Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Central international visibility of Brazilian psychiatric publications from 1981 to 1995

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, we examine the scientific output of Brazilian psychiatry, based on the databaseof the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), publications in the 10 most important psychiatricjournals, and publications in major Brazilian journals. The number of Brazilian publications (i.e.,those carrying at least one Brazilian address) in psychiatry in the ISI database increased by 168%during the 15-year period under study (1981-1995) . Despite this growth, the relative contributionof publications in psychiatry to the country's publications in medical sciences did not change overthe 15-year period. This fraction, around 2%, remained at less than one-third of the averagecontribution of psychiatry journals to publications in medicine worldwide. The impact inferredfrom number of citations (1981-1992) shows that Brazilian articles in psychiatry were cited lessthan the world average in this field. In the 10 psychiatry journals with the highest impact,Brazilian authors published only 48 articles in the 1981-1995 period, representing only 0.2% ofthe articles in those journals. Like their American and British counterparts, Brazilian psychiatristsalso published primarily in domestic journals: 87.1% of the publications by Brazilians appeared inthe two major Brazilian psychiatric journals, compared with only 12.9% in foreign journals.Among publications in psychiatry in the ISI database, the number of articles co-authored byBrazilians with scientists from other countries increased 12.3 fold from 1981-1985 to 1991-1995,representing at the end 50% of all publications by Brazilian psychiatrists in international journals.Despite all cuts in funding for Brazilian science during the last decades, all of the articles in oursample originated in public universities, and only 10 universities were responsible for ∼70% of thepublications by Brazilian psychiatrists in our survey period. We conclude that Brazilianpsychiatric research is a subject worthy of particular concern, especially if we take into accountthe country's modest scientific performance and the socio-economic consequences of mentaldisorders in the Brazilian population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. R. May, The scientific investments of nations, Science, 281 (1998) 49.51.

    Google Scholar 

  2. L. Demeis, P. H. Longo, E. B. M. FalcÃo. The learning process in science: A study among brazilian biochemists, Biochemical Education, 17 (1989) 127-132.

    Google Scholar 

  3. C. Macilwain, Collapse of réal sharpens Brazil's contrasts, Nature supplement 398 (1999), A16-A18.

    Google Scholar 

  4. ISI, Institute for Scientific Information citation database available for Brazilian research institutions in Internet page: http://webofscience.fapesp.br/

  5. J. Leta, D. Lannes, L. Demeis, Human resources and scientific productivity in Brazil, Scientometrics, 41 (1998) 313-324.

    Google Scholar 

  6. B. Santana, M. Palatnik, J. Leta, L. De Meis, Brazilian trend in graduate education. In: Graduate Education Reform in Asia, Europe and Latin America and International Mobility of Scientists and Engineers. Washington: National Science Foundation, 1999 (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  7. CNPq, O CNPq e a formação de recursos humanos de C&T para o Brasil: estatísticas de bolsas no país e no exterior, 1980–1995. Brasília: CNPq/ MCT, 1996.

  8. CAPES, Bolsas de pós-graduação no país, available at INTERNET http://www.capes.br.

  9. C. J. L. Murray, A D. Lopez, Evidence-based health policy lessons from the global burden of disease study, Science, 274 (1996) 740-743.

    Google Scholar 

  10. P. Ngwersen, The international visibility of Danish and Scandinavian research 1988-1996, In: A General Overview of Science & Technology and the Social Sciences by Online Publication Analysis. Copenhagen: Royal School of Library and Information Science/CIS, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  11. L. Howard, G. Wilkinson, Impact factors of psychiatric journals, British Journal of Psychiatry, 172 (1998) 457.

    Google Scholar 

  12. W. J. Piccinini, Índice Bibliográfico Brasileiro de Psiquiatria, Porto Alegre: Editora WJP, 1998.

  13. P.O. Seglen, Citations and journal impact factors: questionable indicators of research quality, Allergy, 52 (1997) 1050-1056.

    Google Scholar 

  14. J. Leta, L. Demeis, A profile of science in Brazil, Scientometrics, 35 (1996) 33-44.

    Google Scholar 

  15. G. Lewison, A. Fawcett-Jones, C. Kessler, Latin American scientific output 1986-91 and international co-authorship patterns, Scientometrics, 27 (1993) 317-336.

    Google Scholar 

  16. R. Meneghini, The key role of collaborative work in the growth of Brazilian science in the last ten years, Scientometrics, 35 (1996) 367-373.

    Google Scholar 

  17. R. Meneghini, Brazilian production in biochemistry. The question of international versus domestic publication, Scientometrics, 23 (1992) 21-30.

    Google Scholar 

  18. R. Meneghini, Em busca da nossa ciência perdida, Jornal da USP, March 24, 1997.

  19. INEP, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Educacionais, data available at Internet page: http://www.inep.gov.br/censo/default.htm (data refers to 1996).

  20. Including data of 15 institutions supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Science & Technology (for more information see http://www.mct.gov.br/institutos) and other 5 institutions: EMBRAPA, CNEN, FIOCRUZ, IBAMA and INEP.

  21. M. Krauskopf, M. I. Vera, R. Albertini, Assessment of a university's scientific capabilities and profile: the case of the faculty of biological sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Scientometrics, 34 (1995) 87-100.

    Google Scholar 

  22. J. Gaillard, Use of publication lists to study scientific production and strategies of scientists in developing countries. Scientometrics, 23 (1992) 57-73.

    Google Scholar 

  23. N. Almeida-Filho, J. De J. Mari, E. Coutinho, J. F. Franca, J. Fernandes, S. B. Andreoli, E.D. Busnello, Brazilian multicentric study of psychiatric morbidity. Methodological features and prevalence estimates. British Journal of Psychiatry, 171 (1997) 524-529.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de, Janeiro, (Brasil)

    Jacqueline Leta & Leopoldo De Meis

  2. Departamento de Psiquiatria e Medicina Legal, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, (Brasil)

    Raphael Jacques & Ivan Figueira

Authors
  1. Jacqueline Leta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Raphael Jacques
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ivan Figueira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Leopoldo De Meis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leta, J., Jacques, R., Figueira, I. et al. Central international visibility of Brazilian psychiatric publications from 1981 to 1995. Scientometrics 50, 241–254 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010569522632

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010569522632

Keywords

Search

Navigation