EDITORIAL
The indexing of the Brazilian Journal of Rheumatology in the Web of Science
In July 2012 we had excellent news for the Brazilian Journal of Rheumatology (BJR): it was indexed in Thomson Reuters' Web of Science database, considered one of the most prestigious databases in the world of Scientometrics. This index provides greater visibility to the journal, which will also have its impact factor measured by the Journal Citation Reports® (JCR). We are waiting for this factor in 2013, as BJR was indexed in January 2010.
This is the result of the great effort and dedication of the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology, both by the editors who came before us and the Presidents Fernando Neubarth, Ieda Laurindo, and Geraldo da Rocha Castelar Pinheiro, who prioritized BJR as our portal to scientific dissemination, allowing investments that made the journal what it is nowadays.
The inclusion of BJR in the Web of Science was based on the following justifications offered to Thomson Reuters:
1. BJR is the first rheumatology journal indexed in Medline, published both in English and Portuguese, directed specifically to South America;
2. The scientifi c production in South America is growing at an unprecedented rate, requiring a dedicated portal for the dissemination of this production;
3. The participation of American, European, and Asian authors in BJR demonstrates its international character, extending its reach beyond the borders of South America.
Thus, we have BJR indexed in major databases: SciELO, Scopus, PubMed (Medline) and the Web of Science, which increases the journal's visibility and hence, the number of citations.
When analyzing RBR according to the databases, some important information arises, providing an overview of our journal:
a) BJR still is a journal read in Portuguese
Consulting the SciELO database, we obtained the following numbers: during the period of January 2010 to August 2012 there were approximately 1.8 million article requests online via SciELO. Of these, 1.6 million (88%) were requests from individuals whose native language was Portuguese, with 170,000 English (10%) and 14,000 Spanish language requests (2%).
b) BJR is cited basically by Brazilians who publish in Brazilian journals
During the last 10 years BJR received 1,203 citations, according to SciELO. Of this total, 403 came from BJR itself (33%). However, the other citations are from Brazilian journals. The top 10 journals in decreasing order of citations are: Revista Brasileira de Fisioterapia, Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, Fisioterapia e Pesquisa, Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Fisioterapia em Movimento, Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, and Acta Ortopédica Brasileira. The journals specialized in Physical Therapy are the ones most often cited BJR in the past two years.
c) The most accessed BJR articles involve fi bromyalgia, soft tissue, and imaging
Among the 10 most accessed articles (2005-2012, SciELO), three involve fibromyalgia, one painful hip, and one lumbar pain. Two other address ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in rheumatic diseases. This information seems to be in accordance with the journals that more often cite BJR, as they publish many articles about fibromyalgia and soft tissue.
d) The percentage of international collaboration among BJR authors varies from 10%-15% a year
According to data from SCIMAGO, BBR maintains an international collaboration that varies from 10% to 15%. The years 2005 and 2006 were the ones with the most publications by non-Brazilian authors (approximately 50% of the authors were not Brazilian).
e) According to Webqualis of 2012 by CAPES, BJR is classified as B3 in Medicine I area
In March 2012, CAPES established new Webqualis criteria for the Medicine I area. The impact factor established either by the JCR® or by SCIMAGO (cites per doc/2 years) between 0.2 and 0.8 classifies the journal as B3. BJR will possibly have the impact factor by JCR® in 2013 and BjR's cites per doc/2 years of 2010 is 0.21. The figures for 2011 are still incomplete, as they were calculated with only half of the publications of 2011, resulting in cites per doc/2 years of 0.15. We are still waiting for SCIMAGO to finish this review. Nevertheless, the estimated impact factor for BJR for 2013 is around 0.2 to 0.3, which would put BJR in the B3 criterion.
Given this context, we can celebrate BJR's recent indexing and the meeting of a goal established shortly after its indexing in PubMed. However, it is very important that we continue seeking the improvement of BJR and its greater international visibility. The editorial policy of BJR should seek to maintain its stringency in article selection for publication and encourage citation of articles already published, especially in the last two years.
We consider essential that Brazilian rheumatologists continue sending their original articles for publication at BJR - but also important, considering the need to increase the impact factor of BJR, that authors seek, whenever appropriate, to cite the publications of our journal when sending articles to other journals. This strategy will be essential to increase the visibility of BJR.
Finally, we would like to give our sincere thanks to our friend and President of BJR, Geraldo Castelar, for his unconditional support, for his trust regarding the exercise of an activity so relevant to BJR and for believing in our potential. It has been a privilege over these two years, to work together with Geraldo, who has shown to be an excellent manager and also a great friend.
Paulo Louzada-Junior
Max Victor Carioca Freitas
Editors-in-chief, Brazilian Journal of Rheumatology
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
19 Oct 2012 -
Date of issue
Oct 2012
