Biases in gendered citation practices: an exploratory study and some reflections on the Matthew and Matilda effects

TL;DR

This study investigates gendered citation biases in software engineering literature, highlighting disparities and advocating for diversity statements to promote fairness in citation practices.

Contribution

First empirical analysis of gendered citation biases in software engineering, providing insights and a foundation for future research and policy improvements.

Findings

Gendered citation biases are present in SE literature.

Efforts are needed to improve citation fairness.

Diversity statements could help mitigate biases.

Abstract

Recent studies conducted in different scientific disciplines have concluded that researchers belonging to some socio-cultural groups (e.g., women, racialized people) are usually less cited than other researchers belonging to dominating groups. This is usually due to the presence of citation biases in reference lists. These citation biases towards researchers from some socio-cultural groups may inevitably cause unfairness and inaccuracy in the assessment of articles impact. These citation biases may therefore translate to significant disparities in promotion, retention, grant funding, awards, collaborative opportunities, and publications. In this paper, we conduct the first study aiming at analyzing gendered citation practices in the software engineering (SE) literature. Our study allows reflecting on citations practices adopted in the SE field and serves as a starting point for more robust empirical studies on the analyzed topic. Our results show that some efforts still need to be done to achieve fairness in citation practices in the SE field. Such efforts may notably consist in the inclusion of citation diversity statements in manuscripts submitted for publication in SE journals and conferences.