There are many complications and inequities with scholarly publishing. Just as many structures in our society, the systems of scholarly publishing and academic institutions were created and are sustained by what author George Lipsitz (2006) coined as “the possessive investment in whiteness”.
These structures promote a process that is known to those historically part of the conversation but excludes or makes it much harder for those historically marginalized to participate or to be successful within its structure. This is a lot to cover in one blog post, so I will highlight some of the issues and the attempts to deconstruct these systems. You can read and research more with the resources included at the bottom of this post.
First, research should be quality, and research takes time. At first glance, the peer-reviewed process of research and the methods in conducting research seem justified and are best practices. This would be the case if access to publishing and funding were equitable. However, in an inequitable system, the same populations are continually pursued to be published, are given notice to funding opportunities, are given tenure, and are cited in publications (Crumpton & Coltrain, n.d.).
Second, as health equity and other DEI efforts have become hotly debated topics, many people outside of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQIA+ communities, do research and publish, even though BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ researchers and scholars were already doing the work. This results in BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ scholars and researchers being overshadowed and pushed away from the work that they have been doing for a long time (Crumpton & Coltrain, n.d.).
These issues can be addressed individually, collectively, and systemically. Students, educators, researchers, and scholars can:
Individually:
• look to their own implicit bias
• learn more about the issues described above
• question who they are citing
• read and cite others, especially those from the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities
• seek guidance and collaboration from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities before starting research
Collectively:
• Join movements like DORA | DORA (sfdora.org) and Cite Black Women
• Have difficult conversations together
• Promote voices from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities
Systematically:
• Hold institutions accountable for inequitable practices in research and publishing
• Create policies that center BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ researchers and scholars
We all have a hand in direct action that does the deep justice work of systematic change that promotes and supports the research, expertise, and experiences of those historically marginalized and silenced.
For further research and development:
• Addressing Implicit Bias and Inequity Training
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Toolkit
• KUMC’s DEI Turning the Page Book Club
• A seat for all: Advancing racial equity in scholarly publishing of health policy and health services research
• Recording on the article above: A seat for all
• 20220909_Sensitive Search Terms in Systematic Searches.docx (live.com)
• Black in Neuro
• Black in Immuno
• #BLACKandSTEM
References
Crumpton, B. & Coltrain, M. (n.d.). Promoting citational justice in health sciences. MLA. Retrieved August 2, 2024, from https://www.mlanet.org/article/promoting-citational-justice-in-health-sciences/.
Lipsitz, G. (2006). The possessive investment in whiteness: How white people profit from identity politics. Temple University Press.
As cited in Crumpton & Coltrain:
1. Smith CA, Garrett-Scott D. “We are not named”: Black women and the politics of citation in anthropology. Feminist Anthropology. 2021 May; 2(1): 18-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fea2.12038.
2. Lett E, Adekunle D, McMurray P, Asaboar EN, Irie W, Simon MA, Hardeman R, McLemore MR. Health equity tourism: Ravaging the justice landscape. J Med Syst. 2022; 46(17), 1-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-022-01803-5.
3. Pirtle W. Black women and health equity: Spotlight on black maternal health and COVID-19 with Dr. Monica McLemore (S2E5) [audio podcast]. In Cite Black Women; 4 May 2020. https://soundcloud.com/user-211649525/s2e5-black-women-and-health-equity-spotlight-on-black-maternal-health-and-covid-19.
4. Bauer GR, Hammond R, Travers R, Kaay M, Hohenadel K M, Boyce M (2009). "I don't think this is theoretical; this is our lives": how erasure impacts health care for transgender people. The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care: JANAC. 2009; 20(5), 348–361. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2009.07.004.
5. Faiz J, Essien U R, Washington DL, Ly DP. Racial and Ethnic Differences in Barriers Faced by Medical College Admission Test Examinees and Their Association with Medical School Application and Matriculation. JAMA health forum. 2023; 4(4), e230498. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.0498.
6. McFarling UL. ‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities. 23 Sept 2021. In: STAT [Internet]. Available from: https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/23/health-equity-tourists-white-scholars-colonizing-health-disparities-research/.
7. Saha S, Beach MC. Impact of Physician Race on Patient Decision-Making and Ratings of Physicians: a Randomized Experiment Using Video Vignettes. Journal of general internal medicine. 2020; 35(4), 1084–1091. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-05646-z.
8. Else H, Perkel JM. The giant plan to track diversity in research journals [Internet]. In: Nature. Springer Nature Limited; 23 Feb 2022. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00426-7.
