Geographies of the global co-editor network in oncology

Abstract

The co-editor networks of academic journals are generally examined at the journal level. This paper investigates the geographies of the global co-editor network in oncology through the lens of cities. After using different network methods to analyze the global co-editor network, we found that the network can be characterized by a core-periphery structure. The dense core is occupied by many highly interconnected cities, whereas the periphery contains many cities maintaining loose connections with the core cities. The core shows an asymmetric dual sub-core structure. The greater sub-core is constituted by Northern American cities with New York, Washington DC, Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles in the center, whereas the smaller sub-core is formed by Asian cities and centered on Tokyo, Seoul, Osaka, Beijing, and Shanghai. The European core cities do not form a well-outlined sub-core but produce a ringlike shape around the Northern American core. This structure of the co-editor network is a consequence of the prestige effect still characterizing global science. Many European and Chinese journals tend to employ Northern American editors (US-based editors in the first place) to help increase the reputation of the journal. However, US-based journals are more interested in recruiting American editors from the top-ranked national cancer centers and universities rather than outside of the country.

Editorial board interlocking across the social sciences: Modelling the geographic, gender, and institutional representation within and between six academic fields

“…Future research may thus replicate our comparative analysis with a different database, such as Scopus. Fourth, according to recent literature [60], scientific journals sometimes misreport member information in their website or present outdated affiliation information. We corrected such inappropriate errors when were detected.…”

Mapping the geography of editors-in-chief

“…Journal editors are tasked with conducting initial manuscript quality control and overseeing the peer-review process (see, for example, Bedeian et al, 2009;Besancenot et al, 2012;Brinn & Jones, 2007;Dow, 2000;García et al, 2015;Hojat et al, 2003); reviewers are tasked with providing the editors with the information they need to reach a decision and the authors with instructions about how to improve the quality of their paper if revision is possible. Editorial board members and reviewers are often considered gatekeepers who control the main communication channels of scientific information (Bornmann & Daniel, 2007;Braun & Dióspatonyi, 2005a;Crane, 1967;Csomós & Lengyel, 2022;Schubert, 2017;Siler et al, 2015).…”

“…Even more recently, several studies have been conducted to explore to what extent the editorial boards of journals interlock (Baccini & Barabesi, 2010;2011;Baccini et al, 2020;Csomós & Lengyel, 2022;Goyanes & de-Marcos, 2020;Teixeira & Oliveira, 2018). These studies often employ social network models to demonstrate the connections between the editorial board members of a particular journal or set of journals.…”

“…Nevertheless, many studies have revealed the hegemony of the United States (or that of English-speaking countries in a broader context) in global science (see, for example, Gomez et al, 2022;Heinze et al, 2019;Marginson & Xu, 2023). For example, Braun and Dióspatonyi (2005b), Braun et al (2007), Csomós and Lengyel (2022), Goyanes (2020), Goyanes and de-Marcos (2020), Harzing and Metz (2013); Hodgson andRothman (1999), andTutarel (2004) reported that United States-based scholars occupy a considerable share of positions on the editorial boards of academic journals, with many editorial board members also hailing from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In addition, Csomós and Lengyel (2022), Hodgson andRothman (1999), andPaasi (2005) found that journals worldwide tend to employ United States-based scholars as editorial board members, as such an approach is believed to increase the journal's prestige.…”

“…For example, Braun and Dióspatonyi (2005b), Braun et al (2007), Csomós and Lengyel (2022), Goyanes (2020), Goyanes and de-Marcos (2020), Harzing and Metz (2013); Hodgson andRothman (1999), andTutarel (2004) reported that United States-based scholars occupy a considerable share of positions on the editorial boards of academic journals, with many editorial board members also hailing from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In addition, Csomós and Lengyel (2022), Hodgson andRothman (1999), andPaasi (2005) found that journals worldwide tend to employ United States-based scholars as editorial board members, as such an approach is believed to increase the journal's prestige. However, no research has been conducted about which countries are home to the most editors-in-chief or whether the hegemony of the United States and other English-speaking countries also characterizes the geography of editors-in-chief.…”