An overview of the development and value of Interpreting Research in South Africa (IRSA)

IRSA (Interpreting Research in South Africa) is a database consisting of 279 scientific sources regarding interpreting research in South Africa or by South African interpreting researchers. The database includes publications from 1968 to 2020 and aims to be as inclusive and encompassing as possible. The database is housed by the North-West University's Ferdinand Postma library and can be reached via the following link: https://collections.nwu.ac.za/dbtwwpd/textbases/Tolking-Navorsing/irsa.html. IRSA aims to be the central point of reference for interpreting research in South Africa. The database has the advantage of providing researchers with easy access to trustworthy publications. The publications included in IRSA are vetted. Only scientific sources, including articles from accredited and nonaccredited journals, books, honours research reports, master's dissertations and doctoral theses are included in IRSA. This article outlines the challenges faced in the establishment of such a database. These challenges include the unavailability of electronic copies of older publications, which prohibits these publications from being vetted for inclusion in IRSA, and accounting for thoroughness. The article also provides an overview of the observable publication trends. These trends include a) the overarching themes of the publications, such as educational interpreting, legal interpreting and the professionalisation of interpreting in South Africa, b) the research approaches that are prevalent (for instance investigative or descriptive approaches), and c) the types of publications that are favoured (i.e. journal articles, book chapters or graduate research publications). Lastly, an overview of the future purpose of IRSA and the research possibilities that it presents is provided.