Sweet spots for manuscripts: Visualizing the quality of scientific production

Abstract

This study presents a visual approach to analyze scientific activity in indexed journals based on bibliometric indicators. The result of this analysis approach supports the process of choosing a journal to submit a manuscript, especially in knowledge domains where the author, whether novice or not, has failed to follow in detail the evolution of the domain. Moreover, the same approach can be used to an overall assessment of the production of researchers, research groups, institutions and countries. The conceptual foundations of the approach are volume and citation indicators of scientific journals articles. In particular, the proposed approach is based on SCImago Journal Rank index, the h-index and the annual number of articles published. The above indicators are transformed into percentiles and then displayed on a graph, integrating in this diagram the set of articles to be analyzed. The analysis approach was implemented in Sweet Spots for Manuscripts, online software based on open source components. As an example of its potential, an analysis of the 2014 research activity of the institutions belonging to the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities is presented. Finally, the practical implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.