, the 25th anniversary of the journal, an empirical analysis has been carried out to determine the status of the publications with regard to trends, institutions, authors, and research areas. Using the database of the South African Bibliographical and Information Network (Sabinet), all articles that have been published in Journal for Semitics since its inception in 1989 up to and including the 25th year of publication in 2015 have been analysed. The articles have been analysed according to demographical variables as well as research themes and sub-themes. The demographical variables include year of publication, affiliation of the author(s) and individual contributions as well as the themes and sub-themes that range from Semitic languages through to iconography in ancient and Near Eastern studies. The purpose of this analysis is twofold. First, it will provide empirical examination of the articles that have been published in order for the editors to reflect on the institutional contribution and research areas of these articles, and, secondly, insights will be obtained into opportunities where little research has been undertaken. A further article will be published which reflects the research trends in the journal over five-year time-frames.