Fifty Years of Diversity in Communication and Media Studies (1974-2023): the Intertwined Trends in Geographic, Gender, and Methodological Representation

This study explored trends of diversity in Communication and Media Studies (CMS) between 1974 and 2023 through an automated content analysis of journal publications. An increasing proportion of first-authors from non-WEIRD countries and non-U.S. WEIRD countries was found alongside a declining proportion of U.S.-based scholars (WEIRD refers to “Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic”). The visibility of women first-authors grew markedly to 54% in the 2020s, although still a bit below the benchmark. A growing prevalence of qualitative methods was found relative to quantitative methods and conceptual work. Interestingly, these trends were intertwined. Qualitative studies were more likely to be authored by women, by scholars from non-U.S. WEIRD countries, and based on non-WEIRD populations. Women authorship was less likely among the increasingly visible non-WEIRD and non-U.S. WEIRD first-authors. Furthermore, less diversity—in particular, geographic and methodological diversity (but not gender diversity)—was found in journals with higher impact-factor.