National and international dimensions of research: topics of local and global interest in scientific production

This study aims at identifying and comparing the national scope of research at the country level of two groups of countries: LAC and World. We want to explore whether similar or different patterns arise between the two groups at the global and disciplinary level in their proportion of research related to local perspectives or topics. Findings show that LAC countries present a greater proportion of local production than the rest of the countries. The trend to publish national-oriented research is related to disciplinary fields and it is not only coarsened into national but in extra regional journals. Even English is the dominant language of publication, the lingua franca is more likely to appear in the national scope of research, especially for LAC countries but also in the rest of non-Anglophone countries. Some implications in research evaluation for further research are described.