Exploring research quality and journal representation: a comparative study of African Journals Online, Scopus, and Web of Science.

This article examines the quality criteria and coverage of African-based journals in three academic data sources: the international indexes Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), and the regional platform African Journals Online (AJOL). It finds that while all three use overlapping but distinct and subjective quality standards, traditional indexes like Scopus and WoS exhibit linguistic, geographical, and disciplinary biases that underrepresent many African countries, research areas, and non-English languages. AJOL, although more inclusive in country coverage, also shows limitations, including a significant share of inactive journals. The study highlights the need for a situated and context-sensitive understanding of research quality and calls for greater diversity and inclusion in scientometric analyses to address structural epistemic injustices in global scholarly communication.