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Our Recent Productions

Datasets, working papers, and peer-reviewed articles produced by MultiObs researchers.

Showing 1–5 of 5

  1. Article2026
    Attribution of authorship order and corresponding author in scientific publications: A survey of Brazilian researchers in the Agronomy field(opens in a new tab)

    Vanz, Samile Andréa de Souza; Grácio, Maria Cláudia Cabrini; Docampo, Domingo; Chinchilla-Rodríguez, Zaida; dos Santos, Silvio Telles; OLIVEIRA, SANDRA C.

    Funded by CNPq, CAPES, FAPERGS, Xunta de Galicia

    This study investigates the perceptions of Brazilian researchers in agronomy regarding the order of authorship and the role of the corresponding author in scientific publications utilizing a survey of 380 responses. Key findings reveal that most researchers see the first author as the primary executor of the research, and the last author as the leader. The study also highlights a significant association between authorship order, research credibility, and citation impact, with differing views based on the type of institutional affiliation. In addition, the survey shows a preference for the corresponding author to be either the first or the last author, emphasizing their role in communication with journals. The results suggest that while the authorship order is crucial for recognizing contributions, the corresponding author’s role is primarily seen as a formality. The study calls for more precise guidelines on authorship practices and further research into authorship dynamics in different scientific fields.

  2. Article2026Open Access
    Who Needs National Journals? Dissemination Strategies in Canadian Scholarly Communication(opens in a new tab)

    Pradier, Carolina; Céspedes, Lucía; van Bellen, Simon; Alperín, Juan Pablo; Larivière, Vincent

    The dominance of English-language journals marginalizes national and local scholarly publications. Focusing on Canada’s bilingual (English and French), community‑oriented and Open Access‑rich journal ecosystem, this study uses comprehensive data to ask who relies on Canadian journals, how language and research focus affect reach, and what that reveals about balancing local relevance with global visibility. Drawing on two major bibliometric databases (OpenAlex and Dimensions), we show that Canadian journals play a key role as venues for the dissemination of locally relevant research while also contributing to the global infrastructure for scholarly communication. Most articles published in Canadian journals are authored by researchers affiliated with foreign institutions, and most research authored by Canadians is published in journals based outside Canada. We find that Canadian authors are most likely to publish their work in national journals when they are in decision-making roles, when the language of publication is French, or when the topics are locally relevant. Our findings also challenge the notion that only the Social Sciences and Humanities are locally bound: for the Canadian case, Life and earth sciences and Biomedical and health sciences were also found to be linguistically and geographically grounded. Finally, while researchers affiliated with government institutions are the most likely to publish in Canadian journals and to engage in research that has a Canadian object of study, researchers affiliated with French-speaking Québec-based universities stand out as the largest contributors to the Canadian journal ecosystem and account for the highest volume of French-language publications.

  3. Article2026Open Access
    La dinámica local-global de la circulación del conocimiento en una facultad de ciencias bioquímicas de una universidad pública argentina: aportes para repensar los sistemas de evaluación científica en América Latina(opens in a new tab)

    Cybulski, Larisa E.; Isuani, Gabriela; Sciara, Andrés A.; Pacífico, Fernando Díaz; Pallitto, Nahuel; Beigel, Fernanda

    Since the establishment of the Science Citation Index in the 1960s, scientific evaluation systems have favored metrics like the impact factor (IF), creating a hierarchy that privileges “mainstream” journals while marginalizing local publications. This model has driven Latin American researchers to publish in international journals, often in English and with high article processing charges (APCs), to gain academic recognition and funding. However, this dynamic has undervalued regional journals, despite initiatives like SciELO, RedALyC, and Latindex demonstrating high standards of quality, open access, and increasing internationalization. In response, an interdisciplinary team proposed the creation of a local scientific journal at the Faculty of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the National University of Rosario (FBIOyF, by its Spanish acronym), aiming to engage globally without neglecting local values and criteria. To assess this initiative, we conducted a survey among faculty researchers. The results reveal significant interest in a publication that promotes the dissemination of locally generated knowledge, facilitates access for non-English-speaking communities, and fosters interdisciplinary collaborations, making science more equitable and more sensitive to social context.

  4. Working Paper2026Open Access
    Different operationalizations of local research and their associated citation patterns: A study of African publications(opens in a new tab)

    Alonso-Álvarez, Patricia; Boshoff, Nelius

    Local research has gained increasing attention in recent years, with a growing body of literature emphasizing its significance—especially for peripheral communities underrepresented in mainstream scientific discourse. However, despite this growing interest, there remains no clear consensus on how to define local research. Conceptual clarity is essential for conducting consistent and replicable analyses that capture the specific characteristics, contexts, and societal relevance of local research. This need is particularly acute in the Global South, where structural inequalities in visibility and recognition often marginalize regionally focused scholarship. In Africa, for instance, a substantial share of research is published in local or regional journals that are poorly represented in global indexing databases. As bibliometric analyses typically rely on these databases, this exclusion diminishes their perceived relevance. To address this gap, the present study incorporates data from regional and open-access sources to examine citation patterns associated with African local research. It uses multiple conceptualizations of local research to classify publications as either local or non-local depending on the definition used. These classifications are correlated with three citation-based indicators: average citations per publication, time to first citation, and the proportion of uncited publications. Additionally, the study explores the characteristics of citing publications, distinguishing between local and non-local sources as well as domestic and international citations. The findings reveal that citation patterns differ significantly across locality definitions, underscoring the importance of adopting nuanced, context-sensitive approaches to assess and support local research.