On December 5, 2024, the BIREME team held a webinar to present the results of the survey on the profile of journals indexed in LILACS in 2024. The study, which has been carried out since 2021 with the journal editors, seeks to understand the characteristics and editorial practices of the journals, promoting quality and increasing the visibility of scientific output in the region. The results of the survey are presented in two dashboards “Profile of LILACS journals (2024)” and “Consolidated profile of LILACS journals (2021-2024)”. More than 100 people from 16 countries took part in the online session, which was coordinated and presented by Sueli Mitiko Yano Suga, Supervisor of Referential Information Sources.
The LILACS journal profile survey is conducted annually and is based on self-reported data provided by respondents. In its fourth edition, 252 journals from 19 countries took part, representing approximately 28% of the 904 journals indexed during the survey period. The study offers an analysis of editorial and access aspects, which are fundamental for alignment with international best practices. Data on the sociodemographic profile of the respondents was also obtained and analyzed.
Information for action
The indicators analyzed range from Open Science practices to ethical guidelines and linguistic diversity. As an innovation, coordinator Sueli Suga proposed suggestions for editorial improvement based on the data collected, offering practical recommendations to support publishers in adopting standards of excellence. “For each indicator analyzed, our presentation contained a section entitled ‘Information for Action’, which brought proposals and suggestions for developments designed to strengthen the journal in its editorial policies and practices and, consequently, greater adherence to the criteria for selection and permanence of journals in the LILACS database,” explained Sueli. Among the recommendations is adherence to the LILACS-Express initiative, which speeds up the dissemination of newly published articles, providing rapid exposure of research results to the public to enable use and impact on health research, policy and practice.
Among the highlights of the 2024 edition are the predominance of indexed journals in the area of Medicine, highlighting the relevance of this field in the region, and the growth in the number of journals adopting the practice of open peer review, a global trend aimed at promoting Open Science.
The profile of the study’s respondents was investigated for the first time and most of them hold the position of editor-in-chief, with a predominance of women, doctors and an age range concentrated between 40 and 60 years. According to Sueli Suga, “the research into these factors was prompted by the ‘Good Practices’ training held throughout the year, which included a specific session on integrating the principles of Diversity, Equity and Equality into editorial flows and policies”.
For Sueli Suga, “These results are more than a static picture; they offer guidelines for strengthening the editorial quality of health journals in Latin America and the Caribbean”. Sueli also pointed out that the study provides a basis for reflection on the use of good editorial practices, such as the adoption of Open Science models and the integration of policies aligned with a changing global scenario.
Co-author of the study, Information Products and Services librarian Angélica de Souza Alves de Paula added: “The visualizations offer many possibilities, for example, students can decide which journal to publish their manuscript in, editors can check the status of their journal in relation to others in their country or subject area, it can also be used by science communication researchers, in short there are many possibilities to explore, and we ask that, if you publish editorials in your journals, carry out studies or articles using this material, let us know so that we can disseminate them as well”.
The survey on the profile of LILACS 2024 journals was coordinated by Sueli Mitiko Yano Suga, with the participation of Angélica de Souza Alves de Paula, Sérgio Skrol Salustiano da Silva, Fhillipe de Freitas Campos, Denise Freitas Andrade and Ana Kátia Camilo and, in previous years, Juliana Gonçalves dos Reis and Fernando Medeiros (in memorian). The team worked on various stages, such as conceptualization, methodology, data curation, visualization and dashboard development, consolidating itself as a collaborative and multidisciplinary effort.
To find out more, watch the presentation of the study available on YouTube and explore the interactive dashboards published on the LILACS website: Profile of LILACS journals (2024) and Consolidated profile of LILACS journals (2021-2014).