Center for Public Policy Studies

Marek Kwiek at the University of Oxford: CGHE lecture and seminar: “Big Data in Practice: Women (and Men) in Global Science”, April 4, 2023

Marek Kwiek was invited to have a lecture and seminar at the Center for Global Higher Education (CGHE) at the University of Oxford, on April 4, 2023.

The seminar will be about:

“Big Data in Practice: Women (and Men) in Global Science”

Abstract

In this presentation, the global academic profession is explored through a study of digital traces left in publications. A large-scale, generational, and longitudinal approach to academic careers is tested. We discuss how to examine 4.3 million nonoccasional scientists from 38 OECD countries publishing in 1990–2021. Our interest is in the changing global distribution of young male and female scientists over time and across disciplines. The usefulness of global bibliometric data sources (termed structured Big Data) in analyzing scientists and scholars is explored. Our focus is on four dimensions: gender, age, discipline, and time. Traditional aggregated data (e.g., UNESCO, OECD, Eurostat) are unable to show a much nuanced picture of the changing gender dynamics within and across disciplines and age groups, including gender parity (50%/50%). Limitations of bibliometric datasets in studying academic careers are explored, various trade-offs are shown, and a global approach is contrasted with a national-level approach. The methodological choices and their implications are discussed, and new opportunities to study academic careers globally are explored in practice.

Registration is open here:

https://researchcghe.org/events/cghe-seminar/big-data-in-practice-women-and-men-in-global-science/

It will be 6th seminar held at the University of Oxford in the past 18 months. All are avaialable on line on YouTube.