Open AccessNorth and South: Naming practices and the hidden dimension of global disparities in knowledge production
Author(s) -
Andrés F. Castro Torres,
Diego Alburez-Gutiérrez
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2119373119
Subject(s) - generalizability theory , dominance (genetics) , universality (dynamical systems) , dimension (graph theory) , social science , knowledge production , sociology , political science , psychology , biology , computer science , developmental psychology , biochemistry , knowledge management , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , gene , pure mathematics
Significance Contemporary social sciences aim to be diverse and inclusive, but traces of the historical dominance of Western European and North American academic institutions persist in scientific practices. One such practice is the phrasing of article titles. Our analysis shows that articles studying the global North are systematically less likely to mention the name of the country they study in their title compared to articles on the global South. This constitutes, potentially, an unwarranted claim on universality and may lead to lesser recognition of global South studies. Social and behavioral scientists must reflect on the phrasing of their article titles to avoid reproducing harmful relations of intellectual domination which limit inclusivity and constitute a barrier to the generalizability of scientific knowledge.