Framing Arab poverty knowledge production : a socio-bibliometric study -

Abstract

Based on Mannheim's theory that knowledge is socially constructed, and its production process is influenced by the social context in which it occurs, this study seeks to identify and analyze the social influences and forces behind the knowledge produced and disseminated in the form of academic journal articles on the topic of poverty in the Arab World. Although the knowledge production process will not be studied in its making, certain features and elements of the final body of knowledge (the articles) will be taken as telling indicators of the process in hindsight. These will be the basis of three kinds of analyses that will be carried out: content analysis, authorship analysis, and citation analysis. In content analysis, I will scrutinize the poverty concepts used, the methodologies applied, the use of theory including theoretical frameworks of the studies, the prevailing political and epistemological paradigms, the structure of the articles, and the types of articles (critique, essay, fieldwork). In authorship analysis, I will survey the sociological markers pertaining to the authors and institutions producing the articles. In citation analysis, I will analyze the characteristics and trends of the references. Ultimately, I seek to answer the following question: What are the social factors conditioning the production of academic articles on poverty in the Arab World, and what are the observed trends thereof?