Inferring the impact of international mobility of Brazilian researchers using large-scale bibliometric datasets

Abstract

International mobility of researchers plays a significant role in a globalized context, enhancing the internationalization of science by providing scientists with access to transnational collaboration networks. Thus, while the countries of origin of mobile scientists may experience losses in human capital, they establish international connections that can yield significant benefits for the advancement of research in the long term. This dynamic can influence the socioeconomic and innovative development of nations, posing challenges for researchers and policymakers. Many studies on academic mobility involving bibliometric data analysis face challenges in data collection, organization, and while establishing causal relationships. For the latter, the literature reports the use of quasi-experimental models. The overarching goal of this study is to assess the impact of international mobility on the academic production of Brazilian researchers in the fields of health and life sciences, focusing on movements between 2010 and 2016. To achieve this, it is necessary to organize and visualize bibliometric data from Scopus to identify patterns in the trajectories of Brazilian health researchers and understand the main countries involved in migration flows. It is worth noting that the complexity and scale of the database present challenges, such as systematic biases and difficulties in author identification. All these challenges are thoroughly addressed, and an in-depth exploratory data analysis is conducted, using propensity score matching in an initial study of causal effects. In a second study a generalized synthetic control model was employed to estimate the causal effects of researchers’ international mobility, accounting for multiple treatment periods. This model was applied using a sample of non-migrant researchers matched to migrant researchers through the propensity score matching method. By applying quasi-experimental models like synthetic control, the study sought to understand the dynamics and impacts of this migration on the production of Brazilian researchers, providing a broader perspective on the phenomenon. The findings highlight the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom as the primary destinations for Brazilian researchers in health and life sciences, indicating that these movements predominantly occur toward developed nations in the Global North. Exploratory results also revealed that Medicine, Agriculture, and Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology emerged as the dominant fields among both migrant and non-migrant researchers. The causal effects suggest that international mobility leads to changes in the variables analyzed, including citations received, SJR (Scientific Journal Rankings), and research collaboration. This study offers guidance on using synthetic control models in bibliometric data analyses. In the third work, we present the technological outcome of this research, which is the CapesData package, developed in the R programming language. It compiles mobility data published on the CAPES portal and serves as an additional tool to facilitate the monitoring of Brazilian researchers’ mobility. This dissertation provides a comprehensive and detailed approach to statatistical methods for inferring from observational data in the field of the Science of Science. Furthermore, it provides valuable insights for the development of science internationalization policies. The methodology applied can also be extended to analyze the effects of international mobility in other fields of knowledge.