IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jinfst/v74y2023i2p219-233.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender and country biases in Wikipedia citations to scholarly publications

Author

Listed:
  • Xiang Zheng
  • Jiajing Chen
  • Erjia Yan
  • Chaoqun Ni

Abstract

Ensuring Wikipedia cites scholarly publications based on quality and relevancy without biases is critical to credible and fair knowledge dissemination. We investigate gender‐ and country‐based biases in Wikipedia citation practices using linked data from the Web of Science and a Wikipedia citation dataset. Using coarsened exact matching, we show that publications by women are cited less by Wikipedia than expected, and publications by women are less likely to be cited than those by men. Scholarly publications by authors affiliated with non‐Anglosphere countries are also disadvantaged in getting cited by Wikipedia, compared with those by authors affiliated with Anglosphere countries. The level of gender‐ or country‐based inequalities varies by research field, and the gender‐country intersectional bias is prominent in math‐intensive STEM fields. To ensure the credibility and equality of knowledge presentation, Wikipedia should consider strategies and guidelines to cite scholarly publications independent of the gender and country of authors.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiang Zheng & Jiajing Chen & Erjia Yan & Chaoqun Ni, 2023. "Gender and country biases in Wikipedia citations to scholarly publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 74(2), pages 219-233, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jinfst:v:74:y:2023:i:2:p:219-233
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.24723
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24723
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/asi.24723?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ewa S. Callahan & Susan C. Herring, 2011. "Cultural bias in Wikipedia content on famous persons," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(10), pages 1899-1915, October.
    2. Enrique Orduna-Malea & Mike Thelwall & Kayvan Kousha, 2017. "Web citations in patents: Evidence of technological impact?," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(8), pages 1967-1974, August.
    3. Ludo Waltman & Nees Jan Eck, 2012. "A new methodology for constructing a publication-level classification system of science," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(12), pages 2378-2392, December.
    4. Yong Huang & Yi Bu & Ying Ding & Wei Lu, 2019. "From zero to one: A perspective on citing," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 70(10), pages 1098-1107, October.
    5. Misha Teplitskiy & Grace Lu & Eamon Duede, 2017. "Amplifying the impact of open access: Wikipedia and the diffusion of science," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(9), pages 2116-2127, September.
    6. Vincent Larivière & Yves Gingras & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Andrew Tsou, 2015. "Team size matters: Collaboration and scientific impact since 1900," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(7), pages 1323-1332, July.
    7. Mike Thelwall & Tamara Nevill, 2019. "No evidence of citation bias as a determinant of STEM gender disparities in US biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(3), pages 1793-1801, December.
    8. Vincent Larivière & Chaoqun Ni & Yves Gingras & Blaise Cronin & Cassidy R. Sugimoto, 2013. "Bibliometrics: Global gender disparities in science," Nature, Nature, vol. 504(7479), pages 211-213, December.
    9. Eugenie Samuel Reich, 2011. "Online reputations: Best face forward," Nature, Nature, vol. 473(7346), pages 138-139, May.
    10. Lee, You-Na & Walsh, John P. & Wang, Jian, 2015. "Creativity in scientific teams: Unpacking novelty and impact," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 684-697.
    11. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Matthew Blackwell & Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2009. "cem: Coarsened exact matching in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(4), pages 524-546, December.
    13. Mark Graham & Bernie Hogan & Ralph K. Straumann & Ahmed Medhat, 2014. "Uneven Geographies of User-Generated Information: Patterns of Increasing Informational Poverty," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 104(4), pages 746-764, July.
    14. Ewa S. Callahan & Susan C. Herring, 2011. "Cultural bias in Wikipedia content on famous persons," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(10), pages 1899-1915, October.
    15. Mostafa Mesgari & Chitu Okoli & Mohamad Mehdi & Finn Årup Nielsen & Arto Lanamäki, 2015. "“The sum of all human knowledge”: A systematic review of scholarly research on the content of Wikipedia," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(2), pages 219-245, February.
    16. Zhang, Lin & Sivertsen, Gunnar & Du, Huiying & HUANG, Ying & Glänzel, Wolfgang, 2021. "Gender differences in the aims and impacts of research," SocArXiv 9n347, Center for Open Science.
    17. Dariusz Jemielniak & Eduard Aibar, 2016. "Bridging the gap between wikipedia and academia," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(7), pages 1773-1776, July.
    18. Iacus, Stefano & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2009. "cem: Software for Coarsened Exact Matching," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 30(i09).
    19. Peter van den Besselaar & Ulf Sandström, 2017. "Vicious circles of gender bias, lower positions, and lower performance: Gender differences in scholarly productivity and impact," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, August.
    20. Lin Zhang & Gunnar Sivertsen & Huiying Du & Ying Huang & Wolfgang Glänzel, 2021. "Gender differences in the aims and impacts of research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(11), pages 8861-8886, November.
    21. Tim Legrand, 2016. "Elite, exclusive and elusive: transgovernmental policy networks and iterative policy transfer in the Anglosphere," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(5), pages 440-455, September.
    22. Chitu Okoli & Mohamad Mehdi & Mostafa Mesgari & Finn Årup Nielsen & Arto Lanamäki, 2014. "Wikipedia in the eyes of its beholders: A systematic review of scholarly research on Wikipedia readers and readership," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 65(12), pages 2381-2403, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas Augusto van der Velde & Magdalena Smyk, 2024. "Gender-neutral hiring of junior scholars," GRAPE Working Papers 94, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    2. Nakajima, Kazuki & Liu, Ruodan & Shudo, Kazuyuki & Masuda, Naoki, 2023. "Quantifying gender imbalance in East Asian academia: Research career and citation practice," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yining Wang & Qiang Wu & Liangyu Li, 2024. "Examining the influence of women scientists on scientific impact and novelty: insights from top business journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(6), pages 3517-3542, June.
    2. Thamyres T. Choji & Manuel J. Cobo & Jose A. Moral-Munoz, 2024. "Is the scientific impact of the LIS themes gender-biased? A bibliometric analysis of the evolution, scientific impact, and relative contribution by gender from 2007 to 2022," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(10), pages 6023-6047, October.
    3. Yuanyuan Shang & Gunnar Sivertsen & Zhe Cao & Lin Zhang, 2022. "Gender differences among first authors in research focused on the Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 4769-4796, August.
    4. Sergio Afcha & Jose García-Quevedo, 2016. "The impact of R&D subsidies on R&D employment composition," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(6), pages 955-975.
    5. Jing Wang & Gen Li & Kai-Lung Hui, 2022. "Monetary Incentives and Knowledge Spillover: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3549-3572, May.
    6. Leduc, Elisabeth & Tojerow, Ilan, 2020. "Subsidizing Domestic Services as a Tool to Fight Unemployment: Effectiveness and Hidden Costs," IZA Discussion Papers 13544, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Guignet, Dennis & Jenkins, Robin R. & Belke, James & Mason, Henry, 2023. "The property value impacts of industrial chemical accidents," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    8. Philipp vom Berge & Achim Schmillen, 2023. "Effects of mass layoffs on local employment—evidence from geo-referenced data," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 509-539.
    9. Matteo Aquilina & Giulio Cornelli & Marina Sanchez del Villar, 2024. "Regulation, information asymmetries and the funding of new ventures," BIS Working Papers 1162, Bank for International Settlements.
    10. Heejung Byun & Joseph Raffiee & Martin Ganco, 2019. "Discontinuities in the Value of Relational Capital: The Effects on Employee Entrepreneurship and Mobility," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1368-1393, November.
    11. Sara Pavone & Elena Ragazzi & Lisa Sella, 2015. "Sostenere le imprese agro-industriali in Piemonte: un?analisi controfattuale," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3 Suppl.), pages 129-143.
    12. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian & William L. Skimmyhorn, 2022. "Borrowing to Save? The Impact of Automatic Enrollment on Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(1), pages 403-447, February.
    13. Davidson Heath & Giorgo Sertsios, 2022. "Profitability and Financial Leverage: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 8386-8410, November.
    14. Khanna, Rajat, 2021. "Aftermath of a tragedy: A star's death and coauthors’ subsequent productivity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(2).
    15. Srinivasa, Aditya Korekallu & Praveen, K.V. & Subash, S.P. & Nithyashree, ML & Jha, Girish Kumar, 2021. "Does a Farmer’s Knowledge of Minimum Support Price (MSP) Affect the Farm-Gate Price? Evidence from India," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315205, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Yidi Liu & Xin Li & Zhiqiang (Eric) Zheng, 2024. "Consequences of China’s 2018 Online Lending Regulation and the Promise of PolicyTech," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(3), pages 1235-1256, September.
    17. Graddy-Reed, Alexandra & Lanahan, Lauren & D'Agostino, Jesse, 2021. "Training across the academy: The impact of R&D funding on graduate students," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).
    18. Nilsen, Øivind A. & Raknerud, Arvid, 2024. "Dynamics of first-time patenting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(8).
    19. Rathi, Sawan & Majumdar, Adrija & Chatterjee, Chirantan, 2024. "Did the COVID-19 pandemic propel usage of AI in pharmaceutical innovation? New evidence from patenting data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    20. Christopher F. Baum & Hans Lööf & Andreas Stephan & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2024. "Estimating the Wage Premia of Refugee Immigrants: Lessons from Sweden," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(4), pages 562-597, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jinfst:v:74:y:2023:i:2:p:219-233. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.asis.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.