Central international visibility of Brazilian psychiatric publications from 1981 to 1995

In this study, we examine the scientific output of Brazilian psychiatry, based on the databaseof the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), publications in the 10 most important psychiatricjournals, and publications in major Brazilian journals. The number of Brazilian publications (i.e.,those carrying at least one Brazilian address) in psychiatry in the ISI database increased by 168%during the 15-year period under study (1981-1995) . Despite this growth, the relative contributionof publications in psychiatry to the country's publications in medical sciences did not change overthe 15-year period. This fraction, around 2%, remained at less than one-third of the averagecontribution of psychiatry journals to publications in medicine worldwide. The impact inferredfrom number of citations (1981-1992) shows that Brazilian articles in psychiatry were cited lessthan the world average in this field. In the 10 psychiatry journals with the highest impact,Brazilian authors published only 48 articles in the 1981-1995 period, representing only 0.2% ofthe articles in those journals. Like their American and British counterparts, Brazilian psychiatristsalso published primarily in domestic journals: 87.1% of the publications by Brazilians appeared inthe two major Brazilian psychiatric journals, compared with only 12.9% in foreign journals.Among publications in psychiatry in the ISI database, the number of articles co-authored byBrazilians with scientists from other countries increased 12.3 fold from 1981-1985 to 1991-1995,representing at the end 50% of all publications by Brazilian psychiatrists in international journals.Despite all cuts in funding for Brazilian science during the last decades, all of the articles in oursample originated in public universities, and only 10 universities were responsible for ∼70% of thepublications by Brazilian psychiatrists in our survey period. We conclude that Brazilianpsychiatric research is a subject worthy of particular concern, especially if we take into accountthe country's modest scientific performance and the socio-economic consequences of mentaldisorders in the Brazilian population.

[1]  Manuel Krauskopf,et al.  Assessment of a university's scientific capabilities and profile: The case of the faculty of biological sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile , 1995, Scientometrics.

[2]  P. Seglen,et al.  Citations and journal impact factors: questionable indicators of research quality , 1997, Allergy.

[3]  Grant Lewison,et al.  Latin American scientific output 1986–91 and international co-authorship patterns , 1993, Scientometrics.

[4]  Jacqueline Leta,et al.  Human resources and scientific productivity in Brazil , 2006, Scientometrics.

[5]  G. Wilkinson,et al.  Impact factors of psychiatric journals , 1997, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[6]  R. May.  The Scientific Investments of Nations , 1998, Science.

[7]  Leopoldo de Meis,et al.  The learning process in science: a study among Brazilian biochemists , 1989 .

[8]  Rogerio Meneghini,et al.  The key role of collaborative work in the growth of Brazilian science in the last ten years , 1996, Scientometrics.

[9]  J. de Jesus Mari,et al.  Brazilian multicentric study of psychiatric morbidity , 1997, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[10]  Jacques Gaillard,et al.  Use of publication lists to study scientific production and strategies of scientists in developing countries , 2005, Scientometrics.

[11]  G. Wilkinson,et al.  Impact factors of psychiatric journals , 1998, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[12]  Rogerio Meneghini,et al.  Brazilian production in biochemistry. The question of international versus domestic publication , 2005, Scientometrics.

[13]  Alan D. Lopez,et al.  Evidence-Based Health Policy--Lessons from the Global Burden of Disease Study , 1996, Science.

[14]  Jacqueline Leta,et al.  A profile of science in Brazil , 2005, Scientometrics.