Web archiving of indigenous knowledge systems in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of the paper was to highlight the digitization of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in institutional repositories in South Africa with a view to develop a framework for Web archiving IKS-related websites in South Africa. Anchored on the interpretivist paradigm, the qualitative research method was adopted for this research. The multiple case study research strategy was considered appropriate for the study. Data was gathered through face-to-face in-depth interviews and content analysis. Interviews were conducted with eight IKS staff at the IKS Documentation Centres across four provinces in South Africa. The study revealed that although there are efforts to digitize IKS and make them accessible through some channels online, there are no specific digital preservation policies guiding the project. Apart from the fact that there are policies in place to support any Web archiving initiative, the concept of Web archiving was generally unfamiliar to the respondents. The respondents admitting to the lack of a standard policy guiding the digitization project also admitted to a lack of knowledge or in-depth understanding of Web archiving and its prospect as a digital preservation measure. The research, therefore, proposes a Web archiving framework that should be incorporated in the digital preservation policy framework. This research will be useful to policymakers and all stakeholders in South Africa and other parts of Africa.

Promoting access to indigenous information in Africa: Challenges and requirements

“…The NetDiploma project aimed to address four key research questions, viz. What are the key cultural, historical, political, linguistic and technology enablers and challenges to community access to information in Africa? How can modern ICT and mobile technologies be used to facilitate access to information required for education, health and wellbeing, cultural integration, agriculture, tourism etc? What policies and practices are required for developing and managing a free DPLAf? What further research is needed to enable the development of a DPLAf? Some of the findings of the project corroborate recent research published in this journal, such as: the general disregard for the relevance of good records management practices and inadequate financial support for the archives, libraries, museums and indigenous knowledge centres responsible for documenting and preserving culture and heritage (Ashie-Nikoi, 2019); data integrity in terms of completeness, accuracy, credibility and relevance, as well as infrastructure and capacity, as some the key barriers to making African indigenous information accessible online (Lynch et al, 2020); and the lack of a standard policy guiding digitisation projects and a lack of knowledge or in-depth understanding of Web archiving and its prospect as a digital preservation measure (Balogun and Kalusopa, 2021). In addition, the findings provide new or nuanced knowledge from the content provider perspective.…”

“…• the general disregard for the relevance of good records management practices and inadequate financial support for the archives, libraries, museums and indigenous knowledge centres responsible for documenting and preserving culture and heritage (Ashie-Nikoi, 2019); • data integrity in terms of completeness, accuracy, credibility and relevance, as well as infrastructure and capacity, as some the key barriers to making African indigenous information accessible online (Lynch et al, 2020); and • the lack of a standard policy guiding digitisation projects and a lack of knowledge or in-depth understanding of Web archiving and its prospect as a digital preservation measure (Balogun and Kalusopa, 2021).…”

“…the lack of a standard policy guiding digitisation projects and a lack of knowledge or in-depth understanding of Web archiving and its prospect as a digital preservation measure (Balogun and Kalusopa, 2021).…”

A scoping review of intersections between indigenous knowledge systems and complexity-responsive evaluation research

“…The scoping approach is designed to identify studies that focus on research about indigenous knowledge systems, which could include the research on the indigenous knowledge systems themselves, should the methodology be sufficiently explained and discussed, or could be papers that have an explicit focus on research paradigms, processes, approaches and techniques. The aim was not to fully review literature on the content of indigenous knowledge systems in Africa, which has already been done in a range of national-scale multistakeholder initiatives (Balogun & Kalusopa 2021), but rather to draw a small sample of studies that will allow for the identification of points of intersection between indigenous knowledge systems research and evaluation discourse in Africa.…”

Data management of digitized indigenous knowledge system in repositories

“…Digital preservation is important in ensuring that heritage materials are preserved forever or at least the longest time possible. Studies (e.g., Balogun and Kalusopa, 2021, 2022; Ezema and Ugwu, 2013; Gbaje and Mohammed, 2013; Mutula, 2014; Masenya and Ngulube, 2019) have established the lack of digital preservation policies and plans for digital materials. Despite the new opportunities, digital technology offers researchers the opportunity to create data sets that enable increasingly sophisticated analysis, haphazard data management and preservation strategies endanger the potential benefit this advancement brings.…”