The Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology (BJP) is at a moment of transition.
This is the last issue of 2011. Some changes have been implemented over the course of this year. In conjunction with the Executive Editors (Pedro Caruso, Bruno Baldi, and Carlos Jardim), we have implemented certain measures aimed at improving our standing among the Brazilian journals that disseminate Brazilian scientific production.

According to the 2010 SCImago Journal & Country Rank,(1) the BJP ranks 50th among the 93 major scientific journals in the field of respiratory medicine published worldwide. Among such journals, the BJP is the highest ranked in Latin America. Among all Brazilian medical journals, the BJP is ranked 11th.

All this international recognition and visibility should increase further as of 2012, when the Journal Citation Reports will issue the first impact factor for our Journal. This means that, over the course of this year, the articles published in the BJP between 2009 and 2010 (the period considered for the calculation of the first impact factor) were evaluated in terms of the mean number of citations received.

Using the same methodology as that employed by Thomson Reuters, SCImago estimates that the current impact factor for the BJP is 0.97 (Figure 1). The difference between the two indices lies in the fact that there are a greater number of journals in the SciVerse Scopus database, which is used by the SCImago, and this has a strong and significant correlation.(2)



Figure 1 shows the SCImago rank classification for the last seven years (since 2004, when the BJP was indexed for the Scopus database). The comparison with the methodology of number of citations received in two years, which is similar to the Thomson Reuters impact factor methodology, indicates that the likely value to be issued in 2012 will be approximately 1.0. If this materializes, we will have the opportunity to receive articles of higher quality and to compete with internationally recognized journals.

The internationalization of Brazilian journals has been the subject of discussion at the Brazilian Medical Association, at the São Paulo Research Foundation, and at the Brazilian National Office for the Advancement of Higher Education. The SCImago index, in addition to the impact factor issued by the ISI Web of Knowledge, should also be employed and given weight in the evaluation of national graduate programs and researchers.

In the context of the abovementioned facts, the participation of the reviewers is central to the qualification of the BJP. Their voluntary, anonymous work contributes to the quality of the journal, not only by defining whether or not an article should be published, but mainly by using their expertise to make suggestions that contribute to making the manuscript more appropriate.

The BJP belongs to all of those who, regardless of their specialty, are interested in thoracic diseases The Journal is ready to assume its role as the main vehicle for the dissemination of Brazilian respiratory research, making it competitive with other international journals.

Carlos Roberto Ribeiro Carvalho
Editor-in-Chief of the
Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology

References

1. SCImago [homepage on the Internet]. Granada: SCImago [cited 2010 Dec 5]. SCImago Journal & Country Rank. Available from: www.scimagojr.com

2. Rocha e Silva, M. Reflexões críticas sobre os três erres, ou os periódicos brasileiros excluídos. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2011;66(1):3-7.