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The contribution of star scientists to overall sex differences in research productivity

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  • Giovanni Abramo

    (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
    Italian Research Council)

  • Ciriaco Andrea D’Angelo

    (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”)

  • Alessandro Caprasecca

    (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”)

Abstract

The state of the art on the issue of sex differences in research efficiency agrees in recognizing higher performances for males, however there are divergences in explaining the possible causes. One of the causes advanced is that there are sex differences in the availability of aptitude at the “high end”. By comparing sex differences in concentration and performance of Italian academic star scientists to the case in the population complement, this work aims to verify if star, or “high-end”, scientists play a preponderant role in determining higher performance among males. The study reveals the existence of a greater relative concentration of males among star scientists, as well as a performance gap between male and female star scientists that is greater than for the rest of the population. In the latter subpopulation the performance gap between the two sexes is seen as truly marginal.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D’Angelo & Alessandro Caprasecca, 2009. "The contribution of star scientists to overall sex differences in research productivity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 81(1), pages 137-156, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:81:y:2009:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-008-2131-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-008-2131-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mary Frank Fox & Sushanta Mohapatra, 2007. "Social-Organizational Characteristics of Work and Publication Productivity among Academic Scientists in Doctoral-Granting Departments," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(5), pages 542-571, September.
    2. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D’Angelo & Fabio Pugini, 2008. "The measurement of Italian universities’ research productivity by a non parametric-bibliometric methodology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 76(2), pages 225-244, August.
    3. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D’Angelo & Alessandro Caprasecca, 2009. "Gender differences in research productivity: A bibliometric analysis of the Italian academic system," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 79(3), pages 517-539, June.
    4. Elba Mauleón & María Bordons, 2006. "Productivity, impact and publication habits by gender in the area of Materials Science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 66(1), pages 199-218, January.
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    Cited by:

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    13. Kretschmer Hildrun & Pudovkin Alexander & Stegmann Johannes, 2012. "Research evaluation. Part II: gender effects of evaluation: are men more productive and more cited than women?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 93(1), pages 17-30, October.
    14. Abramo, Giovanni & Aksnes, Dag W. & D’Angelo, Ciriaco Andrea, 2021. "Gender differences in research performance within and between countries: Italy vs Norway," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2).
    15. Sabrina J. Mayer & Justus M. K. Rathmann, 2018. "How does research productivity relate to gender? Analyzing gender differences for multiple publication dimensions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(3), pages 1663-1693, December.
    16. Wullum Nielsen, Mathias & Börjeson, Love, 2019. "Gender diversity in the management field: Does it matter for research outcomes?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1617-1632.
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