The Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences

The Brazilian Academy of Sciences (BAS) is an institution that brings together some of the main researchers from Brazil (as Full Members) and abroad (as Corresponding Members). Part of its functions is linked to the publication of scientific results, having the excellence of research as the main parameter. Since 1929, this non-profit organization has published the Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (AABC), which is the oldest periodical of the country with continuous circulation. As of 2000, all articles became available in print and online. In addition to the Editor-in-Chief, there are currently 13 Associate Editors and 79 Area Editors.

With national and international circulation, this journal does not limit its publication to national researchers and has been increasingly sought after by scientists from other nationalities. As it could not be otherwise, the AABC are multidisciplinary in nature, publishing research results achieved in several scientific fields. Up to 2020, all papers were classified in 10 main areas, reflecting the basic structure of the Members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (e.g., Kellner 2020). In 2021, the Editorial Board decided to subdivide several areas, and currently manuscripts can be submitted in 16 main scientific fields: Mathematical Sciences (MaSci), Physical Sciences (PhSci), Chemical Sciences (ChSci), Biomedical Sciences (BmSci), Health Sciences (HeSci), Cellular and Molecular Biology (CeMoBio), Microbiology (Mcbio), Ecosystems (Ecosy), Geosciences (Geosci), Paleontology (Paleo), Animal Science (AnSci), Crop Science (CrSci), Soil Science (SoiSci), Forestry Science (FoSci), Engineering Sciences (EnSci), and Social Sciences (SoSci). It should be noted that the AABC is the only Brazilian journal with this profile. As an example of its singularity, up to 2020, this periodical was included in 37 of the 49 areas evaluated in the QUALIS system, which is very well known in Brazil. Created by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), a foundation connected to the Ministry of Education, the QUALIS classification receives a lot of attention from Brazilian universities (e.g., Sales & Viana 2022), despite the various criticisms made over the years (e.g., Rocha-e-Silva 2009). Currently, with the recent changes in the QUALIS System, the AABC is considered A2 in all areas, an important achievement of the journal. Being open access, all articles can be downloaded free of charge from the SciELO database (https://www.scielo.br/j/aabc/grid). In addition to the newsletter that runs since 2013 (https://www.abc.org.br/publicacoes/anais-abc/newsletter-aabc/), articles of the AABC are also publicized in social media.

However, the notorious lack of funding concerning scientific activities in Brazil (e.g., McManus et al. 2020), which has worsened over the years not only due to the pandemic (e.g., Martelli-Junior et al. 2019), has affected the periodical system of the country (e.g., Oliveira et al. 2020). Funding for journals has become quite limited, raising general concerns (e.g., Kellner 2021, Garcia & Boing 2021). Despite the great efforts of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Editorial Board of the journal, it has become challenging to publish all the good articles being received, and hard choices had to be made in order to avoid publication delays. Last year (2021), a total of 1528 manuscripts were submitted and 447 were published (not all received that year) – not counting editorials (6), letters (12) and forewords (2). Despite being an all-time high in terms of number of articles published, there is still a considerable backlog of manuscripts. There are no submission or publication fees, a policy that might become very difficult to sustain if governmental support does not become available. As has been pointed out several times along the years, there is a need for governmental funding agencies to try to do better in supporting Brazilian periodicals if the country wants to become a major player in science.

REFERENCES

• GARCIA LP & BOING AF. 2021. Desafios para a sustentabilidade dos periódicos científicos brasileiros e do Programa SciELO. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 26: 5183-5186. DOI 10.1590/1413-812320212611.3.10652021.
• KELLNER AWA. 2020. A brief summary of the impact and performance of different scientific fields at the AABC. An Acad Bras Cienc 92: e2020924. DOI 10.1590/0001-37652020924.
• KELLNER AWA. 2021. What lies ahead for periodicals produced in Brazil? An Acad Bras Cienc 93: e202193S4. DOI 10.1590/0001-37652021202193S4.
• MARTELLI-JUNIOR H, MARTELLI DR, SIMÕES E SILVA AC, OLIVEIRA MCL & OLIVEIRA EA. 2019. Brazil’s endangered postgraduate system. Science 363: 240.
• MCMANUS CM, NEVES AAB & MARANHÃO AQ. 2020. Brazilian Publication Profiles: Where and How Brazilian authors publish. An Acad Bras Cienc 92: e20200328. DOI 10.1590/0001-3765202020200328.
• OLIVEIRA EA, MARTELLI JÚNIOR H, SILVA ACS, MARTELLI DRB & OLIVEIRA MCL. 2020. Science funding crisis in Brazil and COVID-19: deleterious impact on scientific output. An Acad Bras Cienc 92: e20200700. DOI 10.1590/0001-3765202020200700.
• ROCHA-E-SILVA M. 2009. O novo Qualis, ou a tragédia anunciada. Clinics 64: 1-4.
• SALES MA & VIANA GC. 2022. Desafios para qualificação dos periódicos científicos digitais da Pós-Graduação na UNEB: a experiência com indicadores bibliométricos em uma revista de Educação no Quadriênio 2018-2021. RDBCI: Revista Digital de Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação 20: e022006 DOI: 10.20396/rdbci.v20i00.8668003.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  06 May 2022
• Date of issue
  2022