The Status of International Collaboration in Writing Specialised Articles on Water Pollution, Air Pollution and Solid Waste Management

Abstract

BackgroundConducting research and writing articles in the three specialised fields of environmental health, air pollution, water pollution and solid waste management through collaboration between Iranian and international researchers lead to information exchange, science advancement and environmental problem-solving. This study therefore aimed to determine the status of international collaboration in writing specialised articles on water and air pollution and solid waste management.MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over twelve years (2008-2019) by reviewing all articles published in the fields of air pollution, water pollution and solid waste management in five specialised environmental health journals. All articles were downloaded after visiting the journal site. The full text of the articles was reviewed and articles that matched the purpose of the study were included in it. Data were collected using a researcher-made checklist. The information included in the checklist was the number of articles published and the status of the authors' participation in terms of number, gender, country and continent in each of the fields of water pollution, air pollution and solid waste management. Statistical analysis of data was performed using a T-test. VOS viewer software was used to visualise the data and chart the extent of the international authors' involvement with Iranian researchers from different continents and countries.ResultsA review of 1,679 articles in 135 editions of five specialised environmental health journals revealed that 883 of the articles were in the fields of water and air pollution and solid waste management and 123 of the articles were written by international researchers. The top continents concerning collaboration in writing articles with Iran were Asia, Africa and Europe, respectively, with 70, 22, and 19 articles. In all three fields, India had the highest scientific participation with Iran. The gender distribution of the authors in these 123 articles with the participation of international authors showed that of the 406 authors, 35.7% were female and 65.3% were male and, for articles with just Iranian authors, 28.6% were female and 72.4% were male. The T-test for comparing the mean number of male and female authors in each article with and without the participation of international researchers showed no significant difference.ConclusionsBased on their findings and comparisons with other research on the amount of scientific contributions by international researchers in other countries, it was found that the extent of international participation in the compilation of articles on water pollution, air pollution and solid waste management was large. However, given the low proportion of European and American collaboration in articles, it seems necessary to adopt ways to attract more researchers from advanced countries in the fields of air pollution, water pollution and solid waste management.