The economy of publications and citations in educational research: What about the ‘Anglophone bias’?

Abstract

In this piece, we argue that an economy of publication and citations has emerged that not only changes the notion of what is deemed quality in educational research but also changes the incentives of us as researchers. With pressure on publishing in 'international’ journals, education researchers are increasingly pushed to publish their research in the article format, and for many, in their second or third language (English). Additionally, we are to direct the research to an audience who might not at all be interested or knowledgeable about the context under scrutiny. With such pressure to publish in English-language journals, the question of who is allowed to publish and who is cited is of paramount significance. Based on our own empirical research on the adult educational research field as well as other bibliometric research, we propose that there is an ‘Anglophone’ bias in educational research. We end with a discussion on the implications of the current trend to publish in indexed English-language journals and suggest that ‘Anglophone’ as well as non-Anglophone scholars need to start citing other scholars than those from the dominating ‘Anglophone’ countries in order to further enhance knowledge and debate within education. The ultimate irony of the developments described in this piece is that the researchers from non-Anglophone countries actively engage in a publication game that underscores their own subordination.