EDITORIAL
Publication or citation: what should be our concern?
With the launch of the 2010 first issue, all published articles in Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy are available on the internet through Scielo base, each one with its own DOI (Digital Object Identifier). With no doubts, it is a milestone for our journal and for the Brazilian Society of Pharmacognosy! More important than increasing our bibliometric indicators, it will promote the Brazilian science that has been developed in the area of Pharmacognosy since 1986. It is our responsibility to care about the bibliometric indicators of the journal. However, bibliometry can be defined as the statistical exploitation of scientific publications in order to measure and describe publication patterns within a given field of science. With the current ''pressure'' for high bibliometric indexes, authors and editors become often their hostages when, in fact, in science, one author quotes another author to establish a link between their research. Most of the bibliometric indicators is arbitrary and artificial, and therefore not all can be applied universally.
In this context, we believe the Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy cannot act as if competing to establish in a literature ''market''. We intend to publish scientific manuscripts that make a difference in Pharmacognosy in Brazil and abroad. True scientists do not care about citation indexes, but they do with the content of what they read or publish. We will strive to improve our bibliometric indexes, but our main argument will primarily be in favor of the true values of science.
Pharmacognosy, which stands for being among top five areas of pharmaceutical education, in recent years has undergone significant changes and is now a highly qualified and interdisciplinary science. In this perspective, we must advocate for contributing to the dissemination of research that seeks new forms of biotechnology, new therapeutic agents, greater understanding of the pharmacological and biochemical functions of natural substances, more information on herbal drugs, and new methods of analysis. Allied to this, we also strive for the protection of the environment and the pursuit of renewable natural resources, illustrated by the use of recycled paper in our publications.
Science is compromised when shadowed by bibliometrics and, certainly, it affects Pharmacognosy. We hope, in 2010, to fulfill the purpose of being more concerned with the publication of good articles than with their quotation. We have the understanding that this is the appropriate path to grow and to get scientific recognition for the Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy.
Cid Aimbiré M. Santos
Editor
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
26 Apr 2010 -
Date of issue
Mar 2010
