The implications of the Qualis journal classification in publication practices in Brazil between 2007 and 2016

Abstract

The journal classification system known as Qualis has been used as an indicator of the quality of research carried out in Brazil, as it is an important part of the mechanisms of scientific production evaluation and resource distribution in the country. In this context, this article intends to show how the Qualis classification system, a non-exhaustive list published annually, has induced the scientific production of Brazilian graduate programs, after two decades of its implementation by CAPES. To do that, the frequency of publications in journals that were in the Qualis system between 2007 and 2016 has been observed in eight different evaluation areas. Using the SJR index provided by Scopus, the international impact of the most frequent journals in that period was determined, as well as the concentration of articles in these same journals. Results showed that the Qualis system has directed the publication of articles in a restricted number of journals, a scientific production that was concentrated mostly in the journals with lower impact factor among the ones that composed the list. The data analysis showed that researchers have been concentrating efforts to publish in journals that bring higher number of points in the Qualis system, regardless of the visibility of these journals from a national or international point of view.