EDITORIAL
Survey of Jornal Vascular Brasileiro
Winston Bonetti Yoshida
Editor-in-chief
The Jornal Vascular Brasileiro (J Vasc Bras) has been facing difficulties with punctuality, owing to the dearth of articles submitted for publication by members of our Society and on account of some peer reviewers' little commitment to the Journal. We know from a past survey that only 6.3% of the papers presented in our official meetings are published in indexed journals1,2. In other words, much clinical research is conducted by the members of our Society, but very little of it is sent for publication in the J Vasc Bras.
While journals of similar surgical societies which have 1/3 of our membership receive over 200 submissions per year, our Journal receives less than 100. The low number of submissions creates immense operational problems to our Journal. On account of these difficulties, our applications for indexation at Medline and ISI have been jeopardized and our development compromised.
The J Vasc Bras' situation has led the J Vasc Bras Editor-in-chief and the Publications Committee of the Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery (SBACV) to carry out a survey with members of our Society, who were asked to answer a questionnaire on the problems our Journal has been facing, and to present suggestions for its improvement. We thank in advance the Society members for their contributions and, as promised, this editorial addresses the results of the survey.
Methods
Since October 2010, a questionnaire was posted at the J Vasc Bras and the SBACV webpages, with several questions addressing the difficulties our members face in writing papers for submission to the Journal. There were also questions on the importance given to the Journal by each respondent, as well as a plea for suggestions on how to improve the Society members' participation the Journal. The data were inserted in a spreadsheet program (Excel® for Windows) and calculations were made using the software Epi-Info.
Results
From October 2010 through July 2011, out of the 2,950 members of SBACV, 537 answered the survey, for a response rate of 18.2%. The frequency of answers is shown below.
1. Members category:
Aspiring members 26.9%, effective members 51.9%, and full members 18.4%. Only 17.1% of respondents were not certified specialists. About 35% had a post-graduation degree (Stricto Sensu) and 30% wished to be a reviewer of the Journal.
2. Readers and conduct orientation:
82.7% reported reading the J Vasc Bras routinely; 55.5% believe the articles published in the Journal help them in their practice, and 38.6% said the articles were occasionally helpful.
3. J Vasc Bras presentation:
Half the respondents answered they preferred to read the Journal in English, and the other half in Portuguese. The new cover has pleased 79.5 and 67.3% said the journal should not have its name changed. About 70% scored the journal between 7 and 10 in a 1 to 10 scale.
4. Presentation of papers in meetings and publications:
82.4% of members had already presented papers in meetings, but 62.6% have never published a paper in any journal.
5. Reasons for not publishing:
The most common reasons not to publish were: lack of time (22.5%), lack of writing and statistics support (11.0%), little experience (7.6%), lack of incentives (2.2%), the J Vasc Bras long editorial process (2.2%), and not having access to references (2.0%).
Conclusions
About 50% of respondents had some reason not to publish their scientific production. Several suggestions were given in order to turn this situation around. Suggestions to increase the number of papers submitted for publication in the J Vasc Bras were: hiring of writing and statistics support team to help the authors with their submissions; prizes for the best papers; discount on membership and meeting fees for authors who publish in the Journal; access to the CAPES [the Brazilian agency for scientific and academic support] portal; mandatory submission of full texts for papers selected for presentation in national meetings; mandatory publication in the J Vasc Bras by reviewers, members of the SBACV Scientific Committees, and Residency Program Directors; upgrade of the Editorial Board, and valuing authorship of articles published in the J Vasc Surg in the specialist certifying and re-certifying processes.
Lack of time is a significant factor (22.5%), but we should take into account the fact that journals of other Societies receive over 200 papers per year, even having far fewer members than SBACV. Anyway, the alleged lack of time is real and has been a hindrance to increase the number of paper submitted. However, if some of the suggestions presented at the survey could be implemented, the number of publications would almost certainly rise. As some of those suggestions demand financial investment, the SBACV Board of Directors should study the possibility of carrying them out. On the other hand, we agree that at least the members of the SBACV Scientific Committees should give the example and keep a minimal level of annual publications in the J Vasc Bras. It is worth emphasizing that it would be a stimulus for our Society members if articles published in our journal were more valued in the author's curriculum, and used for revalidation of the specialist certificate and ascension within our Society ranks. Residency programs officially recognized by SBACV should also be required to publish articles in the J Vasc Bras, in order to maintain their credentials.
The survey remains open for members at our website and any new significant opinions and suggestions will be published.
References
- 1. Yoshida, WB. Temas livres versus publicação. J Vasc Bras. 2005; 4(4):319-320.
- 2. Yoshida, WB, Holmo NF, Corregliano GT, Baldon KM, Souza e Silva N. Publicações indexadas geradas a partir de resumos de congressos de angiologia e cirurgia vascular no Brasil. J Vasc Bras. 2008;7(4):293-297.
Enquete do Jornal Vascular Brasileiro
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
13 Apr 2012 -
Date of issue
Sept 2011
