29 Aprile 2025
Exploring Multilingualism in Research: A Survey to researchers at the National Research Council of Italy
The report Exploring Multilingualism in Research: A Survey to researchers at the National Research Council of Italy has been published on Zenodo, authored by Ginevra Peruginelli and Sebastiano Faro, produced within the framework of the CoARA Working Group “Multilingualism and Language Biases in Research Assessment.”
Between June and August 2024, the Institute of Legal Informatics and Judicial Systems (IGSG-CNR), with support from the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies (IRPPS-CNR), conducted a survey on multilingualism and linguistic diversity within the scientific community of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). This research, developed within the working group “Multilingualism and linguistic biases in research evaluation” of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), examined how CNR research personnel navigate multilingual contexts and how language influences scientific communication. The findings reveal a complex linguistic landscape in which the CNR research community regularly operates using multiple languages, with English remaining predominant in formal scientific communication. While the majority of research staff adapt without difficulty to international linguistic requirements, a minority reports practical challenges in expressing complex scientific concepts in non-native languages. The survey identified significant differences across disciplines, particularly between Social Sciences and Humanities (SH) and other research area. This suggests that linguistic policies might be more effective when calibrated according to specific scientific domains rather than through standardized approaches. Despite these challenges, the scientific community views multilingualism positively, and the results indicate opportunities for developing appropriate linguistic support mechanisms and promoting institutional environments that recognize linguistic diversity both as an operational necessity and as an intellectual resource. The data collected in this research thus provide valuable insights for developing a scientific culture that integrates linguistic inclusivity as an essential component for the production and dissemination of knowledge.