Uncited Science in the Global South: Striving Toward Inclusivity and Bettering our Understanding of Global Climate Change

Abstract

Global impacts of climate change have been investigated around the world; however, the discussion in academic literature has generally focused on the work of scientists in the Global North (Corbera et al. 2016). We suggest that this focus may be due in part to adversity faced by scientists in the Global South when attempting to publish in high-impact, Open Access (OA) journals. Language and financial barriers can limit the options of scientists in the Global South, resulting in them publishing in their native language journals, or in journals with lower publication costs. If these journals have a lower impact score, paywalls, or are published in a language other than English, the work of these researchers may not be thoroughly disseminated. This limited dissemination is a major concern when researching climate change, as this is a global issue. To better understand climate change, other global issues, and recognize the work of underrepresented scientists, we call on the whole aquatic science community to increase awareness and support of research conducted in the Global South. The phrase “publish or perish” is used to describe the pressure scientists face to publish their research—employment, promotion, tenure, grants or other funding opportunities can often be contingent on the number of articles published in high impact journals. However, trying to publish in high impact journals can be expensive due to article processing charges. The recent push for OA science, now a requirement for federally funded research in the United States, makes science more accessible to the public, but comes at expense to the researcher, with some journals charging fees over US$4000 (Audrey et al. 2022). Such publication costs may prove challenging to scientists in the Global South where research programs may not be as well funded. For perspective, US$69.6 billion was spent on basic research in the United States in 2017 (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2019/nsf19321/overview.htm), compared to US$898 million in Brazil (Angelo 2017). A similar trend exists for many countries in the Global South where funds for research and development (as a function of percent gross domestic product; GDP) is much lower relative to countries in the Global North (Fig. 1). Beyond North America, there are some countries like the Republic of Korea and Israel with a research and development expenditure of 4.81% and 5.44% of GDP respectively, driving up the global average. In areas where science is often under-funded, it becomes difficult for research groups to afford publishing their results in high impact, OA journals. The exorbitant costs of publishing alone are likely part of the reason we do not have a fuller picture of climate change impacts around the globe. Scientists in the Global South may encounter another barrier: publishing in English. Most high impact journals are published in English, yet less than 17% of the world's population are native English speakers. English is often learned as a second language, a feat impressive in itself, but writing a manuscript that meets the standards of an English-based journal may prove challenging. Many research groups may find themselves needing to hire a translator, adding yet another major expense to publishing. Resources like AuthorAID (https://www.authoraid.info/) can provide free or affordable support for researchers in low- and middle-income countries to help with checking and improving the quality of their writing in English, but that will not always be enough to overcome such ingrained barriers. We can increase inclusivity in the scientific community by supporting, searching for, citing, and promoting science conducted by researchers from the Global South. Increasing awareness of these publications will have the dual benefits of providing a better understanding of the impacts of global issues like climate change and amplifying the work of underrepresented scientists from the Global South that may otherwise go unnoticed. With many scientists in the Global South working in regions with limited financial support for their research or being non-native English speakers, they face extraordinary challenges to publish their work in high impact, OA journals. In our push toward inclusivity and bettering our understanding of global issues, we must work to eliminate these financial and language barriers. Only with a united understanding between the Global North and South can we effectively understand the future of aquatic ecosystems under a changing climate.