Preliminary description of scientific communication scenario in Latin America and Caribbean

Abstract

The colonization model implemented in Latin America influenced the development of science and technology as well as the processes related to the communication of information that is required and that results from the production of scientific knowledge. Is so far as the scientific communication processes are considered an activity that promote essential information flows to advance of science and technology, they represent indicators of scientific development of an area of knowledge or region. Considering this assumption, this article aims to report and discuss the scenario of scientific communication in Latin America and Caribbean. For this purpose, we collected and analyzed data on investment/financing in science and technology, a set of journal articles, scientific journals and patents in the database of the Red de Indicadores de Ciencia y Tecnología - Iberoamericana e Interamericana (Ricyt), in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and in web pages of development agencies in the region. The results indicate that Brazil, Argentina and Mexico concentrate most of the investment in science and technology; the growth of Latin American publications is due in large part to the growth of scientific publications in Brazil; most of the scientific and technological activities in Latin America is financed by public funds; the region has shown considerable progress in the last ten years, both in research investment and in developing of mechanisms for scientific communication.