Brazilian Symposium on Scientometrics

Brazilian Symposium on Scientometrics
Name	Brazilian Symposium on Scientometrics
Native name	Simpósio Brasileiro de Cientometria
Discipline	Scientometrics
Country	Brazil
Established	2000s
Frequency	Biennial

Brazilian Symposium on Scientometrics is a recurring academic meeting focused on Bibliometrics, Scientometrics and related quantitative studies of science, technology and innovation. The symposium convenes researchers, policymakers, librarians, and research managers from institutions such as Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and international partners including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Stanford University, and Max Planck Society. It functions as a national hub connecting Brazilian centers of excellence like CNPq, CAPES, FAPESP, and regional networks such as Rede Nacional de Pesquisa.

History

The symposium traces its origins to early meetings among scholars affiliated with Fundação Getulio Vargas, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, Observatório do Saber and research groups at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. Early organizers included academics linked to SciELO, Biblioteca Nacional initiatives and investigators influenced by work from Eugene Garfield, Derek de Solla Price, Waltman, and scholars at Leiden University and Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Over successive editions hosted in cities such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Porto Alegre, the meeting expanded to incorporate collaborations with International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics, European Science Foundation, UNESCO and national agencies like Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações.

Objectives and Scope

The symposium aims to develop methodologies and indicators for evaluating research output, drawing on traditions from Science Citation Index, Scopus, Google Scholar, CrossRef, and datasets produced by SciELO Brasil and Lattes Platform. It emphasizes comparative studies connecting Brazilian production with outputs tracked by Clarivate Analytics, Elsevier, Springer Nature, IEEE, and regional repositories such as LAMARCK and Biblioteca Virtual do Estudante Brasileiro. Topics include mapping collaborations among institutions like Fiocruz, Embrapa, Instituto Butantan, and policy evaluation relevant to agencies such as BNDES and FINEP.

Organization and Governance

Governance typically involves steering committees drawn from universities like Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, and research councils including CNPq and CAPES. Program committees have included editors from journals such as Scientometrics (journal), Journal of Informetrics, Research Evaluation, and representatives from publishers like Elsevier and Springer. Local organizing committees liaise with municipal hosts—examples include Prefeitura de São Paulo and state agencies such as SEBRAE—while technical partners have included SciELO and infrastructure teams from Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa.

Conferences and Proceedings

Each edition produces proceedings, special issues and edited volumes disseminated via platforms like SciELO, REDIB, LUME, and international outlets associated with Taylor & Francis, Wiley-Blackwell, Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Conference programs have featured keynote addresses by figures connected to Eugene Garfield's legacy, scholars from Leiden University and University College London, and panels involving institutions such as World Bank, OECD, UNESCO, and PAHO. Workshops often cover tools including VOSviewer, Gephi, R Project for Statistical Computing, Python (programming language), and databases like Web of Science.

Participation and Community

Participants include faculty and researchers from Universidade de Brasília, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, librarians from Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil, research managers from FAPEMIG, and doctoral students affiliated with programs at PUC-Rio and ESALQ. International attendees have come from CNRS, Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, University of Toronto, and research infrastructures such as DataCite and ORCID. The community intersects with professionals from publishers like Clarivate, Elsevier, and non-governmental organizations including OpenAIRE and Creative Commons.

Notable Contributions and Impact

Work presented at the symposium has informed national evaluations linked to Qualis, influenced bibliometric indicators used by CAPES and CNPq, and contributed to methodological debates about coverage in SciELO versus Web of Science and Scopus. Studies showcased have advanced network analysis methods applied to collaborations between institutions such as Fiocruz and Embrapa, and sectoral mappings involving Petrobras and Vale. Policy-relevant outputs have been cited in reports by MCTI, OECD country reviews, and assessments conducted with partners like IBGE.

Related Events and Collaborations

The symposium maintains formal and informal links with conferences including International Conference on Scientometrics and Informetrics, Conferencia Latinoamericana de Bibliotecología, ENANCIB, JCDL, and workshops organized by SciELO and Redalyc. Collaborations extend to projects with CAPES scholarship programs, networked initiatives by RNP, and bilateral exchanges involving British Council, DAAD, and the European Commission's research directorates.

Category:Academic conferences in Brazil Category:Scientometrics