Internationalizing a national scientific community? Changes in publication and citation practices in Chile, 1976–2015

Abstract

Internationalization pressures are omnipresent in the world of science. Scholars and administrators now often make use of international impact as a yardstick by which to assess the quality of national scholarship. However, little is hitherto known about the effects of the internationalization incentives at the level of specific national scientific communities. This article presents an analysis of the forms of internationalization in Chile over a period of four decades, from 1976 to 2015. Using Web of Science data, the article looks at the evolution for both publications and citations and examines the internationalization pressures on Chilean scholars and Chilean journals in relation to changes at the level of publication language and co-authorship. The article particularly focuses on the differences between the three cultures (humanities, natural sciences and social sciences). Building on the findings, the article concludes with some suggestions for research policy.