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En-Contexto 7(11) • julio - diciembre 2019 • Medellín - Colombia • página 39 de 286 • ISSN: 2346-3279
Editorial
Yuliana Gómez Zapata*
Editorial Director
How and what do they measure us for?
Critical reection on the Publindex measurement process - Colciencias
for scientic journals in Colombia
In the midst of multiple academic discussions, we have shared positions and
opinions regarding the measurement process carried out by the Administrative
Department of Science, Technology and Innovation - Colciencias through the
National Bibliographic Index - IBN Publindex, therefore, some journals that
generate knowledge and peripheral science We nd it harmful to the institutional
interests of dissemination of scientic knowledge.
Publicly questioning the measurement method of scientic journals in Colombia
is not a new or “impact” issue for the generation of science in Colombia, but
it does warn of a sociologically pathogenic behavior regarding the interests of
scientic groups that propose thinking from our context and under the resolution
of our own problems (Gómez, 2017, p.42), by privileging bibliometric logic
over the public utility of knowledge.
Like Professor Yuri Jack Gómez (2018), I believe that there is a very deep
misunderstanding in the country about the processes of measurement of quality
indicators that support the model proposed by Colciencias for the categorization
of scientic journals in Colombia, because “(…) Formulates science policies
whose social and cultural consequences are overlooked by confusing the
indicator with policy goals” (p.273).
* Editorial Director of the journal In-Context. Public accountant and MSc. in Accounting. Member of the Colombian network
of editors and accounting Journals – REDITORES. Research professor of Tecnológico de Antioquia, Medelliín – Colombia.
ygomezza@tdea.edu.co
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4134-4056
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This form of measurement that privileges the number of citations the written text
has instead of the contribution that is written for the communities that support
the discussion regarding the social appropriation of scientic knowledge
2
, from
social innovations, the generation of organizational improvements, the transfer
of technology for the resolution of own problems, among others. We are a bit
stuck in the dynamics of academic productivity, not necessarily of quality, but
with good impact indicators.
There are academic-scientic journals in our country and, particularly, in
Economic Sciences that have excellent editorial quality processes, which have
dened editorial management models worthy of being visible and replicated
by other editorial projects, which have self-critically assumed their place and
that have developed improvement plans so that their publication is visible,
transparent, ethical and reliable - possibly even without having “quality”
criteria - and, in the best case, to become part of the Creole academic elite.
However, these processes of continuous improvement, linking in Latin American
public
3
recognition databases, compliance with the times in the publication,
the elimination of inbreeding, cooperation with other publishing and research
centers for the strengthening of the committees publishers and others, do not
reach for the SNCTI in Colombia to recognize the journals for their value and
contribution to the scientic communities with which they work, but for the
number of times they cite them, when this, in concrete terms, says nothing
We want to publish in top-level journals known as Q1 and Q2 of Web of
Science or SCOPUS, we want to have the recognition capacity in those
communities without having the cultural and symbolic capital that is required
for those communities to assign you a space. The problem is not to publish in
these journals - not even more - the problem is to believe that those that are
not “at their level” have no quality and worse, that you can not participate in
the cake arranged by who directs the policy public of science and technology
in Colombia.
Calling attention to this issue is of vital importance, since the editorial boards
of the journals and the institutional directives wear out all the administrative
and nancial time to have quality academic and scientic products that will
help someone to solve their specic problems, but also so that this work is
recognized for the national policy guidelines on which we work innocuously.
2
Intentionality of the Colciencias model for the measurement of research groups and researchers.
3
We are talking about editorial developments located and contextualized.
Gómez- Zapata, Y.
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We have an enormous commitment from the directions of these editorial
processes, where we are able to recognize our contribution to the construction
of a nation, of scientic knowledge, with difculties and successes, but with
academic dignity. This editorial is an invitation to recognize our work from
scientic journals, to strengthen our actions for the sake of public and open
knowledge, and to understand that the guidelines for national measurement
of scientic journals are wrong, since the way in which the bottom line, the
indicator cannot be more important than the policy.
References
Gómez, Y. (2017). La investigación y las publicaciones: un reto para el
presupuesto nacional. En-Contexto, 5(7), 41-43.
Gómez-Morales, Y. (2018). Abuso de las medidas y medidas abusivas. Crítica
al pensamiento bibliométrico hegemónico. Anuario Colombiano de
Historia Social y de la Cultura, 45(1), 269-290.
How and what do they measure us for?
To cite this article:
Gómez-Zapata, Y. (2019). How and what do they measure us for? Critical
reection on the Publindex measurement process - Colciencias for
scientic journals in Colombia. En-Contexto, 7(11), 39-41.
