The Brazilian scientific output published in journals: A study based on a large CV database

Abstract

We assemble a massive sample of 180,000 CVs of Brazilian academic researchers of all disciplines from the Lattes platform. From the CVs we gather information on key variables that possibly explain the quantity and impact of their output published in journals: gender, PhD origin (domestic or foreign), time taken for finishing a PhD program, and number of years involved in research since PhD completion. Researcher productivity is gauged by three metrics: average SCImago Journal Rank impact factor, average points from Qualis (which is a Brazilian domestic metrics that includes domestic journals), and average number of journal publications per year after PhD completion. Taken together, we find males are more productive in terms of quantity of publications, but the effect of gender in terms of quality is mixed for individual groups of subject areas. Holding a PhD from abroad increases the chance for a researcher to publish in journals of higher impact, whereas domestic PhDs publish more articles, but in journals of less impact. Thus, there is a trade-off between research impact and quantity. We also find that the more years a researcher takes to finish his or her doctorate, the more likely he or she will publish less thereafter. The data also support the existence of an inverted U-shaped function relating research age and productivity.

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