Distribution and Nature of Bioethical Research by Mediterranean Authors on the Example of the Croatian Bioethical Journals

Abstract

Taking the basic goals of the scientific project “EUROBIOMED” (Croatian Science Foundation, HRZZ IP-2020-02-7450) as a starting point, the research investigates an important segment of bioethical production by Mediterranean authors. All main Croatian journals officially dedicated to bioethical research are taken into consideration as a corpus of research: Jahr – European Journal of Bioethics, Synthesis philosophica, and Filozofska istraživanja (Philosophical Investigations). Methodologically, only scientific and professional articles are taken, the criteria for defining articles as “bioethical” were given by leaning on bibliometric characteristics, and the considered approaches for content analysis were presented. Three dimensions are analysed. First, the research reveals all Mediterranean countries from which bioethical authors come. Second, topics that are represented in those works are described and categorized under mentioned methodological criteria. Third, the methodology applied in those articles is critically analysed and debated in the mentioned project’s framework. Apart from the distribution of authors from Mediterranean countries, the results have broader significance for the issues of representation of Mediterranean topics and methodology concerning bioethics in general, and, indirectly, say much about the relevance of all three mentioned journals in this context, i.e. their place and significance in the bioethical dimension of enriching and contributing to the Mediterranean Studies. Keywords: bioethics, Mediterranean, Croatia, journals, content analysis, Mediterranean studies, EUROBIOMED project