Why do I publish research articles in English instead of my own language? Differences in Spanish researchers’
motivations across scientific domains

Irene Lo´pez-Navarro；Ana I. Moreno；Miguel A´ ngel Quintanilla； Jesu´ s Rey-Rocha1
Received: 19 September 2014 / Published online: 22 April 2015
 Akade´miai Kiado´ , Budapest, Hungary 2015

Abstract Previous studies have reported the increased use of English as the “lingua
franca”for academic purposes among non-Anglophone researchers. But despite data that
confirm this trend, little is known about the reasons why researchers decide to publish their
results in English rather than in their first language. The aim of this study is to determine
the influence of researchers’ scientific domain on their motivation to publish in English.
The results are based on a large-scale survey of Spanish postdoctoral researchers at four
different universities and one research centre, and reflect responses from 1717 researchers
about their difficulties, motivations, attitudes and publication strategies. Researchers’
publication experiences as corresponding authors of articles in English and in their first
language are strongly related to their scientific domain. But surprisingly, Spanish researchers
across all domains expressed a similar degree of motivation when they write
research articles in English. They perceive a strong association between this language and
the desire for their research to be recognized and rewarded. Our study also shows that the
target scientific audience is a key factor in understanding the choice of publication language.
The implications of our findings go beyond the field of linguistics and are relevant to studies of scientific productivity and visibility, the quality and impact of research, and
research assessment policies.

Keywords Publication strategies  Non-Anglophone researchers  Researchers’
motivation  Scientific domains  Academic writing  Research article