The Scientific Production of Full Professors of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de SÃO Paulo: A View of the Period of 2001–2006

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe scientific production of institutions of higher education, as well as the dissemination and use of this published work by peer institutions, can be assessed by means of quantitative and qualitative measurements. This type of analysis can also serve as the basis of further academic actions. Variables such as the type of evaluation, the number of faculty members and the decision to include or exclude researchers who are not professors are difficult to measure when comparing different schools and institutions.OBJECTIVESThe purpose of this study was to assess the scientific production of tenured faculty from the Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina performed from 2001 to 2006.METHODSMedline/PubMed database was considered and the Impact factors (IFs - Journal Citation Report, 2006) and the number of generated citations (Web of Science/ISI Thomson) were also evaluated.RESULTSThe analysis of the scientific production of 66 full professors (level MS-6) revealed 1,960 scientific articles published in 630 scientific journals, of which 31.3% were Brazilian and 68.7% were from international sources. Among these, 47% of the articles were published in 62.9% of the journals with IFs above 10, although 16.4% of the journals did not have assigned IF values. We verified that 45% of the published articles received 9,335 citations (average of 11 + 17), with the majority of these (8,968 citations) appearing in international scientific journals.CONCLUSIONSOur results indicate that it is possible to analyze the scientific production of a learning institution by the number of papers published by full professors, taking into account not only their academic position and influence, but also the fact that publication is an opportunity to stimulate joint projects with other members of the same institution.

Publication rate of scientific papers presented at the largest event on breast cancer research in Latin America

“…This can probably be explained by the fact that the event takes place in that state and emphasises the importance of this symposium for the scientific development of the region [3]. There was also a predominance of papers on studies conducted in public hospitals and universities, reflecting the importance of these institutions in scientific production in Brazil [13]. Of the studies that went on to be published, it should be noted that Mastology, the journal of the Brazilian Breast Society, was the publication that most benefitted from papers presented at the BBCS.…”

“…In Brazil, the current model of scientific production is focused on postgraduate programmes and is associated with government incentives, when available [12,13]. In this model, the publication process becomes dependent on personal and motivational factors present in the respective students and faculty, who not infrequently admit defeat after their paper is refused by the first journal to which it is submitted.…”

“…Only three of the factors capable of affecting publication rates were found to be significant. The publication rate was higher in the case of studies developed in public institutions, possibly due to the authors' academic experience and the scientific incentives present in the majority of these institutions in Brazil [7,12,13]. Studies dealing with rehabilitation following breast cancer were also more likely to be published, reflecting not only the quality of these studies but also the encouragement provided for multidisciplinary participation in the BBCS [3].…”

Publication rate of abstracts on breast cancer presented at different scientific events in Brazil

“…Other factors such as financial limitations, lack of institutional incentives and lack of technical support can also discourage the scientific publication of a recently completed study. However, in recent years, public policies to encourage research have culminated in a substantial increase in the number of published articles 4,13,24,25 . This growth trend was also observed in the Brazilian participation in international events and research related to breast cancer 26 .…”

“…The current model of scientific production in Brazil is predominantly linked to graduate programs and financed by the authors themselves or by public institutions that support research 24,25 . Thus, the publication process becomes dependent on financial and motivational factors of the respective students and professors, who often give up publishing their works after rejection by the first journals.…”