History of the Journal of Nursing of the Federal University of Santa Maria

ABSTRACT

Objective

To report the history of the Journal of Nursing of the Federal University of Santa Maria.

Method

This is an experience report based on information from secondary materials, such as websites and documents. Data were grouped and presented according to the time sequence.

Results

The magazine was established in 2010 and in its six years of existence, the number of published articles increased from 58 to 75, it was approved for indexation in databases and obtained the Qualis B3. Actions were aimed at strengthening the journal, searching for financial resources, increasing disclosure, the number of reviewers and collaborators.

Conclusions

The magazine’s history involves several steps, which have been permeated by challenges and achievements that involve the search for the continuous strengthening of the journal and related publications.

Nursing; Electronic journals; Journal article; Periodicals

RESUMO

Objetivo

Relatar a história da Revista de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.

Método

Relato de experiência, a partir de informações de materiais secundários, como site e documentos. As informações foram agrupadas e apresentadas conforme a sequência temporal.

Resultados

A revista foi criada em 2010 e, nestes seis anos, houve um aumento no número de artigos publicados de 58 para 75, a aprovação para indexação em bases de dados e a obtenção do Qualis B3. Foram desenvolvidas ações direcionadas ao fortalecimento do periódico, como a busca de recursos financeiros, aumento da divulgação, do número de pareceristas e colaboradores.

Conclusões

A história da revista envolve diversas etapas as quais têm sido permeadas por desafios e conquistas que implicam a busca pelo fortalecimento contínuo do periódico e das publicações vinculadas.

Enfermagem; Revistas eletrônicas; Artigo de revista; Publicações periódicas

RESUMEN

Objetivo

Relatar la historia de la Revista de Enfermería de la Universidad Federal de Santa Maria.

Método

Relato de experiencia, desarrollado mediante información de materiales secundarios, como sitio web y documentos. La información fue agrupada y presentada según la secuencia temporal.

Resultados

La revista fue creada en 2010. En estos seis años, hubo un incremento en el número de artículos publicados (58 - 75), aprobación para indexación en una base de datos y la obtención del Qualis B3. Se han desarrollado acciones con mira al fortalecimiento de la revista, como la búsqueda de recursos financieros, ampliación de la divulgación, del número de dictaminadores y colaboradores.

Conclusiones

La historia de la revista incluye varios pasos, que han sido permeados por retos y logros que involucran la búsqueda de su fortalecimiento continuo y de las publicaciones relacionadas.

Enfermería; Revistas electrónicas; Artículo de revista; Publicaciones periódicas

INTRODUCTION

Scientists are committed to spreading the knowledge they produce, including promoting dialog with the international scientific community. In this perspective, the Brazilian nursing scientific production has assumed a prominent position, with increasing dissemination of knowledge produced in high impact journals, and indexation in international databases (¹).

It is possible to identify the expansion of research activities in Brazil and the world, as well as the knowledge construction process within the nursing community(²). In that sense, research in nursing and the qualification of journals have also been boosted and extended by the growth and development of graduate programs(³).

The Graduate Program in Nursing (PPGENF) of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) was created in 2006, located in the central region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), in southern Brazil, which concentrates on: Care, Education and Work in Nursing and Health. The program seeks the excellence and advancement of the Nursing science in the production of knowledge and strengthening of research at national and international levels(⁴).

In the process of consolidating PPGENF/UFSM, the need for new ways of disseminating scientific production resulting from this program and the work produced by the multiprofessional health residence students and the Undergraduate Program in Nursing of that University were made evident. In this direction, we worked to create the Journal of Nursing of the Federal University of Santa Maria (REUFSM)(²).

The REUFSM, established in 2010, is being edited and published in a collaborative network, set up between the Graduate Program in Nursing, the Undergraduate Program in Nursing and the USFM Department of Nursing. Its mission is to foster the production and dissemination of knowledge regarding nursing and related fields, from the publication of scientific and technical production(⁵). The first edition was published in January 2011, formatted in the Electronic System for Journal Publishing (SEER) and hosted in the UFSM electronic journal platform(²).

In this context, Brazilian Nursing now has another scientific journal that disseminates new knowledge, which can increase the profession’s practice quality(⁶). It is noteworthy that the Brazilian production in this area has been gaining visibility due to increased indexations of periodicals found in recognized databases, and the improvement of scientific coefficients such as the impact factor and the H index(⁷).

The construction of this article is justified because there are few reports on the history of scientific journals, especially in the nursing field. In this sense, there is the possibility of contributing with future periodicals that attempt to know the paths taken by other similar publications to achieve their own creation. Based on these facts, the purpose of this paper is to describe the history of the Federal University of Santa Maria Journal of Nursing.

METHOD

Experience report based on the experiences of the authors in the different activities developed for the creation and maintenance of the journal. Personal records, visits to the REUFSM website, as well as editorials and articles on the journal and scientific production theme were used to prepare this article.

The information contained in the report includes activities from May 2010 to December 2015 and were grouped for presentation according to the time sequence of events. The time frame is justified, since the systematization and the constitution of the team that worked to create the journal began in 2010, ending in 2015, corresponding to the full publication of the volume.

The study was not submitted to the Research Ethics Committee, because it is a report, but the ethical principles of data submissions were assured and respected.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In 2010, by indication of the PPGENF/UFSM collegiate, a commission composed of three nursing professors and technical-administrative nurse was set up to assess the feasibility of creating REUFSM. Meetings were held in institutional bodies such as the Directorate of the Health Sciences Center, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and the Data Processing Center, with editors of other magazines belonging to the Institution and librarians. The meetings aimed to facilitate the institutional support and strengthen partnerships for the magazine’s creation. A survey was also conducted on the characteristics of the leading nursing journals in Brazil, such as periodicity; sections policy; publication standards; indexes. This initial phase with meetings and surveys demanded approximately six months.

From this, the Commission presented the original proposal, which included the online option format, following global trends, as this option favors the visibility of the periodicals, facilitates rapid access to its contents(⁸) and reduces costs. In addition, the group of managers and consultants were also put together; the journal’s publishing frequency; sections; publishing standards, among other things were determined. After approval was granted by the instances involved – the PPGENF collegiate, the Undergraduate Nursing Program and the UFSM Department of Nursing – the e-mail address was created and the website was hosted on the UFSM portal with SEER, a software that is freely distributed in Brazil for the construction and management of electronic periodicals.

The REUFSM is designed to be an online academic-journal in Nursing, with a view to bring about regional, national and international impact. To this end, it was necessary to integrate employees, among which were the foreign language reviewers, ad hoc consultants, librarians, editorial board members, director and technical staff and the support of the Health Sciences Center, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and Dean of UFSM(²).

Thus, the creation of this periodical initially involved the political and institutional management with the assessment of its need, relevance, appropriateness and feasibility. With the creation of the REUFSM website in June 2010, the e-mail address was published and the registration of users commenced. The magazine was also publicized and a call was made for articles to compose the journal’s first issues, which included manuscripts by authors from different regions of the state and the country, symbolizing the credibility deposited in the periodical, and constituting motivation to continue the work(²).

During this period, the physical area was also organized, which is essential when considering requirements regarding confidentiality, circulation and restricted people. Moreover, human and material resources were organized to structure the activities and prepare the first edition, which was published in January 2011.

Since the publication of the first issue, there was a request made to the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), resulting in the journal’s identification number: 2179-7692. The request and subsequent document submission happened before the Brazilian ISSN Center/Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), through the help of the librarian of the Institution. With the publication of another issue, also in 2011, the REUFSM editorial staff began the evaluation process and subsequent indexation in the BDENF.

That year, the first approval through the Institution’s internal Notice also occurred. Named the UFSM Pro-Magazine Notice, it enabled financial resources to reach the journal, including a scholarship to work in the office. Institutional support and funding agencies contribute to the development of new issues according to the requirements of the indexation databases, moving towards internationalization, professionalization and sustainability(⁹).

Another challenge in the first year was bringing publicity to the journal. An attempt was made to publish articles from consolidated research groups or groups in the process of being consolidated, especially those outside of UFSM, as a strategy to broaden the dissemination, having requested indexation in the CUIDEN – Base de Datos Bibliográfica de La Fundación Index (Bibliographic Data Base of the Index Foundation).

The journal also increased its number of ad hoc reviewers, including evaluators from different areas of knowledge in Brazil and other countries. This strategy aims to reduce article evaluation period, maintain the publication frequency, favor the journal’s visibility and possible indexation in other databases.

The scope of the final product, i.e., the published article and the dissemination of knowledge imply a joint effort from authors, reviewers and editors, which needs to be valued(³). Authors can improve this construction through participating and sharing experiences in research groups; appraisers, by giving their opinions(¹⁰) in different journals and thematics in which they have expertise and editors, by working in coordinating the journal, developing activities with various complexity levels, among other situations. Thus, through shared responsibilities, it is possible to improve the quality of nursing journals(¹¹).

The indexation of the REUFSM in databases was a critical step. The indexations depends on factors such as the quality of published articles, the publication frequency, the absence of endogeny, a higher number of original manuscripts, the qualification ofad hoc reviewers and the members of the editorial board, among other aspects(¹²).

In 2011, the REUFSM presented 58 published articles in its first issue. In 2012, 72 articles were published and a partnership between PPGENF/UFSM Masters degree fellowship students and the REUFSM was established. The first action implemented was the revision of publication rules, which were approved and translated into English and Spanish. In addition, fellowship students collaborated to the indexation process and strategies regarding the submission of original articles and invitation of ad hoc consultants. In the same year, the REUFSM received approval for its indexation in BDENF, remaining under review and pending compliance of punctual weaknesses found in the assessment of this base.

In 2013, the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) was included in the articles and the Qualis/CAPES definition, resulting in a B3 classification. After obtaining the Qualis, the number of submissions increased. It can therefore be said that the Qualis classification influences the choice of the periodical in which the researcher will publish(¹³) his or her article.

In the same year, the BDENF indexation process began, through the work of the UFSM librarian. From then, approval in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS) was favored. Also, the REUFSM technical team now had two new members: technical administrative nurses, assigned to the UFSM Department of Nursing, and 77 articles were published in four issues, with a special edition consisting of 17 articles.

In 2014, PhD fellowship students from the first PPGENF/UFSM graduating class also began to collaborate in supporting activities, in the initial layout and text review. In September of this year, the LILACS indexation was made official(⁵). In the same year, a new editorial policy was adopted, distributing part of the publication costs to the authors. Thus, following a global trend(¹⁴), authors were required to provide submission and publication fees for their manuscripts. Such submission fees were made possible based on the “Project for the development and consolidation of UFSM Nursing Journal – REUFSM”, a REUFSM extension project established by contract with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FATEC) .

In 2015, in addition to the Editor-in-Chief, REUFSM hired three section editors, inserted in the following modalities: review articles, experience reports and reflection. The original article section was also under the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief.

In addition to the CUIDEN, BDENF and LILACS indexation databases, there is an emerging goal to request indexation in other databases, such as Rev@enf, Cumulative Index, Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) . It is noteworthy that, to increase the consumption of articles and subsequent journal publicity, articles should be open access and published in English, increasing the visibility and citation by researchers from other countries(¹⁵).

In order to be indexated in different databases, journals need to meet a number of requirements and thus ensure their quality on a national or international level(¹⁶). There is a considerable increase in the indexation of nursing journals and the achievement of important political spaces, and the increased participation of editor researchers in decision-making processes in institutions and national and international publishing associations, all of which has contributed to projecting nursing on an international level(¹⁷).

Currently, the journal is published quarterly, accepting manuscripts in Portuguese, Spanish or English. In relation to articles published in REUFSM, all are intended for health professionals and have the structure of scientific work that meets the stages of an investigation, such as: introduction, objectives, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. Articles may be submitted in the following section: original, review, experience report, reflection, review, prior note, letters to the editor and biography(⁵).

Chart 1 shows the quantity of articles published since the creation of REUFSM.

Chart 1
– Articles published in REUFSM, according to the volume and year. Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil – 2016

The quantity of articles by volume/number is determined by the journal, but much of the databases require a higher percentage of original articles for indexation. Thus, it is the responsibility of the editorial staff to establish the rules regarding the quantity of items in each section, although this criterion is kept for the purpose of complying to current and future indexation institutions.

Still, in the context of adjustments to the REUFSM qualification, some recommendations were pointed out in the LILACS evaluation process in order to promote growth and implement the journal’s indexation. Recommendations were made regarding the need for greater methodological rigor of the articles and to deepen the discussion of the results; expansion of articles by authors from other Brazilian states and foreign authors; increasing the proportion of original articles, among others.

From this evaluation, there is a need for adjustments in order to qualify the periodical, demonstrating the responsibility of the management team to consolidate and advance the work that has been done. In addition, to maintain the journal’s growth and development, it is necessary to look to global trends, in order to internationalize scientific production as well as work with the thematic and methodological priorities in the nursing research process and contribute to the advancement of science and research in the area.

Another relevant aspect to the creation and financial sustainability of the Journal, since its inception, refers to the possibility of the institution’s internal funding through the Pro-magazine/UFSM Notices and the extension project with FATEC. The notices offer subsidies for the journal, but do not meet all the financial needs for proper growth. One of the situations is the need to review article abstract translations in English and Spanish, demanding more financial subsidies. In this sense, REUFSM has received support from the Health Sciences Center direction to minimize these issues.

CONCLUSION

The journal’s story involves different stages, from project creation to its current consolidation and expansion, and the challenges and achievements mentioned throughout this report (organization of the physical area, publicity, indexations and financial sustainability) reinforce the commitment to the continued strengthening of the journal and related publications.

Along the road, REUFSM has directed its actions to strengthening the journal, as with the indexations, increasing the number of published articles and the number of ad hoc consultants. It can be concluded that the journal has contributed to the dissemination of knowledge in Nursing, mainly in Rio Grande do Sul, but is in the process of expanding to a national and international level. Thus, the journal presents potential and challenges of local, regional and national order, which corroborate to disseminating education, research and care in nursing.

This experience report is the first approach with data that show its historical trajectory, at the time the REUFSM completes its sixth year. Possibilities for further investigations to compare and complement the reality of other periodicals also in stages of construction and consolidation is noted. It is important to view this panorama continuously in order to ensure this journal’s excellence, which is reflected in the advancement of Nursing as a science in the production of knowledge and strengthening of research at national and international levels.

Limitations mentioned include the need to improve the records on the history of REUSFM. The systematization of information on the creation and development of the journal in addition to composing its memory can direct future actions and provide support for the creation of new journals.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  2016

History

• Received
  24 May 2016
• Accepted
  27 Sept 2016