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Scientific production of researchers in the Nutrition field with productivity fellowships from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development

Perfil e produtividade de pesquisadores da área de Nutrição bolsistas do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico

ABSTRACT

Objective

To characterize researchers in the Nutrition field awarded with Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico research productivity fellowships and evaluate their scientific production according to an analysis of curricula registered on the Lattes Platform.

Methods

The study is cross-sectional and descriptive in scope, and was developed from October 2014 to February 2015. The productivity fellowships/Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico researchers were identified from the Lattes Platform, and their curriculum lattes were downloaded for data collation. Information on the profiles of the researchers and the bibliometric data of productivity (published articles, articles and citations registered on ISI/Web of Science and Scopus databases, impact of the publications, and academic advising) were collected.

Results

Eighty researchers were identified and evaluated. A total of 67.5% were female and 53.5% were classified as category 2. Approximately two-thirds (65.0%) were located in Southeastern Brazil. The sum of articles published by the researchers from the beginning of their career until the end of the study came to 7,358 (median=84 per researcher, interquartile range=53–285). Of these publications, 45.0% were indexed in the Web of Science and 62.0% in Scopus. Of the journals where the articles were published, 70.0% had an impact factor.

Conclusion

Most publications were performed in journals with an impact factor, indicating the influence of Brazilian nutrition studies on society and their potential for guiding public policies on nutrition and health.

Keywords
Bibliometry; Nutrition; Research personnel

RESUMO

Objetivo

Caracterizar pesquisadores da área de Nutrição cadastrados como bolsistas de produtividade em pesquisa junto ao Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico e avaliar sua produção científica através da análise de currículos cadastrados na Plataforma Lattes.

Métodos

Trata-se de estudo transversal e descritivo, desenvolvido no período de outubro de 2014 a fevereiro de 2015. Os pesquisadores bolsistas produtividade em pesquisa/Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico foram identificados na Plataforma Lattes e seus currículos obtidos para coleta de dados. Foram coletadas informações do perfil dos pesquisadores e dados bibliométricos de produtividade (artigos publicados, artigos e citações cadastradas nas bases de dados ISI/Web of Science e Scopus, impacto das publicações e orientações acadêmicas).

Resultados

Foram identificados e avaliados 80 pesquisadores, 67,5% eram do sexo feminino e 53,5% bolsistas na categoria 2. Aproximadamente dois terços (65,0%) estavam localizados na região Sudeste do país. A soma de trabalhos publicados por eles do início da carreira até o término da pesquisa foi de 7.358 (mediana=84 por pesquisador, intervalo interquartil=53–285). Desses, 45,0% foram indexados no Web of Science e 62,0% no Scopus. Dos periódicos das publicações, 70,0% possuíam fator de impacto.

Conclusão

A publicação da maioria dos trabalhos em periódicos com impacto indica a expressão das pesquisas em Nutrição brasileiras para a sociedade e seu potencial em influenciar políticas públicas de alimentação e saúde.

Palavras-chave
Bibliometria; Nutrição; Pesquisadores

INTRODUCTION

Nutrition is a multidisciplinary science, characterized by the integration of biological, social, and environmental dimensions [11 Vasconcelos FAG, Batista Filho M. História do campo da alimentação e nutrição em saúde coletiva no Brasil. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2011;16(1):81-90. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000100012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123201100...
]. According to The Global Nutrition Report [22 International Food Policy Research Institute. Global nutrition report 2014: Actions and accountability to accelerate the world’s progress on nutrition. Washington (DC): International Food Policy Research Institute; 2014 [cited 2014 Jan 30]. Available from: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/gnr14.pdf
http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files...
], suitable food and nutrition are basic requirements for health promotion and protection, as well as for sustainable development. Adequate food is, in fact, an essential part of the hunger and poverty eradication programs of the World Health Organization, such as the Millennium Development Goals [33 World Health Organization. Millennium development goals. Fact sheet, nº 290. Geneva: WHO; 2015 [cited 2015 May 29]. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs290/en/#
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheet...
]. Nutrition is, therefore, a fundamental area for the development of public policies and the agenda of international organizations focused on human development and the planet’s sustainability [44 Kac G, Proenca RPC, Prado SD. A criação da área “nutrição” na CAPES. Rev Nutr. 2011;24(6):905-16. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-52732011000600011
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-5273201100...
].

Nutrition was only recognized as an area of knowledge by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Coordination of Improvement of Higher Level Personnel) in 2011. Today, it is included among the 48 areas that make up the National Graduate System [55 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. Portaria nº 83, de 6 de junho de 2011. Diário Oficial da União. 2011 8 jun [acesso 2016 dez 6]; (109):12; Seção 1. Disponível em: https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacao/avaliacao-n/Portaria-capes-83-2011.pdf
https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/...
] and, although a complex and heterogeneous area, its study has been expanding in the country [66 Olinto MTA, Lira PIC, Marchini JS, Kac G. Formação humana, pesquisa e produção cientí-fica na submissão de avaliação “nutrição” da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, no Brasil, de 2007 a 2009. Rev Nutr. 2011;24(6):917-26. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-52732011000600012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-5273201100...
]. In 2016, CAPES listed 28 programs and 40 postgraduate programs specifically associated with the area of nutrition. The latter comprises 25 masters, 12 PhDs, and 3 professional masters’ programs [55 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. Portaria nº 83, de 6 de junho de 2011. Diário Oficial da União. 2011 8 jun [acesso 2016 dez 6]; (109):12; Seção 1. Disponível em: https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/avaliacao/avaliacao-n/Portaria-capes-83-2011.pdf
https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/...
]. This growth has been followed by a significant increase in Brazilian academic production in the field of Nutrition [77 Vasconcelos FAG. The construction of scientific knowledge in food and nutrition: Analysis of dissertations and theses in the Brazilian post-graduation programs in Nutrition. Rev Nutr. 2015;28(1):5-16. https://doi.org/10.1590/1415-52732015000100001
https://doi.org/10.1590/1415-52732015000...
]

The investment policies focused on Brazilian researchers have also contributed to research advances in Nutrition. Among the incentives is the Productivity Research Grant provided by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). According to the normative criteria established by CNPq, productivity research grants are classified into three levels: Level 1, Level 2, and Senior, with Level 1 being subdivided into four categories: 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D [88 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Produtividade em Pesquisa (PQ). Brasília: CNPq; 2014 [acesso 2014 out 2]. Disponível em: http://cnpq.br/documents/10157/5f43cefd-7a9a-4030-945e-4a0fa10a169a
http://cnpq.br/documents/10157/5f43cefd-...
]. As recognized by the government and the scientific community, researchers with productivity research grants should be systematically evaluated. Such a continuous analysis allows for the development of tools for the definition of guidelines, allocation of investments and resources, program formulation, and evaluation of activities related to scientific and technological development according to each activity area in Brazil [99 Mugnaini R, Jannuzzi PM, Quoniam L. Indicadores bibliométricos da produção científica brasileira: uma análise a partir da base Pascal. Ciênc Inf. 2004;33(2):123-31.].

Several studies [1010 Santos SMC, Lima LS, Martelli DRB, Martelli Junior H. Perfil dos pesquisadores da Saúde Coletiva no Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Physis. 2009;19(3):761-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-73312009000300012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-7331200900...

11 Martelli Junior H, Martelli DR, Quirino IG, Oliveira MCL, Lima LS, Oliveira EA. Pesquisadores do CNPq na área de Medicina: comparação das áreas de atuação. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2010;56(1):478-83. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-42302010000400024
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-4230201000...

12 Oliveira MCL, Martelli DRB, Pinheiro SV, Miranda DM, Quirino IG, Leite BGL, et al. Perfil e produção científica dos pesquisadores do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico na área de Pediatria. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2013;31(3):278-84.

13 Santos MIP, Silveira MF, Oliveira EA, Martelli DRB, Dias VO, Veríssimo FM, et al. Avaliação da produção científica, patentes e formação de recursos humanos da Enfermagem Brasileira. Rev Bras Enferm. 2015;68(5):846-54.

14 Mendes PHC, Martelli DRB, Souza WP, Quirino-Filho S, Martelli-Júnior H. Perfil dos pesquisadores bolsistas de produtividade científica em medi-cina no CNPq, Brasil. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2010;34(4):535-41.

15 Moreira JR, Vilan-Filho JL, Mueller SPM. Ca-racterísticas e produção científica dos grupos de pesquisa do CNPq/DGP nas áreas de Ciência da Informação e Museologia (1992–2012). Perspect Ciênc Inf. 2015;20(4):93-106.
-1616 Sacco AM, Valiente L, Vilanova F, Wendt GW, DeSousa DA, Koller SH. Perfil dos Bolsistas de Produtividade em Pesquisa do CNPq atuantes em Psicologia no Triênio 2012–2014. Psicol Ciênc Prof. 2016;36(2):292-303.] have analyzed the profiles and scientific production of researchers with productivity research grants in different areas of knowledge. The bibliometric indicators used in these studies include the number of people who have received academic or scientific qualifications, the number of patents registered by scientists, the number of scientific articles published, the number of scientists who have published scientific articles, the number of bibliographical references cited in scientific articles, the number of citations per scientific article, the number of research grants awarded to scientists, and the amount of resources allocated to the research activities promoted by the various agencies [1717 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Bolsas. Brasília: CNPq; 2015 [acesso 2015 jun 29]. Disponível em: http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/bolsistas-vigentes
http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/bolsistas-v...
]. It is also important to know the profile of the researchers and to examine their area of research, professional experience, and contribution to training new professionals. However, there are still no quantitative or qualitative indicators for the scientific productivity of researchers in the field of Nutrition in Brazil [1818 Silva JA, Bianchi MLP. Cientometria: a métrica da ciência. Paidéia. 2001;11(21):5-10. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2001000200002
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X200100...
].

Nutrition is a strategic area for the development of teaching and research as well as for public health, where professionals are active in Primary Health Care teams. Therefore, knowledge of the scientific performance of researchers in Nutrition is key, both to analyze the current status of the area and to design future scenarios. In this context, this study is aimed at characterizing professionals in the field of Nutrition with productivity research grant/CNPq grants and evaluating their scientific production through an analysis of curricula registered on the Lattes Platform.

METHOD

This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study, developed between October 2014 and February 2015. The data were obtained during the period of the study from the curricula of professionals identified from the productivity research grant/CNPq grants list available on CNPq’s website [1717 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Bolsas. Brasília: CNPq; 2015 [acesso 2015 jun 29]. Disponível em: http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/bolsistas-vigentes
http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/bolsistas-v...
]. The following search filters were used: Country=Brazil; States=All; Institutions=All Institutions; Large Areas=All Large Areas; Areas=Nutrition; Modalities=Productivity in Research; Levels=All Levels. The curricula of 80 researchers available on CNPq’s [1919 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Currículo Lattes. Brasília: CNPq; 2014 [acesso 2014 out 2]. Disponível em: http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/busca.do?metodo=apresentar
http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual...
] Lattes Platform were analyzed. The curricula were checked to determine whether they were up to date.

The curricula were then analyzed to characterize the researchers and collect bibliometric data regarding their scientific production, following previous studies [1010 Santos SMC, Lima LS, Martelli DRB, Martelli Junior H. Perfil dos pesquisadores da Saúde Coletiva no Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Physis. 2009;19(3):761-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-73312009000300012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-7331200900...

11 Martelli Junior H, Martelli DR, Quirino IG, Oliveira MCL, Lima LS, Oliveira EA. Pesquisadores do CNPq na área de Medicina: comparação das áreas de atuação. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2010;56(1):478-83. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-42302010000400024
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-4230201000...

12 Oliveira MCL, Martelli DRB, Pinheiro SV, Miranda DM, Quirino IG, Leite BGL, et al. Perfil e produção científica dos pesquisadores do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico na área de Pediatria. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2013;31(3):278-84.
-1313 Santos MIP, Silveira MF, Oliveira EA, Martelli DRB, Dias VO, Veríssimo FM, et al. Avaliação da produção científica, patentes e formação de recursos humanos da Enfermagem Brasileira. Rev Bras Enferm. 2015;68(5):846-54.,2020 Cavalcante RA, Barbosa DR, Bonan PRF, Pires MBO, Martelli-Júnior H. Perfil dos pesquisadores da área de odontologia no Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2008;11(1):106-13.]. The characterization of the researcher consisted of determining their gender, degree, the type of grant (2, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D or senior) received, the federative unit (professional address), the institution and country where the PhD (stricto sensu) was obtained and the postdoctoral studies were developed, the number of years of experience after completing their PhD (stricto sensu), and the research area based on the categories of the Lattes Platform (Nutrition, Biochemistry of Nutrition, Epidemiology, Public Health, and Maternal and Child Health). Analysis of the ratio of the number of productivity research grant fellows per inhabitant of each state was also performed based on Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística data [1111 Martelli Junior H, Martelli DR, Quirino IG, Oliveira MCL, Lima LS, Oliveira EA. Pesquisadores do CNPq na área de Medicina: comparação das áreas de atuação. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2010;56(1):478-83. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-42302010000400024
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-4230201000...
,2121 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Gerência de estudos e análises da dinâmica de-mográfica 2000 a 2012: projeção da população do Brasil e das unidades da federação, por sexo e idade para o período 2000–2030. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2015 [acesso 2016 dez 13]. Disponível em: http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/projecao_da_populacao/2013/default.shtml
http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/...
].

Scientific production was determined by each researcher’s number of publications during their career, including articles, books, and book chapters. The quantity of papers in indexed journals and of article citations in the ISI/Web of Science and Scopus databases was evaluated. The articles published in journals with an impact factor were also assessed. Evaluation of the academic career was based on the number of supervised researchers, including scientific initiation students and masters, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers.

The data were organized on a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel) and then analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, United States) program for Windows, version 21.0. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed and the absolute frequency and percentage of the variables investigated were calculated. Regarding bibliometric data (number of scientific articles, number of supervised students and researchers, and publications and citations indexed in the databases) the mean, median, and Interquartile Ranges (IQ) were calculated between the percentiles 25 and 75.

RESULTS

The curricula of the 80 investigated productivity research grant/CNPq research fellows in the Nutrition field were as follows: 67.5% (n=54) were female; 51.2% held a degree in Nutrition, and the remaining had degrees in Medicine (26.2%), the Biological Sciences (8.8%), Pharmacy (2.5%), or Physical Education (2.5%). There were no senior fellows, and 52.5% were classified as Level 2 (Table 1).

Table 1
Distribution of research productivity fellows in nutrition according to data collected between October 2014 and February 2015 and following the categorization by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.

The researchers considered in the study came from 13 different Brazilian states (Table 2). Approximately two-thirds (65.0%) were from the Southeast region, with 36.3% working in São Paulo, 17.5% in Rio de Janeiro, and 11.3% in Minas Gerais. In the Northeast region, where 21.3% of the researchers were found, 15.0% worked in Pernambuco. The lowest percentage of researchers was recorded in the South and Center-West regions (11.3% and 2.6% respectively). Productivity research grant/CNPq research fellows in the area of Nutrition in the Northern region were not identified.

Table 2
Geographic distribution (states of the federation) of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico research productivity fellows in Nutrition based on data collected between October 2014 and February 2015.

Analysis of the researchers’ affiliations showed that 26.3% of them were from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), 12.5% from the Universidade Federal do Pernambuco (UFPE), 7.5% from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), 7.5% from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), 6.3% from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), 6.3% from the Universidade do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), 3.8% from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), 3.8% from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), and 3.8% from Universidade Estadual de São Paulo (Unesp) (Table 3).

Table 3
Distribution of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico research productivity fellows in Nutrition by institution based on data collected between October 2014 and February 2015.

With respect to the researchers’ experience after completing their PhDs (stricto sensu), the mean was 18 years (IQ=10–39 years). Among them, 38.8% attended the stricto sensu program at the USP and 10.0%, the Unifesp, representing, therefore, almost half of the PhDs. More than half of the researchers (58.8%) conducted postdoctoral studies, most of them abroad. Regarding the area of specialization described in the curricula, 27.2% of the professionals worked in nutrition, 22.0% in nutrition biochemistry, 12.5% in epidemiology, 7.5% in public health, and 5.0% in maternal and child health.

Analysis of the ratio of the number of productivity research grant fellows per inhabitant showed that the national average was 0.14 per million inhabitants. The states of Bahia and Ceará showed a lower ratio than the national average, with an average of 0.06 and 0.11 per million inhabitants respectively. The average of the other 11 regions was much higher than the national average, varying between 0.29 and 1.27 researchers per million inhabitants.

The productivity indexes displayed in Table 4 show the descriptive measures of the publication of scientific articles of productivity research grant/CNPq research fellows in Nutrition and of their participation in the training of human resources. During the period of the academic career considered in the study, the researchers published 7,358 articles in scientific journals, ranging from 25 to 310 articles per researcher (median=84 articles per researcher, IQ=53–285).

Table 4
Descriptive measures of the publication of scientific articles and training of human resources based on data from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico research productivity fellows in Nutrition collected between October 2014 and February 2015.

Among the articles published over the period, 3,316 (approximately 45%) were indexed in the ISI/Web of Science database (median=33 per researcher; IQ=32–161) and 4,542 articles (about 62%) were indexed in the Scopus database (median=48.5 per researcher; IQ=37–204). It was observed that 5,166 articles (70%, median=61 per researcher, IQ=34–205) were published in journals evaluated by the impact factor index.

The researchers’ publications were cited 31,585 times in the WoS database (median=256.5, IQ=397–2.351, from 1 to 2,352 citations) and 48,318 in Scopus (median=409, IQ=509–3.704; 3,706 quotes). The median of the most cited article in WoS was 50 citations (IQ=68–701), and in Scopus was 59 citations (IQ=55–866).

Evaluation of the academic career over the period of the study showed that the researchers supervised 1,746 scientific initiation fellows (median=20, IQ=20–106) and 1,847 masters (median=21.5, IQ=16–68) and 775 PhD theses (median=8; IQ=10–36), as well as 72 postdoctoral projects (median=0.1; IQ=1–8) (Table 4).

DISCUSSION

This study provides scientific production indicators for productivity research grant/CNPq research fellows in Nutrition and identifies some characteristics that help to characterize this population. In Brazil, both as a science and as a profession, Nutrition is a relatively new field [2222 Conselho Federal de Nutricionistas. Inserção pro-fissional dos nutricionistas no Brasil. Brasília: CFN; 2006 [acesso 2016 dez 5]. Disponível em: http://www.cfn.org.br/pesquisa.pdf
http://www.cfn.org.br/pesquisa.pdf...
]. Therefore, the collected data are essential for a current analysis of this area of knowledge. Although a previous study showed an increase in the number of nutrition researchers and scholars between 2000 and 2008 [2323 Prado SD, Bosi MLM, Carvalho MCVS, Gugelmin SA, Silva JK, Delmaschio KL, et al. A pesquisa sobre alimentação no Brasil: sustentando a auto-nomia do campo Alimentação e Nutrição. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2011;16(1):107-19. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000100015
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123201100...
], the present study is unprecedented with respect to analyzing data from the curricula of productivity research grant/CNPq research fellows available on the Lattes Platform. The latter is a national standard system in the registration of the academic and professional activities of the scientific community implemented and maintained by the Brazilian government for the management of information of an internationally recognized quality related to researchers, institutions, and research activities in the country. Although the curricula currently available on the Lattes Platform are considered a standard for the evaluation of researchers [2424 Amaral R, Brito A, Rocha K, Quoniam L, Faria L. Panorama da inteligência competitiva no Bra-sil: os pesquisadores e a produção científica na plataforma Lattes. Perspect Ciênc Inf. 2016;21(4):97-120.], this system has some limitations since the information is provided by the users. Thus, the accuracy of the information, as well as its updating, depends exclusively on the researchers.

Regarding the analysis of the profile of the productivity research grant/CNPq researchers in Nutrition, a predominance of females was observed. Analysis of the profile of the performance of nutritionists in Brazil performed by the Federal Nutrition Council in 2005 identified a feminization of the profession, with 96.5% shown to be women. The predominantly female performance among productivity research grant/CNPq fellows was also reported in the areas of Nursing [1010 Santos SMC, Lima LS, Martelli DRB, Martelli Junior H. Perfil dos pesquisadores da Saúde Coletiva no Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Physis. 2009;19(3):761-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-73312009000300012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-7331200900...
] and Physiotherapy [2525 Sturmer G, Viero CCM, Vieira MN. Profile and scientific output analysis of physical therapy researchers with research productivity fellowship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Braz J Phys Ther. 2013;17(1):41-8.], which also share the characteristic of being dominated by females. In this study, however, it was not possible to associate the greater participation of women exclusively with the nutritionist profession since many of the evaluated researchers graduated in other areas, especially Medicine. According to Guedes et al. [2626 Guedes MC, Azevedo N, Ferreira LO. A produ-tividade científica tem sexo? Um estudo sobre bolsistas de produtividade do CNPq. Cad Pagu. 2015;45:367-99. https://doi.org/10.1590/18094449201500450367
https://doi.org/10.1590/1809444920150045...
], the country’s general situation reflects how men continue to represent the majority of the grant holders, although there is a clear trend of greater numbers of female researchers, suggesting a change in this scenario. It is also necessary to consider the multidisciplinary nature of postgraduate courses in nutrition, which receive health professionals from different backgrounds and different ratios of men and women.

Most of the productivity research grant/CNPq nutrition researchers are located in the Southeast region of Brazil, especially in the state of São Paulo, consistent with studies on researchers in other areas of knowledge [1212 Oliveira MCL, Martelli DRB, Pinheiro SV, Miranda DM, Quirino IG, Leite BGL, et al. Perfil e produção científica dos pesquisadores do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico na área de Pediatria. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2013;31(3):278-84.,1313 Santos MIP, Silveira MF, Oliveira EA, Martelli DRB, Dias VO, Veríssimo FM, et al. Avaliação da produção científica, patentes e formação de recursos humanos da Enfermagem Brasileira. Rev Bras Enferm. 2015;68(5):846-54.,2727 Santos NCF, Candido LFO, Kuppens CL. Produ-tividade em pesquisa do CNPq: análise do perfil dos pesquisadores da química. Quím Nova. 2010;33(2):489-95.]. This fact may be related to the historical concentration of graduate courses in nutrition in this region [11 Vasconcelos FAG, Batista Filho M. História do campo da alimentação e nutrição em saúde coletiva no Brasil. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2011;16(1):81-90. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000100012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123201100...
,77 Vasconcelos FAG. The construction of scientific knowledge in food and nutrition: Analysis of dissertations and theses in the Brazilian post-graduation programs in Nutrition. Rev Nutr. 2015;28(1):5-16. https://doi.org/10.1590/1415-52732015000100001
https://doi.org/10.1590/1415-52732015000...
]. Historically, the first seven institutions to create undergraduate courses in nutrition in Brazil were the USP, the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), the UFRJ, the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), the UFPE, and Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) [11 Vasconcelos FAG, Batista Filho M. História do campo da alimentação e nutrição em saúde coletiva no Brasil. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2011;16(1):81-90. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000100012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123201100...
]. These institutions nowadays hold most of the productivity research grant/CNPq researchers in Nutrition in the country, and this should be associated with the fact that they have been working in this area for longer periods. The distribution of Brazilian scientific production in different areas of knowledge varies in different regions of the country [2828 Sidone OJG, Haddad EA, Mena-Chalco JP. A ciência nas regiões brasileiras: evolução da pro-dução e das redes de colaboração científica. Transinformação. 2016;28(1):15-32.], reinforcing the results of this study on Nutrition.

According to Sacco et al. [1616 Sacco AM, Valiente L, Vilanova F, Wendt GW, DeSousa DA, Koller SH. Perfil dos Bolsistas de Produtividade em Pesquisa do CNPq atuantes em Psicologia no Triênio 2012–2014. Psicol Ciênc Prof. 2016;36(2):292-303.], surveys that show gender disparities in professional performance and in the distribution of researchers and research grants at different institutions are required to reevaluate the distribution of their resources. These authors also stress that the surveys should be carried out periodically to evaluate the evolution of productivity indicators and the area as a whole. It is also important to emphasize the need to develop networks of scientific collaboration in the formulation of science, technology, and innovation policies in Brazil since this integration promotes the quality and regional expansion of scientific activity and, consequently, the development of less favored regions [2828 Sidone OJG, Haddad EA, Mena-Chalco JP. A ciência nas regiões brasileiras: evolução da pro-dução e das redes de colaboração científica. Transinformação. 2016;28(1):15-32.].

The relative number of productivity research grant/CNPq research fellows in Nutrition (per million inhabitants) is still low compared to areas like Medicine [1111 Martelli Junior H, Martelli DR, Quirino IG, Oliveira MCL, Lima LS, Oliveira EA. Pesquisadores do CNPq na área de Medicina: comparação das áreas de atuação. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2010;56(1):478-83. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-42302010000400024
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-4230201000...
] and Chemistry [2929 Vasconcelos FAG, Calado CLA. Profissão nutri-cionista: 70 anos de história no Brasil. Rev Nutr. 2011;24(4):605-17. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-52732011000400009
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-5273201100...
]. This can be expected since the area of Nutrition is relatively new. With its expansion, it can be expected that the number of researchers in the area will increase as well as the resources allocated for research.

The productivity of the scientific community can be evaluated by quantitative bibliometric indicators, reflected in the number of publications and impact indicators, which are based on the number of citations of publications, characterizing the importance of this scientific production according to the recognition granted by other researchers [18]. The impact factor is also used by funding agencies and by CAPES to qualify professionals and degrees, as well as to qualify and define research policies [3030 Toffoli GA, Ferreira SMSP. Mapeamento da pro-dução científica de pesquisadores brasileiros de ciências da comunicação: período de 2000 a 2009. Psicol USP. 2011;22(2):399-422. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65642011000200007
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-6564201100...
]. A study on scientific production in nutrition by Vasconcelos [3131 Vasconcelos FAG. The scientific production of Nutrition published by the Scientific Electronic Library under the gaze of the evaluation of the Coordination for the Development of Higher Education Personnel. Rev Nutr. 2017;30(2):147-61. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-98652017000200001
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-98652017000...
], published by the SciELO according to an evaluation by the CNPq, analyzed the scientific production of nutrition and found that most of the publications (62.4%) had no impact factor, as measured by Journal Citation Reports. In this study, the bibliometric data on the productivity research grant/CNPq researchers in Nutrition were much more expressive, reaching 70.0% of articles published in journals with an impact factor. This indicates that to achieve quantitative indicators of quality, the publications were not restricted to specific Nutrition periodicals. It is suggested that future studies should evaluate the main journals selected by productivity research grant/CNPq researchers in Nutrition and their selection criteria.

Along with the publication of scientific articles, the training of human resources is an important criterion for the evaluation of candidates for research grants [1414 Mendes PHC, Martelli DRB, Souza WP, Quirino-Filho S, Martelli-Júnior H. Perfil dos pesquisadores bolsistas de produtividade científica em medi-cina no CNPq, Brasil. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2010;34(4):535-41.,3232 Valle ME, Sakuray F. On the criteria for receiving a research productivity fellowship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development in Mathematics. TEMA. 2014;15(3):237-48.]. As expected for productivity research grant/CNPq researchers, those evaluated in the present study were qualified to train new professionals. This was confirmed by the number of supervisions carried out, from scientific initiation to postdoctoral studies, which can be considered to be high when compared to the results of studies on human resources training in Brazil in the areas of Nursing [13] and Pediatrics [3333 Gonçalves E, Santos MIP, Maia BT, Brandão RCS, Oliveira EA, Martelli-Júnior H. Produção científica dos pesquisadores da área de pediatria no CNPq. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2014;38(3):349-55. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-55022014000300009
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-5502201400...
].

The results allow for a better understanding of Nutrition and can assist in the devising of strategies for new investment policies to enhance the country’s overall scientific production.

CONCLUSION

The productivity research grant/CNPq research population in nutrition considered in the period of the study showed a predominance of female fellows and of category 2 researchers. The researchers were found to be concentrated in the Southeast region of the country. The publication of 70% of the scientific articles in impact-oriented journals indicates the influence of Brazilian nutrition research on society and its potential for influencing food and health public policies.

New studies with similar methodologies may be important for characterizing the Brazilian scientific production in the Nutrition field and other areas of knowledge since there are few national studies on the profile of the scientific production generated by CNPq scientific productivity fellows. In addition, for a more practical application of the results yielded, a continuation of the present study should contemplate the impact of the publications according to different themes in nutrition, identifying the strengths and weaknesses that should lead the way with respect to incentives for new research projects.

CONTRIBUTORS

  • L PINHO contributed to the design and execution of the study, the data analysis and interpretation, and the writing of the article. H MARTELLI-JÚNIOR and EA OLIVEIRA contributed to the design and planning of the study, the data analysis and interpretation, and the writing and revision of the article. DRB MARTELLI, H MARTELLI-JÚNIOR and EA OLIVEIRA contributed to the design and planning of the study, the data analysis and interpretation, and the writing and revision of the article.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Nov-Dec 2017

History

  • Received
    23 Jan 2017
  • Reviewed
    04 Oct 2017
  • Accepted
    24 Oct 2017
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