Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together? A bibliometric analysis of author distribution in top medical education journals

Abstract

Introduction: Medical education and medical education research are growing industries that have become increasingly globalized. Recognition of the colonial foundations of medical education has led to a growing focus on issues of equity, absence, and marginalization. One area of absence that has been under-explored is that of published voices from low- and middle-income countries. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of five top medical education journals to determine which countries were absent and which countries were represented in prestigious first and last authorship positions. Methods: Web of Science was searched for all articles and reviews published between 2012 and 2018 within Academic Medicine, Medical Education, Advances in Health Sciences Education, Medical Teacher, and BMC Medical Education. Country of origin was identified for first and last author of each publication, and the number of publications originating from each country were counted. Results: Our analysis revealed a dominance of first and last authors from five countries: USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Australia. Authors from these five countries had first or last authored 74% of publications. Of the 195 countries in the world, 53% were not represented by a single publication. There was a slight increase in the percentage of publications from outside of these five countries from 22% in 2012 to 29% in 2018. Conclusion: The dominance of wealthy nations within spaces that claim to be international is a finding that requires attention. We draw upon analogies from modern Olympic sport and our own collaborative research process to show how academic publishing continues to be a colonized space that advantages those from wealthy and English-speaking countries.