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Cross-country differences in publishing productivity of academics in research universities

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  • Peter James Bentley

    (The University of Melbourne)

Abstract

The main bibliometric databases indicate large differences in country-level scientific publishing productivity, with high growth in many East Asian countries. However, it is difficult to translate country-level publishing productivity to individual-level productivity due to cross-country differences in the size and composition of the research workforce, as well as limited coverage of publications in the social sciences and humanities. Alternative data sources, such as individual-level self-reported publication data, may capture a wider range of publication channels but potentially include non-peer reviewed output and research re-published in different languages. Using individual-level academic survey data across 11 countries, this study finds large differences across countries in individual-level publishing productivity. However, when fractionalised for English-language and peer-reviewed publications, cross-country differences are relatively smaller. This suggests that publishing productivity in certain countries is inflated by a tendency to publish in non-peer reviewed outlets. Academics in large, non-English speaking countries also potentially benefit from a wider range of domestic publication channels. Demographic, motivational and institutional characteristics associated with high individual-level publishing productivity account for part of the publishing productivity differences within and between counties in English-language and peer-reviewed publishing productivity, but not in total publishing productivity where such workforce characteristics only account for within-country differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter James Bentley, 2015. "Cross-country differences in publishing productivity of academics in research universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(1), pages 865-883, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:102:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-014-1430-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-014-1430-4
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    4. Fahad Ghabban & Ali Selamat & Roliana Ibrahim & Ondrej Krejcar & Petra Maresova & Enrique Herrera-Viedma, 2019. "The Influence of Personal and Organizational Factors on Researchers’ Attitudes towards Sustainable Research Productivity in Saudi Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-28, September.
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    6. Gad Yair & Nofar Gueta & Nitza Davidovitch, 2017. "The law of limited excellence: publication productivity of Israel Prize laureates in the life and exact sciences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(1), pages 299-311, October.
    7. Marek Kwiek, 2018. "High research productivity in vertically undifferentiated higher education systems: Who are the top performers?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 415-462, April.
    8. Kyle HIGHAM & NAGAOKA Sadao, 2022. "Language Barriers and the Speed of Knowledge Diffusion," Discussion papers 22074, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Štěpán Jurajda & Stanislav Kozubek & Daniel Münich & Samuel Škoda, 2017. "Scientific publication performance in post-communist countries: still lagging far behind," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(1), pages 315-328, July.

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