Mapping the landscape: Analysis of publication trends in forensic anthropology. Insights from Poland

Abstract

Academic research in forensic anthropology is a crucial aspect for the development of this highly applied science, especially considering its social impact. The interdisciplinary character of forensic anthropology and very diversified caseload create a context in which theoretical and practical challenges emerge. This requires a swift response from the scientific community to develop new solutions or improve existing approaches. Although much is being produced worldwide in the field of forensic anthropology, there are only a few countries that lead this trend. In this article, the authors attempted to critically examine academic research within forensic anthropology in Poland by analysing its knowledge production over the last decades. A meticulous bibliographic analysis resulted in the discovery of 220 relevant academic records published between 1952 and 2023. Almost 70 % of identified papers were published in national journals and 58 % appeared in Polish. In total, 36 different institutions participate in knowledge production in this field. International collaboration is very low (∼6 %) and over 50 % of records did not involve any academic partnership. The most common type of paper is case report, primarily related to mass grave exhumations of war and totalitarian crimes. We conclude that Polish forensic anthropology research is derivative rather than original (with case reports and review papers as most frequent) and Poland remains a relatively insignificant actor when considering the overall knowledge production in forensic anthropology. In the discussion we try to understand these outcomes in the light of Polish historical context and current academic, and socio-political conjuncture.