An analysis of international mobility and research productivity in computer science

Abstract

In this article, we study the international mobility of researchers in the field of computer science (CS). Our analysis hinges upon Scopus data spanning a time period of 30 years (1991–2020) and involves a total of 969,835 researchers and 8,412,543 publications. Our contribution is two-fold. First, we characterize mobility as a fairly common phenomenon in CS, we highlight a strong correlation with standard bibliometric indicators at all seniority levels and a lower propensity of female researchers to relocate internationally than their male colleagues. Second, we analyze individual career paths building from them a mobility graph and identifying common patterns, such as the most traveled connections between different countries, whether they are equally traversed in both directions and the most frequently visited countries. The temporal evolution of the above patterns within our 30-year time frame is also investigated. The United States emerged as a preferred destination for internationally mobile authors, with strong connections to China (from the early 2000s), Canada, and several prominent European countries, most notably the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.