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Measuring the Cuban scientific output in scholarly journals through a comprehensive coverage approach

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Abstract

The Cuban scientific output in Cuban and foreign indexed academic journals was analyzed. Total output and longitudinal trends were identified through a multi-database unified record approach considering thirteen databases and indexes for foreign and national journals (Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, Biosis, Current Contents Connect, Zoological Record, Pubmed/Medline, SciELO Citation Index, Pascal and Francis, CABI Websites, CLASE and PERIÓDICA, and AGRIS), three open access databases (SciELO, Redalyc and Dialnet), two Cuban digital libraries of scholarly journals (Health Virtual Library (BVS) and InfoAgro) and 200 national certified academic journals. Cuban journals were analyzed mainly from publishers’ collections, library services or open access databases. From 2000 to 2016, it was found that the national output doubled from 2000 until 2015 (over 8000 articles) and close below that mark in 2016. Overall, the Cuban scientific output in Cuban journals increased, both by space of publication available (journals) and by article production. By the contrary, it stabilized in indexed foreign journals since 2014 on, with a slight tendency to grow until 2018. Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection accounted for 66.74 and 61.68%, respectively, of the output in foreign journals. It is shown for the first time that roughly 22% of the Cuban yearly scientific output is published in foreign journals, whilst the highest quality and most visible part of it by indexing. This is the first study approaching the entire Cuban output in scholarly journals, regardless journal origin.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank to the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Havana, CIGB, for the technological support provided while conducting part of this research. Also to José Enrique Alfonso Manzanet, MSc., and Lázaro Yunier Dunán Mesa from the SciELO Cuba platform; Enrique Iglesias Pérez, PhD., from the CIGB; María del Carmen González, PhD., from the National Library of Medicine of Cuba; Roberto Zayas Mujica, M.D., Director of ECIMED, Cuba; the José Martí National Library of Cuba, and all the publishers contacted while conducting this study, for aiding on the access to information sources. The views, interpretations and statements are solely of the authors and cannot be regarded by no means as official nor institutional statements. This work is part of a Ph.D. Thesis Project at the Faculty of Communication, University of Havana, Cuba. The authors also thank the two anonymous reviewers and the handling editor for the detailed and helpful peer-review made which contributed to improve the quality and scope of the submitted manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Elfos Scientiae Publisher, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, CIGB, Ave 31 e/158 y 190. Cubanacán, Playa, CP 11600, Havana, Cuba

    Ernesto Galbán-Rodríguez

  2. Faculty of Communication, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba

    Déborah Torres-Ponjuán

  3. Direction of Scientific and Technological Information, Ruben Martínez Villena Central Academic Library, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba

    Yohannis Martí-Lahera

  4. Empresa de Tecnologías de la Información, ETI, Havana, Cuba

    Ricardo Arencibia-Jorge

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  1. Ernesto Galbán-Rodríguez
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  2. Déborah Torres-Ponjuán
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  3. Yohannis Martí-Lahera
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  4. Ricardo Arencibia-Jorge
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ernesto Galbán-Rodríguez.

Annex

Annex

See Table 4.

Table 4 Cuban scholarly and technical journals certified by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) of Cuba, as updated on October 24th, 2018
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Galbán-Rodríguez, E., Torres-Ponjuán, D., Martí-Lahera, Y. et al. Measuring the Cuban scientific output in scholarly journals through a comprehensive coverage approach. Scientometrics 121, 1019–1043 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03233-6

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