The scientific publication of popular or emerging topics: the case of brazilian academic research on pole dance

Abstract

Pole dance is a physical activity that involves a combination of acrobatic movements, strength exercises, gymnastics, flexibility, and dance movements using a vertical stainless-steel pole. It is a bodily practice that is becoming increasingly present in different segments of society. However, scientific studies addressing this topic are still scarce and not widely disseminated. A simple search in databases such as Web of Science, Scientific Electronic Library Online, and Google Scholar reveals the limited production on the subject. The main objective of this work, therefore, was to critically map scientific publications on pole dance through research on the Lattes Platform. This aimed to identify the academic context in which pole dance is inserted and to pinpoint the academic areas that have scientific productions on pole dance. The purpose was to assess the scientific behavior of researchers on emerging and/or popular topics. In this way, it sought to showcase Brazilian institutions and authors that focus their studies on this theme. The research also delved into scientific communication, using as reference the theoretical assumptions of Lariviere, Meadows, Mueller, and Targino, addressing both formal and informal channels. The formal channel was the focus of the research, encompassing its structure and types, such as scientific journals, books and book chapters, theses and dissertations, monographs, and final course papers, as well as scientific event papers. The research also touched on the history of pole dance, exposing the disagreements surrounding its origin and not failing to highlight the prejudices faced by practitioners of the modality and the taboo surrounding the physical activity. Another approach was to explore the popularity of pole dance on the internet through the Google Trends tool, as well as using the number of posts made with the hashtag #poledance on the social media platform Instagram. This ultimately raised questions about the scarcity of scientific productions on the topic. This was exploratory-descriptive research, as its results facilitate a better understanding of the subject by describing its characteristics explicitly. It also presents the state of the art by employing a bibliometric approach in its methodological procedures. From the perspective of scientific productivity and elitism proposed by Derek de Solla Price, the authors, institutions, document types, areas, years, cities, states, and Brazilian regions that produced the most scientific publications on pole dance were analyzed and discussed. Additionally, it demonstrated whether the topic does or does not have co-authorship in its productions. It was concluded that Brazilian research exists, but it is still timid. It was possible to observe its qualitative and quantitative growth, thus demonstrating that this field is in the process of consolidation. Furthermore, it is apparent how emerging themes or social issues that are embraced by society undergo a slow process before they begin to be discussed within universities.