Date of Award

January 2024

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Michael Wininger

Abstract

Background: There is an open question as to whether authorship in peer-reviewed scientific journal articles is representational. Part of this discrimination has been attributed to bias in the review process of manuscripts, with the suggestion that a double-blind review process ensures equitable outcomes due to complete deidentification of both authors and reviewers. Methods: We performed an automated review of 4,191 manuscripts published at three endocrinology journals with comparable impact factor (two single-blind journals; one double-blind journal) in the years 2010-2023; manuscripts were included in the analysis if they were published from institutions based in the United States. Gender and race/ethnicity associated with authors’ names were predicted using publicly available algorithms (GenderAPI and REthnicity, respectively). Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine whether relationships are present between peer-reviewed journal blindness and author characteristics. Findings: There was a statistically significant difference in proportion of female first-authors by journal (P=0.00055), but no significant difference among last-authors (P=0.1838). We observed the opposite trend in race-ethnicity: statistically significant difference between journals among last-authors (P=0.04518), but not among first-authors (P=0.1465). Female representation among these authors was less than expected (absolute difference: 11.5%, P<0.05), but this trend appeases to be ameliorating over time (increase of 1.5% female representation per year, P<0.05). Secondary and exploratory analyses revealed complex trends in gender and race-ethnicity with respect to double-blind review. Interpretation: Historical trends in under-representation of female investigators among published authors in endocrinology appears to be substantial, but trending toward equality. Nuanced findings in both gender and race-ethnicity provide compelling opportunities for further investigation.

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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