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From the information provided for free by Thomson Reuters in ScienceWatch.com, production and citation data of the scientific disciplines are analyzed for Spain, determining the relative weight of each one both nationally and internationally throughout the past 10 years.

Google Scholar is a search engine that specializes in scientific information and in the identification of the citations that academic papers receive, making it a strong competitor for other citations indexes. For this reason, several studies have attempted to evaluate its capacity as a bibliometric tool. Due to this interest, we present an introduction to its use and the advantages and disadvantages versus Scopus and Web of Science. First, its way of collecting information and features of its interface are analyzed. The following section describes the results that Google Scholar generates. Thirdly, we analyze the coverage of information sources and the different document types to be found, showing how this coverage universe offers different citations versus other products. Finally, we specify the standardization problems of Google Scholar and offer a number of precautions that must be taken into account when using Google Scholar as an evaluation tool.

A statement of the article Visibilidad internacional de las revistas iberoamericanas de Bibliotecología y Documentación is presented.

The Revista Española de Salud Penitenciaria must reply a several demands to develop into a great journal in its field.

Objective: Application of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Selection Criteria (JSC) to Archives of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology. Methodology: 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% ranslation 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 (Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol 2006; 81: 245-268).

An analysis about spanish publication output´s international visibility between 1995-2004 is presented

Editorial quality, diffusion,and bibliometric indicators of the Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas is described.

A method for the evaluation of the degree of compliance of scientific journals with international standards for the presentation of periodicals is proposed.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The goal is to determine the significance of the Spanish contribution and the real impact of papers signed by Spanish scientists in a sample of leading scientific journals. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Sectional descriptive study of 252 papers with Spanish institutional participation in the following journals Nature, Science, PNAS, NEJM, JAMA and Lancet during the period 2004-2005. The participation percentage of Spanish institutions and responsibility is counted in each paper differentiating between papers signed only by Spanish authors, papers signed by Spanish authors in first or last position and papers signed by Spanish authors in intermediate positions. For measuring impact we compared the journal Impact Factor, according to JCR 2006, with the actual Factor that articles signed by Spanish Authors reached taking into account the different degrees of participation and responsibility. RESULTS: Spanish output in leading journals is 2,1% which is below the global productivity of Spain(3,25%). Both Spanish contribution and leadership are poor: for every 10 institutions that signed the articles only 2 of them were Spanish and in 54% of the cases Spain played a secondary role (intermediate signing order). The actual impact of the Spanish papers is really small. Papers where Spanish scientists have more responsibility got less impact than the expected JCR Impact of the different journals: 54% less in the case of papers written only by Spanish authors and 45% less in the case of articles signed in first/last position by Spanish authors. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of Spanish science in leading journals is below the level projected by previous bibliometrics studies. The indicators measuring the degree of participation (proportional counting) and responsibility (signing order) show that Spanish scientific publications still have a long way to go to reach the top of world science.

An analysis of importance impact factor in Spain is presented.

Progress in spanish scientific journals as scientific news media is described

A new instrument: IN-RECS is presented as the last Index to know impact factor in spanish social sciences journals.

An analysis about the situation of spanish cientific journals is described.