Research monopolization in the biological sciences: Charismatic species are partly to blame

Substantial disparities in research excellence exist between scientists, which are largely explained by the considerable influence of elite institutions and the resources available to them. Cumulative advantage has become a dominant force behind social stratification in science, increasing the tendency of researchers to monopolize the resources in their field. In the biological sciences, many researchers are drawn to ‘charismatic’ study species, which can increase their exposure and status in academia. In this study, we shed light on research monopolization and academic exclusion, and assess how these are influenced by charismatic species and a researcher's social group. We applied bibliometric methods (comparing 800 scientific papers on charismatic vs. non-charismatic species), survey-based methods (of 826 respondents) and network analysis. We found positive correlations between species' charisma and both the impact and volume of scientific output and the frequency of international collaborations. We also found that the participation of researchers from ‘non-native countries’ was significantly higher when charismatic species were being studied, which mainly applied to researchers from universities in North America and Europe studying charismatic species in Africa, South America and Asia, but hardly ever the other way around. Charismatic species increased negative workplace experiences and enhanced encounters with research monopolization, which 46% of all survey respondents who worked on such species claimed to have experienced. Academic exclusion was strongly linked to social group membership, particularly to the detriment of female and less experienced scientists. Awareness of the problematic behaviours highlighted in this study may contribute towards ensuring that the career trajectories of biological scientists will benefit from more equal opportunities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.