A new innovative method to measure the demographic representation of scientists via Google Scholar

Abstract

Many countries around the globe have seen increases in the enrollment of female and visible minorities in postsecondary education. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate whether recent demographic changes at the postsecondary institution have translated to employment opportunities in scientific fields for women and previously underrepresented groups. Instead of relying on algorithm indices, surveys, or anonymous census data, this study is the first research to utilize an innovative approach to report the demographic representation of top-ranking scientists from around the world. The recently developed Google Scholar profile platform, university ranking system, and the search engine are the main methods that allowed this study to identify and categorize the top scientists from countries in which English is one of the official languages, or where English is used as the language of instruction in higher education. Overall, findings reveal that at top-ranking universities in which the majority of the population is Caucasian, women and minorities are severely underrepresented in all areas of science, capturing 7.3% and 6.4% of the total citations, respectively. Each country’s highest concentration of scientists in each field, based on citation and percentage of researchers, is highlighted. There are recommendations offered to help make scientific advancement more favorable to underrepresented groups, and also to encourage institutions of higher education to adapt and build new capacities.