Intellectual structure in stem cell research: exploring Brazilian scientific articles from 2001 to 2010

Abstract

With the advent of co-citation techniques in the 1960’s, studies on citation shifted from simple quantifications of the number of citations per document to more complex analyses focusing on the relationship between citations. The present study seeks to map the scientific and cognitive structure of Brazilian stem cell publications. Brazilian publications from 2001 to 2010 were retrieved from the Web of Science database, and data on journal co-citations were processed with the help of VOSViewer software. The results indicated that Brazilian stem cell publications are characterised by a strong emphasis on co-cited journals in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, cell biology and haematology. Such characteristics suggest that Brazilian stem cell research is oriented both towards the treatment of a variety of human diseases and injuries caused by accidents (research with stem cells) as well as the understanding of stem cells’ mechanisms of division, differentiation and self-renewal (research on stem cells), the most promising facet of stem cells. The progress in Brazilian stem cell research likely results from a combination of a federal law established in the 2000’s, which regulates stem cell use and research, and the growth of Brazilian science.