Woman in communication research in Spain: an analysis of scientific production (2007-2013)

Abstract

Communication is a relatively young discipline in the academic world, at least in comparison with others, although it enjoys a notable presence in the university, both in Spain and in the rest of the World. For this reason, it is appropriate to examine what research in this field is like. The aim of this paper is to analyse relevant indicators of scientific production in Spanish universities with formal undergraduate and graduate studies in communication. The approach adopted is to analyse the contributions made by women in this field. Two indicators have been analysed: the presentation of doctoral dissertations, and leadership in research and development (R&D) projects financed by state grants. The time frame for the analysis is 2007-2013. During this period, we have studied a total of 977 doctoral dissertations—of which 492 were submitted by women—and 143 projects that obtained funding in state R&D of which 43 had a woman as principal researcher. We obtained the data from the Mapcom Research Project database (www.mapcom.es). Descriptive statistics have been used as a methodology in order to present the characteristics of the objects, perspectives, and research methods dominant in both, doctoral dissertations and research projects. This exploratory work is a first approximation to the state of communication research carried out and/or led by women in Spanish universities. Among the results obtained, it is worth highlighting the observed inequality in the distribution of directive roles in research: while the number of dissertations presented by women and men during the analyzed period is similar, the number of funded R&D projects led by women is disproportionately smaller than those led by men. It is also worth to point that 86.5% of the female scientific production comes from public universities.