Bibliometric analysis on geographic inequalities in forest science
July 1, 2024
One of the questions the In-Forest project addresses is how geographic inequalities manifest in forest science. Led by Prof. Nelius Boshoff at CREST, the team has now published a first paper resulting from a large-scale bibliometric analysis entitled “Geographical inequalities in global forest science: A bibliometric perspective” in Forest Policy and Economics.
This article attempts a theoretically-grounded and comprehensive bibliometric study of geographic inequalities in global forest science. The study identifies a mismatch between research foci and needs, which is especially relevant for the field of forest science given the close relationship between the location and the knowledge produced.
The analysis was led by a core question: What geographical inequalities structure global forest science and how do they align with the natural geographical distribution of forest areas? We used Bourdieu's field theory to investigate the inequalities, focusing on three types of capital considered important for participation in global science: scientific capital (products of knowledge and acts of recognition), collaboration capital, and funding capital.
To operationalise the types of capital for bibliometric analysis, eight regional-level indicators and seven country-level indicators were developed. The Dimensions database served as the data source to extract relevant publications in forest science from 2000 to 2021 based on the database's publication-level field classification. We determined forest-related research needs using non-bibliometric data, specifically the extent of cover per region and country, which enabled the calculation of disparity ratios between the world shares of forest publications and the world shares of forests.
The results highlight persisting inequalities in the distribution of different forms of capital in global science. While the Bourdieusian assumption that “capital breeds capital” seems to apply to two dominant regions (Europe and Northern America), explaining their continued centrality as loci of forest science, it does not seem to apply more generally. The study points to a mismatch between research foci and needs, which is concerning given the importance of place and context in forest science.
The article is available open access and was widely distributed via social media:
X (previously Twitter): https://x.com/cwtsleiden/status/1800498007181599012
Full Reference: Boshoff, N., Ngwenya, S., Koch, S., Dudek, J., Strelnyk, O., Costas, R., & Uisso, A. J. (2024). Geographical inequalities in global forest science: A bibliometric perspective. Forest Policy and Economics, 165, 103250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103250