[The Institute for Scientific Information journal selection criteria. Its application to Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología].
OBJECTIVE
Application of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Selection Criteria (JSC) to Archives of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology.


METHODS
Information about the journal, as well as instructions for authors, were sampled through 24 issues (2003-2004). ISI criteria were converted into quantitative indicators and applied to the journal in question and by extension to other Spanish medical journals.


RESULTS
Compliance with international standards: Article titles (means of 7.3 keywords, 2 descriptors, 1.4 MeSH headings), author affiliation (included in 100% of cases, 21% error rate), bibliographic references (12% error rate in abbreviated journal titles), titles in English (8% translation error rate), abstracts (196 words average, 100% structured), keywords (4 words average, 1.2 coincidence with MeSH). External peer-review system is mentioned but no annual information is given on results. There was a 228-day delay on average between reception and acceptance and a 35-day delay between acceptance and publication. The journal covers 87% of ophthalmology research articles published in Spain. International scope: 57% of editorial board members publish in international journals of impact. National scope, but low presence (11%) of foreign authors. Citations to relevant international literature accredited by ISI journals are included. The journal appears in leading biomedical databases. Citations: 133 international citations between 1998 and 2005. Its impact factor potential (0.165) is superior to the last journals listed in the JCR under the heading of <<Ophthalmology>>. Editorial board citations: 261 for the 2000-2004 period.


CONCLUSIONS
Archives is an excellent means of communicating research results. It is the dominant dissemination channel for published and visible ophthalmology in Spain. Its international projection is good and the impact of its contents shows promising results.
Ruiz-Pérez
R
R
Universidad de Granada, Departamento de Biblioteconomía y Documentación, Granada, España. rruiz@ugr.es
Delgado López-Cózar
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E
Jiménez-Contreras
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E
D009885:Ophthalmology; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013030:Spain