Operationalising journals' communication functions through citation patterns and local dimensions

Institutional Repository of the University of Granada (University of Granada)

Abstract

This preliminary study operationalises the knowledge bridging and gap-filling communication functions of scientific journals, originally proposed by Chavarro et al. (2017). Considering their theoretical definitions, we link these functions to our local research framework (Di Césare & Robinson-Garcia, 2026) through the producers and recipients dimensions, and measure them using local or global references and citations drawn from OpenAlex articles. We aim to empirically identify knowledge bridging and gap-filling journals, both within and outside the mainstream. The results suggest that the vast majority of these journals are non-mainstream. The thematic profiles of their references and citations validate our geographical operationalisations. Gap-filling journals belong predominantly to the non-mainstream local Social Sciences, whereas in the non-mainstream knowledge bridging journals, the Health Sciences emerge. These domain-level findings support the journals’ theoretical functions of serving, respectively, as venues for the publication of knowledge overlooked by the mainstream, and as bridges between mainstream knowledge and local communities.

Authors 3

1. Victoria Di Césare

   Universidad de Granada

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Granada

2. Nicolás Robinson‐García

   Universidad de Granada

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Granada

3. Rodrigo Costas Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University