Study on international biases in the process of global scientific knowledge diffusion

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-27).Recent research has shown rapid growth in the number of Chinese-authored publications over the last decade. However, while the volume of publications has increased dramatically, the total number of citations - a popular measure of quality or impact - to such articles has risen at a decidedly slower pace. Three possibilities might explain the cause of this slow growth in citations. First, it could be that most Chinese-authored papers fall in the left-hand tail of the quality distribution. This is likely at least a partial explanation for the lag in quality. However, we believe that other factors also contribute to the quality gap. A second explanation for the citation lag is that Chinese scientists, while prolific, are simply not publishing in the most popular fields or in the most cited journals. If true, this scenario would exemplify a long-argued shortcoming of citation metrics and provide evidence supporting the policies and progress of Chinese science. A third possibility is that there exists a bias against Chinese science and Chinese-authored papers are undervalued and underutilized. To explore these possibilities, we collected citation and other key data on scientific publications from the highly prestigious and rigorously screened Nature and Nature-derivative (which we will refer to as Nature X) journals. In addition to conditioning out publication quality, we employ coarsened exact matching (CEM) to match Chinese-authored articles with similar US-authored articles before estimating the effect of Chinese-authorship on citations received. Our results suggest that a bias does exist against Chinese-authorship. While this paper identifies the existence of a citation gap, it does not attempt to identify the source of this citation gap. Thus, future research could focus on uncovering the exact mechanisms by which this phenomenon occurs. Doing so will no doubt inform policy and institutional practices to the benefit of scientific progress and, ultimately, societal welfare.by Valerie Y. Kuo.S.M

The Matthew effect and record selection for onomastic items in televised audiovisual material

The Matthew effect concept is applied to record selection for onomastic information on television, with attention to the principle of visual information redundancy. The intent is to guide decision making about the visual relevance of people and organizations by analyzing the frequency with which they appear on television. Broadcast schedules/logs and press agency dispatches are studied with the goal of determining the level of visual presence in the audiovisual archives at which images of a person and/or entity are no longer added to a media database

Geography of authorship: How geography shapes authorship attribution in big team science

The steady growth of large geographically dispersed research projects challenges existing norms for authorship attribution and has raised concerns over global inequalities in authorship opportunities. This paper therefore examines how geography plays a role in authorship attribution to local researchers that contribute to large scientific teams from various cities across the globe. We develop theory that considers how authorship opportunities for local researchers may vary depending on how they are spatially embedded in projects and the local resources they draw upon. We empirically apply this framework to the context of multi-city clinical trials where a common authorship challenge concerns the attribution of site investigators on publications. To account for selection effects in our empirical set-up, we estimate authorship likelihood conditional on data collection contributions. Our results show that authorship likelihoods differ considerably across research projects and cities. We observe that, after controlling for project characteristics, authorship likelihoods are higher when local site investigators are located in cities that are geographically proximate to coordinating sponsors and when they face less national competition. We also find that local scientific reputation and the extent to which project contributions are directed to local problems are positively related to authorship likelihood. Observed findings are markedly more pronounced for industry-sponsored versus publicly-sponsored trials and when attributing authorship to a lead author compared to any author. Based on these findings, we discuss various ways through which authorship policies and initiatives could foster equitable authorship opportunities in large teams independent of location and as a fundamental principle for the conduct of science

A Multi-theoretical Mixed-methods Approach to Investigating Research Engagement by University ELT Staff.

Although participation by EFL teachers in research activity is frequently advocated as desirable, involvement of this kind is often lacking in practice. The purpose of this study was to attempt to investigate possible causes of this situation. A review of the non-ELT literature on the subject showed that rates of participation in research activity by academics working in higher education institutions are thought to be affected primarily by a combination of three main factors, i.e., environmental variables, personal variables, and feedback processes. Because of their perceived relevance to exploring them, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) were used as investigative frameworks for the study of such factors within the research site, a Mexican university setting. The study involved identification and comparison of a number of the perceptions and traits of a group of research active (RA) participants from a variety of non-ELT disciplines within the research setting with those of a number of nonresearch active (NRA) EFL teachers working in the Faculty of Modem Languages in the same research site. The overall research design was two-phase and mixed-methods in nature. In the first phase of the study, quantitative data were generated from both sets of participants by the use of a TpB-based questionnaire. The findings indicated that the two groups were differentiated primarily in terms of self-identity and perceived social factors. In the second main phase of the study, qualitative data were generated via life story interviews with a selection of the same participants, and analyzed from an SCT perspective. The principal finding was that, in contrast to the NRA subjects, RA participants as a group experienced a "'Matthew effect' of accumulated SCT factors", whereby earlier success in research engagement increased the potential for later success. The findings are seen to imply that attempting to increase research engagement by university ELT staff in settings such as the one studied should involve taking into account antecedent factors associated with beliefs affecting research behavior of the kind identified

Challenging the Matthew effect: international exchange of publications in four Finnish learned societies until the Second World War

Väitöskirja käsittelee suomalaisten tieteellisten julkaisujen kansainvälistä levitystä 1800-luvun alusta toiseen maailmansotaan. Tuolloin yleisin tapa välittää kirjoja ja lehtiä oli julkaisuvaihto, jossa tieteelliset seurat ja laitokset sopivat säännöllisestä ja molemminpuolisesta julkaisujen lahjoittamisesta. Käytäntö periytyi 1700-luvulta, jolloin tiedeyhteisöön kuuluminen edellytti tiettyjä kohteliaisuussääntöjä, erityisesti vastavuoroisuutta erilaisissa palveluksissa ja lahjoituksissa sekä uskonnollisten ja poliittisten raja-aitojen ylittämistä tieteellisissä kysymyksissä. 1800-luvulla tiedeyhteisö alkoi muuttua, kun kilpailu voimistui ja menestys kasautui niihin maihin, tutkimuslaitoksiin ja lehtiin, joilla jo ennestään oli hyvä maine. Sosiologi Robert Merton on kuvannut tätä tieteellisen menestyksen kasautumista nimellä Matteus-vaikutus . Nimitys tulee Matteuksen evankeliumista (25:29): jokaiselle, jolla on, sille annetaan, ja hän on saava yltäkyllin, mutta jolla ei ole, siltä otetaan pois sekin mitä hänellä on. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu neljästä eri tutkimusaloja edustavasta seurasta: Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys ja Suomen Hammaslääkäriseura. Suomalaiset tieteelliset seurat olivat nuoria ja vähävaraisia eikä niillä ollut vakiintunutta asemaa tiedeyhteisössä. Siten ne ovat mielenkiintoinen tutkimuskohde Matteus-vaikutuksen näkökulmasta. Erityinen piirre Suomessa on ollut valtiovallan jatkuva tuki tieteelliselle julkaisutoiminnalle. Sen ansiosta seurojen ei tarvinnut panostaa julkaisujen myyntiin. Tutkimus osoittaa, että kohteena olevat neljä seuraa kehittivät erilaisia strategioita verkostoituakseen kansainvälisesti. Toiset hankkivat lukuisia vaihtokumppaneita, kun taas toiset olivat passiivisia vaihtotoiminnassaan mutta loivat laajat kirjeenvaihtajien verkostot ja pyrkivät myös myymään julkaisujaan. 1700-luvulta perityt normit ja käytännöt tukivat suomalaisia seuroja näiden tavoitteissa jakaa julkaisujaan kansainvälisesti ja hankkia omiin kirjastoihinsa ulkomaisia julkaisuja. Pyrkimys puolueettomuuteen uskonnollisissa ja poliittisissa kysymyksissä mahdollisti vaihtosuhteiden ylläpidon sellaistenkin maiden kanssa, joiden politiikkaa ei hyväksytty. Esimerkiksi Neuvostoliittoon solmittiin lukuisia vaihtosuhteita sotienvälisenä aikana. Julkaisuvaihtotoiminta kohotti suomalaisen tieteen profiilia ja kannusti seuroja kehittämään ja kansainvälistämään julkaisujaan. Toisaalta suuri osa suomalaisten tekemistä vaihtoaloitteista ei johtanut vaihtosuhteeseen. Erityisesti biologian alalla keskeiset tutkimustulokset julkaistiin saksalaisissa kaupallisissa lehdissä, jotka eivät olleet halukkaita vaihtosuhteisiin. Helpointa oli luoda suhteita pieniin maihin tai sellaisiin maihin, joissa tieteellisen tutkimuksen perinne oli nuorta, kuten Yhdysvalloissa. Pienet maat tai perifeeriset alueet, esimerkiksi suomalais-ugrilaisten kansojen asuinseudut, tarjosivat usein relevantteja julkaisuja. Tutkimusaineiston valossa Matteus-vaikutuksen vahvistuminen vuosisadan vaihteessa on ilmeistä. Sitä kuitenkin lievensivät tiedeyhteisön vanhat käytännöt ja normit, jotka mahdollistivat kansainväliset yhteydet niillekin toimijoille, joilla ei ollut mahdollisuuksia julkaisujen kaupalliseen levitykseen.The thesis addresses the international exchange of publications of Finnish learned societies from the early nineteenth century until the Second World War. Exchange of publications refers to the regular and mutual delivery of books and journals between institutions. The practice was inherited from the early eighteenth century when the scientific community was called the Republic of Letters. The idea of republic emphasised the special nature of scientific community and required certain courtesy rules, in particular reciprocity was expected in favours, letters and gift-giving. The structure of the scholarly community began to change in the nineteenth century as scientific competition intensified and success accumulated in those countries, institutions and journals which had already gained a good reputation. This phenomenon of accumulation of scientific success was later described as the Matthew effect in science introduced by Robert Merton. The present study examines the extent to which the exchange of publications mitigated the accumulation of scientific advantage epitomised by the Matthew effect. The Finnish learned societies provide an interesting case because they were geographically peripheral and did not enjoy an established position in the scholarly community. A special feature in Finland is that the government has supported academic publishing and thus freed learned societies from having to promote the sales of their publications. The material consists of four societies representing different branches of scholarship: the Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica; the Finnish Literature Society; the Finnish Antiquarian Society; and the Finnish Dental Society. The methods used in the study derive both from information studies and history. The data on exchange relations and publishing activities were collected from the minutes, letters and library catalogues of the above societies and analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. A citation analysis was also conducted. The study demonstrated that establishing exchange relations was not a sufficient means of gaining international visibility. These four societies developed different strategies to promote networking, some actively establishing exchange relations, some being passive in their exchange policy but creating large networks of corresponding members and selling their publications. The norms and reciprocal practices inherited from the eighteenth century supported the Finnish societies in their efforts to distribute their publications internationally and to acquire foreign serials for their libraries. The ideal of neutrality on political and religious questions made it possible to sustain contacts even with institutions in countries whose politics was not accepted, such as the Soviet Union. The exchange of publications raised the profile of Finnish science and scholarship and encouraged the Finnish societies to develop and internationalise their periodicals. On the other hand, a large share of exchange initiatives taken by the Finnish societies came to nothing, particularly in the field of biology, where the most important research findings were published in German commercial journals. It was easier to acquire exchange partners in small countries and countries with short scientific traditions, such as the United States. Small countries and peripheral areas, such as those populated with Finno-Ugrian peoples, often provided relevant publications, which made exchange a well-functioning system

Challenging the Matthew effect: international exchange of publications in four Finnish learned societies until the Second World War

Väitöskirja käsittelee suomalaisten tieteellisten julkaisujen kansainvälistä levitystä 1800-luvun alusta toiseen maailmansotaan. Tuolloin yleisin tapa välittää kirjoja ja lehtiä oli julkaisuvaihto, jossa tieteelliset seurat ja laitokset sopivat säännöllisestä ja molemminpuolisesta julkaisujen lahjoittamisesta. Käytäntö periytyi 1700-luvulta, jolloin tiedeyhteisöön kuuluminen edellytti tiettyjä kohteliaisuussääntöjä, erityisesti vastavuoroisuutta erilaisissa palveluksissa ja lahjoituksissa sekä uskonnollisten ja poliittisten raja-aitojen ylittämistä tieteellisissä kysymyksissä. 1800-luvulla tiedeyhteisö alkoi muuttua, kun kilpailu voimistui ja menestys kasautui niihin maihin, tutkimuslaitoksiin ja lehtiin, joilla jo ennestään oli hyvä maine. Sosiologi Robert Merton on kuvannut tätä tieteellisen menestyksen kasautumista nimellä Matteus-vaikutus . Nimitys tulee Matteuksen evankeliumista (25:29): jokaiselle, jolla on, sille annetaan, ja hän on saava yltäkyllin, mutta jolla ei ole, siltä otetaan pois sekin mitä hänellä on. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu neljästä eri tutkimusaloja edustavasta seurasta: Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys ja Suomen Hammaslääkäriseura. Suomalaiset tieteelliset seurat olivat nuoria ja vähävaraisia eikä niillä ollut vakiintunutta asemaa tiedeyhteisössä. Siten ne ovat mielenkiintoinen tutkimuskohde Matteus-vaikutuksen näkökulmasta. Erityinen piirre Suomessa on ollut valtiovallan jatkuva tuki tieteelliselle julkaisutoiminnalle. Sen ansiosta seurojen ei tarvinnut panostaa julkaisujen myyntiin. Tutkimus osoittaa, että kohteena olevat neljä seuraa kehittivät erilaisia strategioita verkostoituakseen kansainvälisesti. Toiset hankkivat lukuisia vaihtokumppaneita, kun taas toiset olivat passiivisia vaihtotoiminnassaan mutta loivat laajat kirjeenvaihtajien verkostot ja pyrkivät myös myymään julkaisujaan. 1700-luvulta perityt normit ja käytännöt tukivat suomalaisia seuroja näiden tavoitteissa jakaa julkaisujaan kansainvälisesti ja hankkia omiin kirjastoihinsa ulkomaisia julkaisuja. Pyrkimys puolueettomuuteen uskonnollisissa ja poliittisissa kysymyksissä mahdollisti vaihtosuhteiden ylläpidon sellaistenkin maiden kanssa, joiden politiikkaa ei hyväksytty. Esimerkiksi Neuvostoliittoon solmittiin lukuisia vaihtosuhteita sotienvälisenä aikana. Julkaisuvaihtotoiminta kohotti suomalaisen tieteen profiilia ja kannusti seuroja kehittämään ja kansainvälistämään julkaisujaan. Toisaalta suuri osa suomalaisten tekemistä vaihtoaloitteista ei johtanut vaihtosuhteeseen. Erityisesti biologian alalla keskeiset tutkimustulokset julkaistiin saksalaisissa kaupallisissa lehdissä, jotka eivät olleet halukkaita vaihtosuhteisiin. Helpointa oli luoda suhteita pieniin maihin tai sellaisiin maihin, joissa tieteellisen tutkimuksen perinne oli nuorta, kuten Yhdysvalloissa. Pienet maat tai perifeeriset alueet, esimerkiksi suomalais-ugrilaisten kansojen asuinseudut, tarjosivat usein relevantteja julkaisuja. Tutkimusaineiston valossa Matteus-vaikutuksen vahvistuminen vuosisadan vaihteessa on ilmeistä. Sitä kuitenkin lievensivät tiedeyhteisön vanhat käytännöt ja normit, jotka mahdollistivat kansainväliset yhteydet niillekin toimijoille, joilla ei ollut mahdollisuuksia julkaisujen kaupalliseen levitykseen.The thesis addresses the international exchange of publications of Finnish learned societies from the early nineteenth century until the Second World War. Exchange of publications refers to the regular and mutual delivery of books and journals between institutions. The practice was inherited from the early eighteenth century when the scientific community was called the Republic of Letters. The idea of republic emphasised the special nature of scientific community and required certain courtesy rules, in particular reciprocity was expected in favours, letters and gift-giving. The structure of the scholarly community began to change in the nineteenth century as scientific competition intensified and success accumulated in those countries, institutions and journals which had already gained a good reputation. This phenomenon of accumulation of scientific success was later described as the Matthew effect in science introduced by Robert Merton. The present study examines the extent to which the exchange of publications mitigated the accumulation of scientific advantage epitomised by the Matthew effect. The Finnish learned societies provide an interesting case because they were geographically peripheral and did not enjoy an established position in the scholarly community. A special feature in Finland is that the government has supported academic publishing and thus freed learned societies from having to promote the sales of their publications. The material consists of four societies representing different branches of scholarship: the Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica; the Finnish Literature Society; the Finnish Antiquarian Society; and the Finnish Dental Society. The methods used in the study derive both from information studies and history. The data on exchange relations and publishing activities were collected from the minutes, letters and library catalogues of the above societies and analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. A citation analysis was also conducted. The study demonstrated that establishing exchange relations was not a sufficient means of gaining international visibility. These four societies developed different strategies to promote networking, some actively establishing exchange relations, some being passive in their exchange policy but creating large networks of corresponding members and selling their publications. The norms and reciprocal practices inherited from the eighteenth century supported the Finnish societies in their efforts to distribute their publications internationally and to acquire foreign serials for their libraries. The ideal of neutrality on political and religious questions made it possible to sustain contacts even with institutions in countries whose politics was not accepted, such as the Soviet Union. The exchange of publications raised the profile of Finnish science and scholarship and encouraged the Finnish societies to develop and internationalise their periodicals. On the other hand, a large share of exchange initiatives taken by the Finnish societies came to nothing, particularly in the field of biology, where the most important research findings were published in German commercial journals. It was easier to acquire exchange partners in small countries and countries with short scientific traditions, such as the United States. Small countries and peripheral areas, such as those populated with Finno-Ugrian peoples, often provided relevant publications, which made exchange a well-functioning system