Who navigates the “elite” of communication journals? The participation of BRICS universities in top-ranked publications

Who navigates the “elite” of communication journals? The participation of BRICS universities in top-ranked publications
Authors: Naiza Comel, Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques, Luiz Otávio Prendin Costa, Chirlei Kohls, Maíra Orso
Journal: Online Media and Global Communication
Volume & Issue: Volume 2, Issue 4
Published: 2023

This study investigates the participation of BRICS-based scholars in top-ranked communication journals and whether academic production is concentrated within a small “elite” of universities.

Using data from SciVal and SJR for publications between 2012 and 2021, the study examines three questions: the concentration of academic output, the distribution of articles across journal rankings, and the international partnerships engaged by BRICS institutions.

Findings show that South Africa, Russia, and Brazil have the highest concentration of publications in a few universities, reflecting disparities due to limited academic innovation policies. In contrast, China actively fosters partnerships with Western institutions, increasing its international research visibility.

The study emphasizes that “de-Westernization” in Media Studies requires more than numerical representation; excluding perspectives from developing regions limits knowledge production. Social and Human Sciences in the Global South remain marginal, forming a “periphery of the periphery.”

This research highlights how global metrics like SciVal and SJR may reinforce neoliberal academic hierarchies and the standardization of scholarly agendas, while offering insights into the international insertion of semi-peripheral universities.