Computer science research in Malaysia: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the publications of, and the citations to, the current staff of 19 departments of computer science in Malaysian universities, and to compare these bibliometric data with expert peer reviews of Malaysian research performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper searches citation of the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Findings Both publication and citation rates are low, although this is at least in part due to some Malaysian universities having only a teaching function. More of the departments' publications were identified in Scopus than in Web of Science, but both databases were needed for comprehensive coverage. Statistically significant relationships were observed between the departments' publication and citation counts and the rankings of the departments' parent universities in two evaluations of the research performance of Malaysian universities. Originality/value This is the first comparison of bibliometric and peer‐review data for Malaysia, and, more generally, for a country with a newly developed higher education system.