In recent years, the Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia (JBP, Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology) has played an important role in disseminating the knowledge produced in the field of respiratory medicine in Brazil and in other countries, which has consolidated its standing in the major international databases. The recent publication of indicators for the JBP by the two major international indexing agencies-Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) and Journal Citation Reports (JCR) Web of Knowledge, Clarivate Analytics--supports that statement and is a source of pride for our scientific community because JBP has attained its highest levels to date.(1,2)

Since 2012, when the first JBP impact factor was published by the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge, it has become evident that the international visibility of the Journal is growing, because the participation of authors from other countries in relevant articles and the citations of JBP manuscripts in international publications have been progressively increasing.(3,4)

In the 2020 SJR, whose database includes the greatest number of journals (representing approximately 250 countries), the two-year citation index of the JBP was 1.805, corresponding to a 26.7% increase in relation to the previous cycle. In addition, the JBP ranking in the SJR rose from 91st to 83rd among the 147 journals in the area of pulmonary and respiratory medicine and from 66th to 46th among the 404 Brazilian journals. It is also noteworthy that international collaboration has increased from 20% to 24%.(1) According to the JCR, the JBP impact factor for 2020 was 1.870, corresponding to a 36.4% increase in relation to the previous year. Consequently, the JBP ranking in the JCR rose from 57th to 50th among the 64 journals in the area of respiratory medicine and from 28th to 13th among the 129 Brazilian journals. Given these newly issued indicators, we envision that the JBP will move up to category B1 in Medicine I in the journal ranking system of the Brazilian Office for the Advancement of Higher Education, a system known as Qualis.(2)

The articles with the highest number of citations, which influenced our indicators, were primarily those on tuberculosis, lung cancer, and sleep disorders, some of which were produced exclusively by researchers in Brazil, whereas others involved international collaboration.(5-7) Another relevant aspect is that, according to the JCR database, 43% of the articles published in 2017 and 2018 were cited in 2019. In addition, in accordance with the objectives proposed at the beginning of the current editorship, efforts have been made to increase the numbers of guidelines and recommendations for the major respiratory diseases, as well as the number of editorials by international authors and the number of articles with a greater impact on clinical practice, which will certainly contribute to a greater visibility of the Journal, nationally and internationally.(3)

It is obvious that the impact factor is only one of the relevant indicators of the performance and international influence of a journal. Other principles that should be valued and that are not included in the isolated analysis of the impact factor, although relevant to the JBP, include the composition of the editorial board and of the team of reviewers, with an emphasis on the inclusion of participants from other countries, the proportion of articles rejected (currently about 65%), the transparency throughout the editorial process, and the quality of reviews. In addition, the number of times that JBP articles are accessed via websites and are cited on social networks should be taken into consideration.

Finally, the voluntary participation of associate editors and reviewers in the evaluation and refinement of the articles submitted should be highlighted. These professionals have played an essential role in the success achieved in recent years. There are other aspects that represent challenges for maintaining the continuity of the growth of the JBP, such as streamlining the process of reviewing articles and publishing them online, expanding the team of reviewers, encouraging the submission of articles in English, and disseminating well-respected, well-structured studies and opinions. The preparation for each of these steps is our contribution to improving research in respiratory medicine in Brazil.(8,9)

We hope to continue improving the production of articles and providing high-quality points of view that are relevant to the day-to-day approach to pulmonology and related areas. By doing so, we will gradually improve the indicators for our Journal in the major international databases.

REFERENCES

1. Scimago Journal & Country Rank [homepage on the Internet]. Scimago Lab; c2017-2020 [cited 2020 26 Jun]. Available from http://www.scimagojr.com
2. Journal Citation Reports [homepage on the Internet]. Clarivate Analytics; c2020 [cited 2020 Jun 26]. 2019 Journal Impact Factor. Available from: https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/journal-citation-reports/
3. Baldi BG, Chatkin JM. Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia and Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia: perspectives for the next four years. J Bras Pneumol. 2019;45(1):e20190028. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-3713/e20190028
4. Carvalho CR, Baldi BG, Jardim CV, Caruso P. Publication of the impact factor of the Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology: a milestone on a long and arduous journey. J Bras Pneumol. 2012;38(4):417-418. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1806-37132012000400001
5. Migliori GB, Centis R, D'Ambrosio L, Silva DR, Rendon A. International collaboration among medical societies is an effective way to boost Latin American production of articles on tuberculosis. J Bras Pneumol. 2019;45(2):e20180420. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-3713/e20180420
6. Araujo LH, Baldotto C, Castro G Jr, Katz A, Ferreira CG, Mathias C, et al. Lung cancer in Brazil. J Bras Pneumol. 2018;44(1):55-64. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1806-37562017000000135
7. Silva RPD, Martinez D, Bueno KSDS, Uribe-Ramos JM. Effects of exercise on sleep symptoms in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. J Bras Pneumol. 2019;45(3):e20180085. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-3713/e20180085
8. Souza R. The importance of strong fundamentals in scientific methodology. J Bras Pneumol. 2018;44(5):350-351. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1806-37562018000500005
9. Souza R. JBP and bibliometric índices. J Bras Pneumol. 2017;43(4):247-248. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1806-37562017000400002