Gender Citation Gap in Political Science

Funding period: 2021/12-2024/11

In science, the number of citations of an article is considered a measure of the impact of a researcher. A structural gender citation gap (GCG) would lead to a career disadvantage for female researchers, as they would receive fewer citations for the same publication quality as men. In this project, we take a comprehensive perspective on the GCG in international political science. Although the importance of citations is high, there is little research on GCG in political science. Previous study results are mixed, finding both evidence for the existence of a GCG and its absence.

Against this background, the project makes four contributions. First, empirically, we aim for a larger data base in order to arrive at broader findings and, for example, to analyse differences over time. Second, we formulate hypotheses about causes of CGC and translate them into causal models (directed acyclic graphs, DAGs). This increases the transparency of the theory and allows us to derive specific identification assumptions and corresponding statistical models. Third, we use design-based approaches to estimate specific publication-related effects on the CGC. We investigate the extent to which differences in word count or page count limitations negatively affect the citations that women receive. Fourth, based on theoretical considerations and the statistical findings, we employ simulation analyses. The goal is simulation-based insights into how short-term, easy-to-implement editorial measures influence CGC in a complex system like publishing. From the interaction of the findings, practical recommendations for editors can be derived to reduce career disadvantages for women.

The project receives funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and is part of meta IFiF. Meta IFiF is a network of projects that is part of the funding line "Innovative Frauen im Fokus".