Title: Scientometric analysis of Latin American environmental studies

Authors: Laura Alicia Geracitano, Isabel Soares Chaves, Jose Maria Monserrat

Addresses: Universidade Federal de Rio Grande – FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brasil. ' Universidade Federal de Rio Grande – FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brasil. ' Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas (ICB), Universidade Federal de Rio Grande – FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brasil

Abstract: The objective analysis of scientific production is analysed by scientometric methods that measure the development and progress in science through the analysis of productivity and impact of the scientific production in different universities, countries, research groups, etc. In this context, the aim of present study was to analyse scientific literature in the field of environmental studies that apply biomarkers in Latin America. The selected period of analysis was from 1999 to 2008. Brazil was the country that presented the highest number of published articles (872), followed by Mexico (559), Argentina (368) and Chile (232). The analysis of the h index showed that the four Latin American countries with higher scientific productivity presented lower values when compared with countries outside this region, meaning that the establishment of collaborative studies could be one of the strategies to improve Latin American visibility in environmental studies.

Keywords: environmental pollution; scientometric analysis; Latin America; h index; toxicology; biomarkers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJENVH.2009.030112

International Journal of Environment and Health, 2009 Vol.3 No.4, pp.427 - 437

Published online: 10 Dec 2009 *

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