Diversity in addiction publishing

Area of Science:

• Addiction research
• Scholarly publishing
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• The addiction research field lacks comprehensive data on diversity within its publishing landscape.
• Understanding representation in authorship and editorial roles is crucial for addressing systemic biases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate geographic and gender diversity among authors and editors in addiction journals.
• To assess epistemic heterogeneity, specifically the proportion of qualitative research.
• To identify potential biases in the addiction journal publishing field.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 41 peer-reviewed addiction journals.
• Data collection focused on author/editor affiliations and publication types for the year 2018.
• Analysis of journal scope and aims declarations for emphasis on applicability.

Main Results:

• Overwhelming dominance of US and Anglophone affiliations among authors and editors.
• Negligible representation from low- and middle-income countries.
• Predominantly male editors-in-chief (80%) and a low share of qualitative research publications.
• Journals universally emphasize applicability and use-context relevance.

Conclusions:

• The addiction publishing field exhibits significant geographic and gender imbalances.
• There is a critical need for strategies to enhance diversity and inclusion in addiction research.
• Existing cooperation networks can support efforts to address heterogeneity.