Bibliometric study on the adoption of open science measures reveals high scores for both Brazilian and SciELO-indexed journals

Chris Fradkin, Independent Researcher

Image: Devon Janse van Rensburg.

Since 2019, SciELO has advocated for the adoption of open science (OS) practices through its Priority lines of action.¹ These practices, including data and materials sharing, adoption of DOI and ORCID identifiers, consideration of preprints, and continuous publication, serve to increase the transparency and scientific rigor of published science. The recently published bibliometric study The promotion and implementation of open science measures among high‐performing journals from Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain² provides the first glimpse of the adoption of these measures among Ibero-American publications.

The study² examines the promotion and implementation of OS measures among a sample of Ibero-American journals. Analyses examined differences in the promotion and implementation of OS measures across nations (Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Spain), dissemination platforms (international, SciELO-indexed, domestic), publication language (English-only, multi-language), and journal subject fields (hard sciences, health, social sciences).

Analyses found higher promotion of OS measures among Brazilian journals than their Portuguese counterparts, and higher promotion of OS measures among international journals than their domestic counterparts. Analyses found higher implementation of OS measures among Brazilian journals than their Portuguese and Mexican counterparts. Analyses of overall promotion and implementation found higher promotion/implementation of OS measures among Brazilian and Spanish journals than their Portuguese counterparts, and higher promotion/implementation of OS measures among Brazilian journals than their Mexican counterparts.

SciELO-indexed journals had variable performance, depending on the OS measure. For example, analyses found higher promotion of open data among international journals than their SciELO-indexed or domestic counterparts, while separate analyses found higher promotion of preprints among international and SciELO-indexed journals than their domestic counterparts. Further analyses revealed higher implementation of ORCID among SciELO-indexed journals than their international counterparts. Separate analyses revealed higher implementation of continuous publishing among international journals than their SciELO-indexed or domestic counterparts.

Findings revealed no differences in the promotion or implementation of OS measures across publication language. Analyses found higher promotion of preprints and implementation of continuous publishing among health journals than their social science counterparts.

SciELO is based in Brazil. Among the sample, there are seven SciELO-indexed journals (five from Brazil, two from Mexico). This affiliation may explain the strong performance of the Brazilian journals. Since SciELO has aggressively promoted the adoption of OS practices through its Priority lines of action,¹ Brazil’s 319 SciELO-indexed journals may have benefited more from this program than their lesser-represented counterparts (SciELO: Mexico: 162; Portugal: 59; Spain: 46).

These findings were based on a small, elite sample (40 journals indexed in WoS), and thus might not be generalizable to all Ibero-American journals. Nonetheless, they place Brazil and SciELO at the frontlines of the OS movement.

Notes

1. Priority lines of action | SciELO.org: https://www.scielo.org/en/about-scielo/priority-lines-of-action/

2. FRADKIN, C. and MUGNAINI, R. The promotion and implementation of open science measures among high‐performing journals from Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. Learned Publishing [online]. 2024, vol. 37, no. 3, e1616 [viewed 3 July, 2024]. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1616. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/leap.1616

References

FRADKIN, C. and MUGNAINI, R. The promotion and implementation of open science measures among high‐performing journals from Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. Learned Publishing [online]. 2024, vol. 37, no. 3, e1616 [viewed 3 July, 2024]. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1616. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/leap.1616

SciELO – Priority lines of action 2019-2023 [online]. Scientific Electronic Library Online. 2018 [viewed 3 July, 2024]. Available from: https://www.scielo20.org/redescielo/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/L%C3%ADneas-prioritaris-de-acci%C3%B3n-2019-2023_en.pdf

SciELO Network – Priority lines of action for professionalization, internationalization, and sustainability – 2024-2028 [online]. Scientific Electronic Library Online. 2023 [viewed 3 July, 2024]. Available from: https://wp.scielo.org/wp-content/uploads/Priority_lines.pdf

External links

Priority lines of action | SciELO.org: https://www.scielo.org/en/about-scielo/priority-lines-of-action/

About Chris Fradkin

Chris Fradkin is a Fulbright award-winning scholar, who holds a doctorate in psychological sciences from the University of California, Merced. His research interests range from the internationalization of emerging-nation journals to resilience building among vulnerable youth. Publications include articles in Health Psychology, Child Abuse & Neglect, and Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics.