Dear Editor,
The Scimago Journal and Country Rank[1] measures and classifies the journals and country scientific indicators from the
information contained in the Scopus database.[1]
[2] This portal uses several indicators such as the SJR, defined as “a measure of the
impact, influence, or prestige of the journal. It expresses the average number of
weighted citations received in the selected year by the documents published in the
journal in the 3 previous years”, and the H-index, “the number of articles of the
journal (h) that have received at least h citations over the whole period”.[1]
The rank of Obstetrics and Gynecology journals from Latin America and their settings
are shown in the tables. The first in the SJR rank is the “Jornal Brasileiro de Reprodução
Assistida” from Brazil, placed 8,257 in the rank of 25,232 world journal titles on
“all subject areas” and 86 of 181 Obstetrics and Gynecology world journals (it is
the only journal in Latin America classified in the Q2 SJR Quartile), followed by
the “Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia” (Q3), 11,399 in the whole rank
and 104 in the Obstetrics and Gynecology world journals, but the first in the H-index
within this group in Latin America in the year 2020.
Latin American Obstetrics and Gynecology journals classified in the Scimago Journal
Rankings are few, and those included are not much cited. Several reasons contribute
to this situation, such as that the best quality articles are often sent to international
journals, the scarce training in research during residency in these countries, the
limitations of the authors and journals for the publication of articles in English
to find better visibility, and the difficulty in financing the journals, which in
some cases have led to the suspension of some issues or even of the journal itself
or to compromise editorial independence when they need to be financed by the pharmaceutical
industry.[3] However, the preservation and strengthening of these journals are important for
Latin America because they serve as a means of dissemination for its researchers,
and, occasionally, they focus on issues of local or regional importance. Obstetrics
and Gynecology journals in Latin America should seek to improve the quality, visibility,
and access of their publications to try to generate a greater number of citations
([Charts 1] to [5] are available as [Supplementary material]).[1]
