Editorial

EDITORIAL

Once again, as has happened every year in the month of June since 2001, the Journal of Citation Reports, JCR, has published the Impact Factors (IF),¹ of the scientific periodicals indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). In 2005 seventeen Brazilian publications were cited in the Journal of Citation Reports:

Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (1.097); Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research (0.859); Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (0.847); Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (0.653); Química Nova (0.650); Brazilian Journal of Physics (0.445); Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria (0.430); Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering (0.385); Genetics and Molecular Biology (0.373); Bulletin of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (0.340); Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (0.289); Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia-Brazilian Journal of Animal Science (0.250); Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira (0.239); Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira (0.181); Brazilian Journal of Microbiology (0.165); Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology (0.131); Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia (0.114).

Of these seventeen publications, four periodicals are especially noteworthy: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, Química Nova, Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências and the Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo. Both of the periodicals published by the Brazilian Chemical Society, indexed in the ISI, Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (http://jbcs.sbq.org.br) and Quimica Nova (http://quimicanova.sbq.org.br/quimicanova.htm) with Impact factors of 1.097 and 0.650, respectively, remain as the two periodicals in Chemistry of greatest Impact Factor in Latin America, and the JBCS remains the periodical of greatest Impact Factor in Brazil.

The Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências showed an expressive increase in its Impact Factor in relation to 2004 (0.435) ² and the Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, which was not on the previous JCR list, appeared with am IF of 0.289, which is quite a representative IF for the area of Agrarian Science. The number of scientific articles of Brazilian authorship has been rising over the years and, soon Brazilian scientific production will account for 2% of the total world scientific production indexed by the ISI. However, the number of Brazilian periodicals in the ISI ranking is not compatible with the number of articles produced within Brazil, since of the 144 periodicals supported by the CNPq in 2005,³ a mere 17 are cited in the JCR. Even while considering the different cultures of publications in each area of knowledge, the relationship between the number of periodicals supported by the CNPq and those which are of importance in an international context is, to say the least, poor. The directors of the CNPq should take the opportunity to reflect upon whether it is worthwhile to continue to support such a great number of periodicals which have not demonstrated that they are suitable for indexing by the ISI.

The numbers of the Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society are both rising and encouraging. When they are compared to the years 2004 and 2005, it is seen that the number of articles submitted for publication increased from 332 to 463 respectively, and the articles published rose from 150 to 215, while the numbers of issues went from six to eight.⁴ In 2005, practically half of the articles published in the JBCS were of foreign authorship.

The JBCS is available at http://jbcs.sbq.org.br, since 1998, before the discussions on free access to publications attain the dimension it has taken on the international scene. Beginning in 2006, the entire Quimica Nova collection has been available at http://quimicanova.sbq.org.br/quimicanova.htm. Availing the international scientific community of its periodicals is the policy of the Directors, the Consulting Council and the Editors of the Brazilian Chemical Society.

The Brazilian Chemical Society is to be congratulated for the continuing success of the Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, which has become established as the periodical of greatest scientific importance in all of Latin America. Maintaining this position depends directly on the scientific quality of the studies submitted for publication in the periodical and the critical role played by all who participate in its publication.

Jailson B. de Andrade

Editor (IQ-UFBA)

Angelo C. Pinto

Editor (IQ-UFRJ)

1. Pinto, A.C.;de Andrade, J.B.;Quím. Nova 1999, 22, 448.

2. Pinto, A.C.;de Andrade, J.B.; J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 2005, 4, 3-4.

3. http://www.cnpq.br/resultadosjulgamento/2005/edital_0302005.htm, acessado em 26 de junho de 2006.

4. Loh, W.; Dias, L.C.; J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 2006, 1, 3-4.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  25 Aug 2006
• Date of issue
  Aug 2006