Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals
Introduction Medical education and medical education research are growing industries that have become increasingly globalised. Recognition of the colonial foundations of medical education has led to a growing focus on issues of equity, absence and marginalisation. One area of absence that has been u...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-06-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/6/e011656.full |
| _version_ | 1797756071315505152 |
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| author | Manuel João Costa Carrie Cartmill Cynthia Ruth Whitehead Dawit Wondimagegn Eloy Rodrigues Antónia Correia Tiago Salessi Lins |
| author_facet | Manuel João Costa Carrie Cartmill Cynthia Ruth Whitehead Dawit Wondimagegn Eloy Rodrigues Antónia Correia Tiago Salessi Lins |
| author_sort | Manuel João Costa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Medical education and medical education research are growing industries that have become increasingly globalised. Recognition of the colonial foundations of medical education has led to a growing focus on issues of equity, absence and marginalisation. One area of absence that has been underexplored is that of published voices from low-income and middle-income countries. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of five top medical education journals to determine which countries were absent and which countries were represented in prestigious first and last authorship positions.Methods Web of Science was searched for all articles and reviews published between 2012 and 2021 within Academic Medicine, Medical Education, Advances in Health Sciences Education, Medical Teacher, and BMC Medical Education. Country of origin was identified for first and last author of each publication, and the number of publications originating from each country was counted.Results Our analysis revealed a dominance of first and last authors from five countries: USA, Canada, UK, Netherlands and Australia. Authors from these five countries had first or last authored 70% of publications. Of the 195 countries in the world, 43% (approximately 83) were not represented by a single publication. There was an increase in the percentage of publications from outside of these five countries from 23% in 2012 to 40% in 2021.Conclusion The dominance of wealthy nations within spaces that claim to be international is a finding that requires attention. We draw on analogies from modern Olympic sport and our own collaborative research process to show how academic publishing continues to be a colonised space that advantages those from wealthy and English-speaking countries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:56:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2e4c1496cfaa410db652d83ecb57ac13 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:56:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-2e4c1496cfaa410db652d83ecb57ac132023-08-02T14:35:07ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082023-06-018610.1136/bmjgh-2022-011656Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journalsManuel João Costa0Carrie Cartmill1Cynthia Ruth Whitehead2Dawit Wondimagegn3Eloy Rodrigues4Antónia Correia5Tiago Salessi Lins6School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, PortugalThe Wilson Centre, University Health Network and Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaThe Wilson Centre, University Health Network and Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaCollege of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Oromia, EthiopiaDocumentation and Library Services, University of Minho, Braga, PortugalDocumentation and Library Services, University of Minho, Braga, PortugalDepartment of Health Promotion, Federal University of Paraiba, Paraiba, BrazilIntroduction Medical education and medical education research are growing industries that have become increasingly globalised. Recognition of the colonial foundations of medical education has led to a growing focus on issues of equity, absence and marginalisation. One area of absence that has been underexplored is that of published voices from low-income and middle-income countries. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of five top medical education journals to determine which countries were absent and which countries were represented in prestigious first and last authorship positions.Methods Web of Science was searched for all articles and reviews published between 2012 and 2021 within Academic Medicine, Medical Education, Advances in Health Sciences Education, Medical Teacher, and BMC Medical Education. Country of origin was identified for first and last author of each publication, and the number of publications originating from each country was counted.Results Our analysis revealed a dominance of first and last authors from five countries: USA, Canada, UK, Netherlands and Australia. Authors from these five countries had first or last authored 70% of publications. Of the 195 countries in the world, 43% (approximately 83) were not represented by a single publication. There was an increase in the percentage of publications from outside of these five countries from 23% in 2012 to 40% in 2021.Conclusion The dominance of wealthy nations within spaces that claim to be international is a finding that requires attention. We draw on analogies from modern Olympic sport and our own collaborative research process to show how academic publishing continues to be a colonised space that advantages those from wealthy and English-speaking countries.https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/6/e011656.full |
| spellingShingle | Manuel João Costa Carrie Cartmill Cynthia Ruth Whitehead Dawit Wondimagegn Eloy Rodrigues Antónia Correia Tiago Salessi Lins Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals BMJ Global Health |
| title | Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals |
| title_full | Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals |
| title_fullStr | Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals |
| title_short | Faster, higher, stronger – together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals |
| title_sort | faster higher stronger together a bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/6/e011656.full |
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