Data collection methods
A sampling of the universe of International Relations researchers in Argentina was conducted, resulting in a total of 62 researchers. To expand the sample and not solely rely on CONICET researchers, a second search for Google Scholar profiles associated with the term 'RELACIONES INTERNACIONALES' (International Relations) in Argentina was conducted. Additionally, members associated with institutions such as 'UNLP', 'DITELLA', 'UNIVERSIDAD DE SAN ANDRÉS', 'FLACSO', 'IRI', 'CRIES', 'UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE ROSARIO', 'CARI', 'UADE', 'UNIVERSIDAD DEL SALVADOR', 'UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL', 'UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CUYO', 'UNIVERSIDAD DE PALERMO', and 'UCA' were searched for. In total, 40 profiles were found.
To access the complete Google Scholar profiles and interaction networks among them, the 'gscholar' library from the R programming package was utilized. The data from 69 Google Scholar profiles were downloaded, of which 28 were from women and 41 were from men. From these data, the following databases were downloaded:
The number of citations for each author and their profile
The co-authorship networks of each author
The publications of each author
The citations and the year of citation for each publication of each author
*All the information was downloaded during September 2022*
Sample
Publications
Publications authored by males: 1878
Publications authored by females: 1931
Researchers
Males: 41
Females: 28
Citations network
In the co-authorship network, not all authors are interconnected. This phenomenon could be attributed to institutional affiliations or research interests. Observations reveal distinct co-authorship patterns between men and women. Men tend to collaborate more frequently with each other, and in networks where the lead author is male, there may be only one or two female co-authors. Conversely, when a woman is the lead author, the networks tend to be more diverse. In some cases, women tend to collaborate among themselves, but in many instances, the co-authors have mixed genders. Notably, networks composed entirely or predominantly of women can also be identified, likely influenced by the concept that women tend to collaborate more due to higher levels of sisterhood and camaraderie among them (Kadera, 2013).
Analysis of the 1,931 publications with a female lead author reveals that 1,174 (61%) are single-authored, while 757 works are co-authored with women as the lead author. In contrast, there are 650 co-authored publications with male lead authors and 1,128 (60%) single-authored works.
From these findings, it can be inferred that the significant difference in publication patterns is less influenced by the act of co-authoring itself but rather by the composition of co-authorship networks. In this regard, women tend to have more diverse relational networks when it comes to publishing research.
Paper topics
Despite similarities in the themes chosen for publication, men tend to receive more citations, indicating potential biases in the citation practices within the scholarly community.
Both male and female authors show similar inclinations to write about Politics and International Economics (674 papers by men and 823 papers by women) and Foreign Policy (406 papers by men and 267 papers by women). However, notable differences emerge when examining themes like International Order and Democracy, where men significantly outnumber women in published papers (354 papers by men versus 117 papers by women), and Global Studies, where female authors surpass male authors (189 papers by women compared to 98 papers by men).
In terms of citation rates, men generally receive higher average citations per paper compared to women. Notably, male-authored papers on International Order receive an average of 18.5 citations per paper, significantly surpassing the 10.5 citations per paper received by female-authored papers on Politics and International Economics. However, women fare better in the area of International Security, with their papers garnering an average of 5.3 citations, whereas male-authored papers receive an average of 3.6 citations.
The most significant citation gap is observed in papers on International Order and Democracy, where male-authored papers receive more than three times the citations (18.5) of female-authored papers (4.7) on average. Although there is some parity in citation rates for certain themes, men are generally more cited in the subjects they write about, and the gap is quite evident. On average, male-authored papers receive 9.18 citations, whereas female-authored papers receive 6.91 citations.
Despite similarities in the themes chosen for publication, men tend to receive more citations, indicating potential biases in the citation practices within the scholarly community. Further research and awareness are necessary to address these disparities and promote gender equality in academia.