The role of diversity in science: a case study of women advancing female birdsong research

dc.contributor.authorHaines, Casey D.
dc.contributor.authorRose, Evangeline M.
dc.contributor.authorOdom, Karan J.
dc.contributor.authorOmland, Kevin E.
dc.date.accessioned2020-11-16T19:50:01Z
dc.date.available2020-11-16T19:50:01Z
dc.date.issued2020-08-24
dc.description.abstractResearchers of different genders and backgrounds contribute greatly to the diversity of questions and approaches in science. Historically birdsong was studied primarily as a male trait. However, as researchers in the field of animal behaviour have become more diverse, women have made substantial contributions to the birdsong literature, including through the study of female birdsong. We investigated the influence of gender on research topic and asked: are research articles on female birdsong disproportionately authored by women? We surveyed published ‘female song’ papers within the last 20 years, recording counts of author gender and authorship position (first, middle, last). We compared these data to a control group of ‘birdsong’ papers that were matched by journal and publication date. We found strong associations between research topic and author gender. First authors of female birdsong papers are significantly more likely to be women: women now make up 68% of first authors on female birdsong papers whereas women are only 44% of the first authors on general birdsong papers. Our case study suggests that women are making a greater contribution to the emerging field of female birdsong. This discrepancy demonstrates the importance of diversity in addressing previously understudied areas of science. Increasing diversity in science can lead to new approaches for studying behaviour, ecology and conservation.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347220302256?en_US
dc.format.extent23 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articles postprintsen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2zhqi-fb2q
dc.identifier.citationHaines, Casey D.; Rose, Evangeline M.; Odom, Karan J.; Omland, Kevin E.; The role of diversity in science: a case study of women advancing female birdsong research; Animal Behaviour, Volume 168, October 2020, Pages 19-24; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347220302256?en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.07.021
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/20069
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Biological Sciences Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)*
dc.rightsAccess to this item will begin on 2022-10-01
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/*
dc.titleThe role of diversity in science: a case study of women advancing female birdsong researchen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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