Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison
Abstract Background Ioannidis et al. (2020) reported a standardized estimate of scientific productivity obtained from a worldwide database of 6,880,389 scientists who published at least 5 papers picked up by the Scopus database, and elaborated a ranking of ca. 120,000 scientists by both whole trajec...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Revista Chilena de Historia Natural |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40693-021-00101-7 |
| _version_ | 1819094724335632384 |
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| author | Jaime R. Rau Fabian M. Jaksic |
| author_facet | Jaime R. Rau Fabian M. Jaksic |
| author_sort | Jaime R. Rau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Ioannidis et al. (2020) reported a standardized estimate of scientific productivity obtained from a worldwide database of 6,880,389 scientists who published at least 5 papers picked up by the Scopus database, and elaborated a ranking of ca. 120,000 scientists by both whole trajectory (career-long) impact and their current impact at year 2019. The goal of our paper is to contextualize Latin American ecologists’ contribution at the world level based on the four most scientifically productive countries in the region. Methods and findings Ioannidis et al. (2020) proposed a composite index that is the sum of six scientometric indicators: (1) The number of allocites, (2) the h index, (3) a per capita corrected version of h, (4) the allocites received as single author, (5) those received as single + first author, and (6) those as single + first + last author. We selected data for ecologists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico and comparatively analyzed their productivity according to the proposed index. We also compared these data with those obtained from a global sample of the top ecologists worldwide. Conclusions Based on Ioannidis et al.’s proposition to evaluate scientific productivity we extract three lessons: (1) It does not pay to publish many papers; what counts is the number of allocites (i.e., self-citations do not add up). (2) Either be single, first, or last author; it does not pay to be in the middle of an authorship line. (3) Even worse it is to be among many co-authors because the proposed index allocates credits on a per capita basis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:31:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61ff45b926f142f1a1ac94af59e911a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0717-6317 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:31:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Chilena de Historia Natural |
| spelling | doaj.art-61ff45b926f142f1a1ac94af59e911a62022-12-21T18:46:28ZengBMCRevista Chilena de Historia Natural0717-63172021-08-019411810.1186/s40693-021-00101-7Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparisonJaime R. Rau0Fabian M. Jaksic1Laboratorio de Ecología, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Los Lagos, Campus OsornoCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileAbstract Background Ioannidis et al. (2020) reported a standardized estimate of scientific productivity obtained from a worldwide database of 6,880,389 scientists who published at least 5 papers picked up by the Scopus database, and elaborated a ranking of ca. 120,000 scientists by both whole trajectory (career-long) impact and their current impact at year 2019. The goal of our paper is to contextualize Latin American ecologists’ contribution at the world level based on the four most scientifically productive countries in the region. Methods and findings Ioannidis et al. (2020) proposed a composite index that is the sum of six scientometric indicators: (1) The number of allocites, (2) the h index, (3) a per capita corrected version of h, (4) the allocites received as single author, (5) those received as single + first author, and (6) those as single + first + last author. We selected data for ecologists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico and comparatively analyzed their productivity according to the proposed index. We also compared these data with those obtained from a global sample of the top ecologists worldwide. Conclusions Based on Ioannidis et al.’s proposition to evaluate scientific productivity we extract three lessons: (1) It does not pay to publish many papers; what counts is the number of allocites (i.e., self-citations do not add up). (2) Either be single, first, or last author; it does not pay to be in the middle of an authorship line. (3) Even worse it is to be among many co-authors because the proposed index allocates credits on a per capita basis.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40693-021-00101-7ProductivityScientometricsIoannidis indexAllocitesSelf-citationBrazil |
| spellingShingle | Jaime R. Rau Fabian M. Jaksic Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison Revista Chilena de Historia Natural Productivity Scientometrics Ioannidis index Allocites Self-citation Brazil |
| title | Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison |
| title_full | Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison |
| title_fullStr | Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison |
| title_short | Are Latin American ecologists recognized at the world level? A global comparison |
| title_sort | are latin american ecologists recognized at the world level a global comparison |
| topic | Productivity Scientometrics Ioannidis index Allocites Self-citation Brazil |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40693-021-00101-7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jaimerrau arelatinamericanecologistsrecognizedattheworldlevelaglobalcomparison AT fabianmjaksic arelatinamericanecologistsrecognizedattheworldlevelaglobalcomparison |