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. 2013 Jan-Mar;11(1):15-22.
doi: 10.1590/s1679-45082013000100005.

Is there publication bias towards Brazilian articles on cancer?

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Luiz Victor Maia Loureiro  1 , Donato Callegaro Filho, Altieres de Arruda Rocha, Bernard Lobato Prado, Taciana Sousa Mutão, Carlos del Cistia Donnarumma, Auro del Giglio
Affiliations

Is there publication bias towards Brazilian articles on cancer?

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Luiz Victor Maia Loureiro et al. Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2013 Jan-Mar.

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Objective: To investigate whether Brazilian articles on cancer are published in journals with an impact factor and/or repercussion (measured by the number of citations) inferior to those that come from foreign organizations.

Methods: A search was carried out in PubMed for the MeSH term "neoplasm" with the limits clinical trial, affiliation of the Brazilian author(s), and interval from July 1st, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Selected for matching were non-Brazilian related articles published from three months prior to three months after the date of publication of the Brazilian study. The numbers of citations were obtained from two databases, as well as the impact factor for the journals in which the articles were published.

Results: Forty-three national and 876 related international articles were identified. The Brazilian publications had a mean impact factor of 3.000 versus 3.430 of the international ones (p=0.041). There was no statistically significant difference as to the number of citations between the two groups. The affiliation of the first author with a Brazilian or foreign organization did not significantly influence the number of citations or the impact factor.

Conclusion: Brazilian articles are significantly less accepted in journals with higher impact factors, although it does not compromise its repercussion on the scientific community.

Objetivo:: Investigar se artigos brasileiros sobre câncer são publicados em periódicos de fator impacto e/ou repercussão (medida pelo número de citações) inferiores aos oriundos de instituições estrangeiras

Métodos:: Pesquisou-se, no PubMed, o MeSH Term “neoplasm” com os limitadores: clinical trial, afiliação de autor(es) brasileira e intervalo de 1° de julho de 2009 a 30 de junho de 2010. Foram selecionados para pareamento artigos relacionados, não brasileiros, publicados entre três meses antes e três meses depois da data de publicação do estudo brasileiro. Foram obtidos os números de citações, em duas bases de dados, assim como o fator de impacto para as revistas nas quais os artigos foram publicados.

Resultados:: Identificaram-se 43 artigos nacionais e 876 internacionais relacionados. Os brasileiros apresentaram fator de impacto médio de 3.000 contra 3.430 dos internacionais (p=0,041). Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa quanto ao número de citações entre os grupos. A afiliação do primeiro autor à instituição brasileira ou estrangeira também não influenciou significativamente no número de citações nem no fator de impacto.

Conclusão:: Artigos brasileiros são significativamente menos aceitos em revistas de maior impacto sem aparente comprometimento de sua repercussão na comunidade científica.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Impact factor of journals in which selected Brazilian and international articles were published (p=0.041), after matching per number of citations
Figure 2
Figure 2. A) Correlation between number of citations and IF of journals for national articles (Web of Science®: p=0.144; SciVerse®: p=0.198). (B) Correlation between number of citations and IF of journals for international articles (Web of Science®: p=0.001; SciVerse®: p=0.001)
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