ISTOCK, STURTI In agreement with previous research, a new study has found that female scientists, by and large, publish less scholarly work than men. The results were consistent across the natural, biological, and social sciences as well as in more male-dominated fields such as engineering and physical sciences.
The study, published last week (November 1) in Education Researcher, addresses several flaws in previous research on gender gaps in publishing among doctoral students. The authors note that earlier results were too generalized, being based on broad analyses of large databases polling data from multiple institutions, and did not offer a systematic comparison of publication rates of males and females at the same academic stage and within their respective fields.
Prior methodologies have made it also difficult to determine the reasons for the gender gap. Various explanations have been put forward: A study in 2011 suggested it could be that women are saddled with more family responsibilities or more likely to end up in teaching-intensive positions. Another study in 2011 proposed that it could be ...
