Physical activity and sports sciences field in Italian scientific research products and its distinct composition in biomedicine, exercise and sports sciences and pedagogy domains

Abstract Purpose This study aims to measure the number of scientific production of Italian professors, as framed on academic disciplines of Physical training and methodology (code M-EDF/01) and Sport sciences and methodology (code M-EDF/02), afferents to academic recruitment field of Exercise and sports sciences (code 06/N2) and Didactics, special education and educational research (code 11/D2). Methods The sample consisted of the entire population of full professors (n = 30) of M-EDF/01 and M-EDF/02, plus a proportional representation of the two academic recruitment fields with at least one associate professor per university, for a total of 78 professors. The titles of the first ten scientific products in terms of more citations from the Google Scholar database were analysed for each scientist. The title's full coherence at the scientific declaration of the two academic disciplines of M-EDF/01 and M-EDF/02 and biomedicine and pedagogy domains were assessed. One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc test was used to compare the two academic disciplines of the two academic recruitment fields with the three domains to highlight the separated data’s greater, average and lesser significance. Results The aggregate data showed a prevalence of the biomedicine domain over the sport and physical activity ones in M-EDF/01 and M-EDF/02 in the academic recruitment field of 06/N2. On the other hand, in the academic recruitment of 11/ D2, there was a prevalence of sport and physical activity domain over the biomedicine ones. In addition, a modest pedagogy scientific production in 06/N2 and biomedical in 11/D2 were found. Conclusion The existence of the problem of the different coherence of the scientific profiles of the researchers concerning the relevant academic recruitment field and possibly also to the two academic disciplines was confirmed.