After 116 years of existence, the scientific journal Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz is a reference in the areas of Parasitic Diseases and Tropical Medicine. With a free collection of more than four thousand articles, the publication has just gained a new editor. The person who assumes the position is the researcher from the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Medical Research of the IOC, Claude Pirmez, who will share the command with researchers Adeilton Alves Brandão and Hooman Momen, who was coordinator of scientific publications for the World Health Organization (WHO Press).
After eight years as editor, researcher Ricardo Lourenço leaves office with a legacy of modernization and internationalization of the journal. It was under his administration that Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz gained a new website, inspired by the portals of the most important scientific journals in the world. “The site has become much more modern and dynamic, similar to the tools of international journals”, explains Lourenço.
Also during this period, the journal's impact factor increased from 0,847 to 2,147 in 2011, the year in which Memórias was also the best-placed Brazilian journal in the Scimago Journal ranking (SJR). The index – which uses the Scopus database, published by Elsevier – takes into account a period of three years and establishes different values for citations according to the scientific influence of the journal in which it was published. Indeed, Memórias was the first Brazilian journal to achieve an impact factor above 2, achieved in 2009 for three consecutive years. “Achieving impact factor 2 again is very important because most journals that publish in the field of Tropical Diseases do not reach this level”, emphasizes Claude.
Another important achievement in the period was the introduction of the online submission process for articles, in 2007, and the attribution of the DOI to published articles, a universal identifier that gives greater credibility to the content of the works. Recently, the journal became part of the Pubmed Center, where all articles in the journal became available for free, in addition to Scielo and its own website. In 2009, the complete collection of the magazine, since its launch in 1909, became available online, which facilitates access to the valuable content of the publication, since there is no longer the need to locate a printed copy.
“Modern, totally open to changes and with free access, the journal is in an important context for developing countries, where Parasitology and Tropical Medicine are focal themes”, emphasizes Lourenço. This aspect further reinforces the importance of making all content available free of charge, at the same time that the author is free of charge, unlike several relevant scientific journals, which charge for the opportunity to publish.
For Ricardo, another positive point of his management was the editorial teamwork. “All editorial decisions, from choosing the cover of the magazine to opinions on how the website would be, were always taken together, as a group”, he points out. The publication in the ahead of print system was an achievement highlighted by the new and also by the former editors of the magazine. “Ricardo was able to implement ahead of print, a system that makes the article available online at PubMed before being published in print, which speeds up the dissemination process. This is important for the author who seeks speed”, completes Claude.
When taking over the magazine, the new publisher points out that its biggest challenge will be to maintain the quality of the publication. “We need to keep the impact factor at a minimum, in addition to attracting more quality works, which can add even more value to the magazine”, he says. Claude still wants to improve interaction with readers. “Videos can be an interesting tool to streamline the way of publishing and accessing information”, he exemplifies.
Another change thought of by the new editors is the adaptation of the site to different media supports. “It is not possible to access content via cell phone so easily nowadays, for example”, recalls Brandão, noting that this improvement is in the plans.
To learn more about the magazine, click here.
* Reporting: Fernanda Turino
After 116 years of existence, the scientific journal Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz is a reference in the areas of Parasitic Diseases and Tropical Medicine. With a free collection of more than four thousand articles, the publication has just gained a new editor. The person who assumes the position is the researcher from the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Medical Research of the IOC, Claude Pirmez, who will share the command with researchers Adeilton Alves Brandão and Hooman Momen, who was coordinator of scientific publications for the World Health Organization (WHO Press).
After eight years as editor, researcher Ricardo Lourenço leaves office with a legacy of modernization and internationalization of the journal. It was under his administration that Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz gained a new website, inspired by the portals of the most important scientific journals in the world. “The site has become much more modern and dynamic, similar to the tools of international journals”, explains Lourenço.
Also during this period, the journal's impact factor increased from 0,847 to 2,147 in 2011, the year in which Memórias was also the best-placed Brazilian journal in the Scimago Journal ranking (SJR). The index – which uses the Scopus database, published by Elsevier – takes into account a period of three years and establishes different values for citations according to the scientific influence of the journal in which it was published. Indeed, Memórias was the first Brazilian journal to achieve an impact factor above 2, achieved in 2009 for three consecutive years. “Achieving impact factor 2 again is very important because most journals that publish in the field of Tropical Diseases do not reach this level”, emphasizes Claude.
Another important achievement in the period was the introduction of the online submission process for articles, in 2007, and the attribution of the DOI to published articles, a universal identifier that gives greater credibility to the content of the works. Recently, the journal became part of the Pubmed Center, where all articles in the journal became available for free, in addition to Scielo and its own website. In 2009, the complete collection of the magazine, since its launch in 1909, became available online, which facilitates access to the valuable content of the publication, since there is no longer the need to locate a printed copy.
“Modern, totally open to changes and with free access, the journal is in an important context for developing countries, where Parasitology and Tropical Medicine are focal themes”, emphasizes Lourenço. This aspect further reinforces the importance of making all content available free of charge, at the same time that the author is free of charge, unlike several relevant scientific journals, which charge for the opportunity to publish.
For Ricardo, another positive point of his management was the editorial teamwork. “All editorial decisions, from choosing the cover of the magazine to opinions on how the website would be, were always taken together, as a group”, he points out. The publication in the ahead of print system was an achievement highlighted by the new and also by the former editors of the magazine. “Ricardo was able to implement ahead of print, a system that makes the article available online at PubMed before being published in print, which speeds up the dissemination process. This is important for the author who seeks speed”, completes Claude.
When taking over the magazine, the new publisher points out that its biggest challenge will be to maintain the quality of the publication. “We need to keep the impact factor at a minimum, in addition to attracting more quality works, which can add even more value to the magazine”, he says. Claude still wants to improve interaction with readers. “Videos can be an interesting tool to streamline the way of publishing and accessing information”, he exemplifies.
Another change thought of by the new editors is the adaptation of the site to different media supports. “It is not possible to access content via cell phone so easily nowadays, for example”, recalls Brandão, noting that this improvement is in the plans.
To learn more about the magazine, click here.
* Reporting: Fernanda Turino
The non-profit reproduction of the text is allowed as long as the source is cited (Comunicação / Instituto Oswaldo Cruz)
 |
 |
