Democratization

Top Research Topics at Democratization?

The journal tackles a plethora of topics, such as Political economy, Democracy, Law, Politics and Democratization. The concepts on Political economy presented in it can also apply to other research fields, including Authoritarianism, Democratic consolidation, Opposition (politics), Power (social and political) and Democracy promotion. Topics in Democracy were tackled in line with various other fields like Legitimacy, Latin Americans and Consolidation (business).

While work presented in Democratization provided substantial information on Law, it also covered topics in Context (language use) and Public administration. The journal explores issues in Politics which can be linked to other research areas like Corporate governance and Ethnic group.

• Political economy (62.90%)
• Democracy (58.64%)
• Law (50.11%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Embedded and defective democracies (416 citations)
• Informal Institutions and Democracy (336 citations)
• Elections under authoritarianism: Preliminary lessons from Jordan (301 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Democratization:

The journal papers facilitate discussions on Law, Political economy, Democracy, Politics and Democratization. Issues in Political economy were discussed in the published articles, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Authoritarianism, Democratic consolidation, Opposition (politics), Power (social and political) and Democracy promotion. The most cited articles hold forums on Democracy that merge themes from other disciplines such as Consolidation (business), Latin Americans and Rule of law.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• World War II
• Law
• Politics

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal focuses on Political economy, Democracy, Politics, Authoritarianism and Autocracy. In addition to Political economy research, the journal aims to explore topics under Opposition (politics), Democracy promotion, Democratization, Scholarship and Polarization (politics). In the journal, Economic history, Civil society, China, Index (economics) and Populism are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in Democracy research.

While Index (economics) is the focus of Democratization, it also provided insights into the studies of Religious studies, Bibliography and Humanities. Latin Americans, Agency (sociology) and Power (social and political) are some topics wherein Politics research discussed in it have an impact. It features Authoritarianism research that overlaps with concepts in Elite.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Authoritarian resilience through securitization: an Islamist populist party’s co-optation of a secularist far-right party (9 citations)
• Democratic regression in comparative perspective: scope, methods, and causes (8 citations)
• Sources of resistance to democratic decline: Indonesian civil society and its trials (6 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Democratization (based on the number of publications) are:

• Jeffrey Haynes (37 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• Matthijs Bogaards (12 papers) absent at the last edition,
• David Kuehn (11 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Francesco Cavatorta (11 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Aurel Croissant (10 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Democratization (based on the number of publications) are:

• London Metropolitan University (41 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• University of Warwick (33 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• German Institute of Global and Area Studies (31 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
• Aarhus University (24 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Heidelberg University (21 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 5.96% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 20.42% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 5.63% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 16.90% of all publications and 57.04% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Research and Academic Libraries

Advancing towards a career in research or academia requires a strong foundation and a deep understanding of the subjects. In this regard, a career as a librarian or a research fellow at a library, particularly dedicated to research subjects, can be a fruitful starting point. For those inclined towards research in the field of democratization, political sciences, law, and many other related subjects, gaining a strong footing as a research librarian could open a world of opportunities.

Librarians can oversee the vast volume of research material, help facilitate scholarly communication, organize the collection of articles, research publications, and journals, as well as help fellow researchers in their study. Moreover, the point of view a librarian can provide, given their bird’s eye view of the research landscape across various disciplines, can prove invaluable in improving research quality and output.

That being said, there are specific pathways and qualifications required to become a librarian. While every state may have slight variations in requirements, the underlying principle remains the same. Professional training, relevant qualification, hands-on experience, and a keen desire to facilitate research are key to establishing oneself in the field.

For specific details on becoming a librarian, would-be professionals can take a look at this comprehensive guide on how to become a librarian in Louisiana.

Besides providing a step-by-step pathway towards becoming a librarian, such guides can give an invaluable insight into the career prospects, potential challenges, roles and responsibilities, and tips on thriving in this career. So, whether you are a recent graduate, a working professional looking for a career switch, or someone wanting to contribute to the field of research and democratization, considering a career in library sciences could be a rational move.