How international are sociology journals? – Analysis of aims, editorial boards and gatekeeper networks

HORDOSY, RITA; Brown, Elizabeth; Vega Castillo, Maria Antonieta

Abstract

Academic prestige is conceptualised differently based on national context; yet internationally, the notion of "excellence" permeates the global discourse on knowledge production. A knowledge hierarchy has long been present within the academic community dominated by producers, publishers and journals from western countries (Heilbron, 2014). This paper analyses international sociology journals regarding the interplay of the centre - periphery relations as observed within their aims, editorial boards, and their authorship (Platt, 2007). As such, it explores the geographies of knowledge in the context of sociology as a discipline (Calma & Davies, 2017), through the following means. First, it analyses the aims of journals as outlined via their respective websites, focusing on whether they discuss their international orientation. Second, to look at gatekeepers of knowledge production, it explores the current country affiliation of their editorial boards. Third, it looks at the country affiliation of authors from a longitudinal perspective, following the work of Kwiek (2021) exploring higher education journals.

References
Calma, A., & Davies, M. (2017). Geographies of influence: a citation network analysis of Higher Education 1972–2014.
Scientometrics, 110(3), 1579–1599.
Heilbron, J. (2014). The social sciences as an emerging global field. Current Sociology, 62(5), 685–703.
Kwiek, M. (2020). What Large-Scale Publication and Citation Data
Tell Us About International Research Collaboration in Europe: Changing National Patterns in Global Contexts. Studies in Higher Education, 1–21.
Platt, J. (2007). Some issues in comparative, macro and international work in the history of sociology. American Sociologist, 38(4), 352–363.

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: British Sociological Association Annual Conference
• Conference Location: Manchester
• Start Date: Apr 12, 2023
• End Date: Apr 14, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 27, 2023
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/22353998
• Related Public URLs: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/annual-conference-archive/