How Can SciELO Journals Increase Their Impact?

By Connie Mc Manus

For many years, the prevailing perception was that scientific journals published in developing countries would inevitably have limited impact when compared to major international journals. This view helped reinforce a scholarly communication system in which prestige, visibility, and recognition were concentrated largely in North America and Europe.

em>Image: nik radzi by Unsplash.

Recent evidence, however, suggests a different reality. A study, Can Low-Cost, Open-Access Journals from the Global South Have a High Impact?, published in 2026 in the Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences examined the 20,000 most-cited articles among more than 368,000 documents published in SciELO journals indexed in Scopus. The findings demonstrate that open-access journals from the Global South can achieve substantial scientific, technological, and societal impact when certain conditions are met.

One of the most important factors is editorial quality. Journals ranked in the first quartile (Q1) exhibited significantly higher citation impact than those in lower quartiles. Rigorous peer review, professional editorial management, adherence to international publishing standards, and regular publication schedules remain essential elements for increasing visibility and scientific influence.

Internationalization is another critical component. Although the study found that international collaboration was not a statistically significant predictor of citation impact within this particular dataset, levels of international collaboration in SciELO journals remain below global averages. Expanding international research networks, attracting foreign authors, and strengthening international editorial boards continue to be important strategies for enhancing global reach and visibility.

Publishing in English also plays an important role. While preserving scientific communication in Portuguese and Spanish remains essential, making articles available in English substantially increases their potential audience, improves discoverability, and creates more opportunities for international citation.

The study further highlights the importance of indexing in international databases. Journals included in systems such as Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ, OpenAlex, and Dimensions tend to achieve greater visibility and integration into global scholarly communication networks. The broader a journal’s presence across indexing and discovery platforms, the greater its opportunities for readership and citation.One of the most significant findings is that the impact of SciELO journals extends far beyond academia. The most-cited articles are frequently referenced in documents produced by organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank, and numerous Brazilian government agencies. Research cited in policy documents was associated with substantially higher scientific impact, demonstrating that societal relevance and academic influence often reinforce one another.

The findings also reveal strong connections between SciELO publications and technological innovation. International companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, and agricultural sectors have cited SciELO articles in patent applications, demonstrating that research published in these journals contributes directly to the development of new products, processes, and technologies.

Increasing the impact of SciELO journals also depends on effective science communication strategies. The use of academic social networks, institutional repositories, press releases, persistent identifiers such as ORCID, and high-quality metadata can significantly improve article discoverability. The easier it is to find, access, and reuse research outputs, the greater the likelihood that they will be read, cited, and applied.

The evidence challenges the notion that Global South journals are inherently low-impact publications. In fields such as health sciences and agricultural sciences, several SciELO journals perform above the global average in citation metrics while simultaneously influencing public policies and technological innovation. Open access, when combined with editorial excellence, scientific relevance, and effective dissemination, proves to be a powerful mechanism for expanding the reach and influence of research.

More than simply a publishing platform, SciELO has become a strategic infrastructure for the democratization of scientific knowledge. The challenge for the coming years is no longer to demonstrate that SciELO journals can generate impact, but rather to strengthen the conditions that will enable even greater international visibility, policy influence, and contributions to innovation.

Note

1.MCMANUS, C.,et al. Can Low-Cost, Open-Access Journals from the Global South Have a High Impact? Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences [Online]. 2026, vol. 98, no. 2. [viewed 30 June 2026].

Reference

MCMANUS, C.,et al. Can Low-Cost, Open-Access Journals from the Global South Have a High Impact? Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences [Online]. 2026, vol. 98, no. 2. [viewed 30 June 2026].

About Connie McManus

Connie McManus a professor at the University of Brasília and director of the Center for Management and Strategic Studies, an entity affiliated with the MCTI that provides scientific input to decision-makers in the public sector.