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Beyond funding: Acknowledgement patterns in biomedical, natural and social sciences.

ABSTRACT: For the past 50 years, acknowledgments have been studied as important paratextual traces of research practices, collaboration, and infrastructure in science. Since 2008, funding acknowledgments have been indexed by Web of Science, supporting large-scale analyses of research funding. Applying advanced linguistic methods as well as Correspondence Analysis to more than one million acknowledgments from research articles and reviews published in 2015, this paper aims to go beyond funding disclosure and study the main types of contributions found in acknowledgments on a large scale and through disciplinary comparisons. Our analysis shows that technical support is more frequently acknowledged by scholars in Chemistry, Physics and Engineering. Earth and Space, Professional Fields, and Social Sciences are more likely to acknowledge contributions from colleagues, editors, and reviewers, while Biology acknowledgments put more emphasis on logistics and fieldwork-related tasks. Conflicts of interest disclosures (or lack of thereof) are more frequently found in acknowledgments from Clinical Medicine, Health and, to a lesser extent, Psychology. These results demonstrate that acknowledgment practices truly do vary across disciplines and that this can lead to important further research beyond the sole interest in funding.

SUBMITTER: Paul-Hus A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5627922 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Beyond funding: Acknowledgement patterns in biomedical, natural and social sciences.

Paul-Hus Adèle A Díaz-Faes Adrián A AA Sainte-Marie Maxime M Desrochers Nadine N Costas Rodrigo R Larivière Vincent V

PloS one 20171004 10

For the past 50 years, acknowledgments have been studied as important paratextual traces of research practices, collaboration, and infrastructure in science. Since 2008, funding acknowledgments have been indexed by Web of Science, supporting large-scale analyses of research funding. Applying advanced linguistic methods as well as Correspondence Analysis to more than one million acknowledgments from research articles and reviews published in 2015, this paper aims to go beyond funding disclosure a ...[more]

PMID: 28976996

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Project description:BackgroundBiomedical research plays an important role in improving health. There seems to exist a negative correlation between the amount of biomedical research funding and disease burden from all Sub-Saharan African countries. In this study, we describe funding patterns for biomedical research, explore the correlation between funding and burden of diseases, and quantify inequalities in funds distribution across diseases in Gabon over the period 2005-2015.MethodsData on medical research funds from 2005 to 2015 were retrieved through a structured questionnaire distributed to Gabonese biomedical research institutions and by consulting online databases. Data on the burden of diseases were gathered from the World Health Organization and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. We used Kendall rank correlation coefficient to explore the correlation between cumulative funds over time and the burden of disease. The inequality distribution of funding across diseases was assessed through Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve.ResultsBiomedical research funding was characterized by a remarkable growth from 2005 to 2010 and a decline from 2010 to 2014. Funds were mostly from external sources and from partnerships. There was inequality in research funds allocation across diseases and malaria was far the most funded disease. There was a significant negative correlation between cumulative funding and the burden of HIV, tuberculosis, and of Helminthiasis (from 2006 to 2010) suggesting that research may be contributing to the management of such diseases. A positive, although not significant, correlation was found between cumulative funds and malaria burden.ConclusionsThe negative correlation between HIV and tuberculosis cumulative funding and burden suggests that research may be contributing to the management of such diseases but further research is needed to assess the causal direction of such as relationship. As the burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing, more research funds should be focused on those. While research partnerships have been and will remain fundamental, Gabon should increase the amount of national funds to overcome periods of reduced research funding flows from abroad.

Project description:Interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly between natural and social sciences, is perceived as crucial to solving the significant challenges facing humanity. However, despite the need for such collaboration being expressed more frequently and intensely, it remains unclear to what degree such collaboration actually takes place, what trends and developments there are and which actors are involved. Previous studies, often based on bibliometric analysis of large bodies of literature, partly observed an increase in interdisciplinary collaboration in general, but in particular, the collaboration among distant fields was less explored. Other more qualitative studies found that interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly between natural and social scientists was not well developed, and obstacles abounded. To shed some light on the actual status and developments of this collaboration, we performed an analysis based on a sample of articles on groundwater research. We first identified journals and articles therein that potentially combined natural and social science aspects of groundwater research. Next, we analysed the disciplinary composition of their authors' teams, cited references, titles and keywords, making use of our detailed personal expertise in groundwater research and its interdisciplinary aspects. We combined several indicators developed from this analysis into a final classification of the degree of multidisciplinarity of each article. Covering the period between 1990 and 2014, we found that the overall percentage of multidisciplinary articles was in the low single-digit range, with only slight increases over the past decades. The interdisciplinarity of individuals plays a major role compared to interdisciplinarity involving two or more researchers. If collaboration with natural sciences takes place, social science is represented most often by economists. As a side result, we found that journals publishing multidisciplinary research had lower impact factors on average, and multidisciplinary papers were cited much less than mono-disciplinary ones.

Project description:ImportanceAs health professionals acknowledge the historic and current influences racism has on patient care and health outcomes, leaders must develop antiracist activities to disrupt current narratives.ObjectiveTo examine the outcomes of antiracism funding opportunities for development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives across a multi-health professions academic university.Design, setting, and participantsThis mixed-methods cohort study involved the evaluation of 17 antiracism projects conducted at a midsize single academic university in the Pacific Northwest with schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health. Projects were designed by students, faculty, staff, and community members, many of whom were from diverse backgrounds. Data collection and analyses were conducted between January and December 2022.Main outcomes and measuresInfluence and reach of institutionally funded antiracist projects and best practices for funding them. Key metrics included project types, allocation of funds, level of community engagement, number of individuals engaged, demographic characteristics of project leaders, and project facilitators and barriers.ResultsForty-two proposals were submitted, and 17 were selected for funding, representing 3 of 5 health profession schools. Study teams included women (15 of 19 [79%]), gender queer (1 [5%]), Asian American (5 [26%]), Black or African American (2 [11%]), Hispanic or Latinx (1 [5%]), Middle Eastern, North African, or biracial (4 [21%]) and White (7 [37%]) individuals. Four of 17 teams (24%) returned funds because their proposed projects exceeded their workload. Eight projects (47%) were fully implemented, most in the School of Medicine. Community engagement surveys were completed by 10 projects (59%), and 1741 participants engaged in 1 or more funded events. Two focus groups were attended by 7 of 17 projects (41%), which reflected diversity among grantees. Participants noted that facilitators of antiracist activities included strong community engagement, improved well-being, and sense of support by both the community and the institution. Barriers to advancing antiracist initiatives included restrictive timelines, being unprepared for the time needed for their efforts, distrust from community members due to previous experiences with diversity and inclusion projects, and difficulties navigating complex institutional systems and processes.Conclusions and relevanceThe findings of this study suggest that efforts needed to implement antiracist change should not be underestimated. Engagement should be inclusive across academic health centers and communities. Future efforts need to support innovator full-time equivalent support, individual mentorship, and institutional sponsorship.

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Beyond funding: Acknowledgement patterns in biomedical, natural and social sciences.

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Beyond funding: Acknowledgement patterns in biomedical, natural and social sciences.

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