Researchers' writing competence: a bottleneck in the publication of Latin‐American science?

Publishing in high‐quality international journals is part of today's scientific zeitgeist and a challenge for researchers from developed and developing countries alike. However, competition to attract an editor's attention and to convince reviewers might be tougher for scientists from non‐English speaking (NES) countries. As various authors have pointed out, the proficiency of the English language among a country's scientists could influence its scientific output (Man et al , 2004; Victora & Moreira, 2006; Meneghini & Packer, 2007; Vasconcelos et al , 2007). A recent econometric study, for example, stated that English proficiency is a significant factor for the performance of European science (Bauwens et al , 2007). Performing research in one language and having to write manuscripts in another—nearly always English—is not an easy task. Some NES authors argue that they “don't compete on a level playing field when it comes to international science” and that “language and cultural barriers may be partly to blame” (Anon, 2002). However, it is not clear how much linguistic competence affects the visibility of research in NES countries. In particular, it is difficult to assess the link between a researcher's writing competence and established indicators of research output such as the number of publications and citations. Most countries do not maintain databases with comprehensive information about a researcher's academic profile and publication record, or they do not make this information publicly accessible. In Latin America, Brazil is the only country to make such information available through the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq; Federal District, Brasilia). Using a subset of the national database, set up by the CNPq in 2005, we obtained data on 52,223 Brazilian researchers, including their publications in national and international journals, and their proficiency in foreign languages, including English. The information on English proficiency is based on a self‐evaluation of …