Análise da produção científica da área do direito em periódicos científicos brasileiros classificados no Qualis/Capes A1 no período de 2017-2020

Abstract

The analysis of scientific production allows us to better understand all areas of knowledge. It supports decision-making on the growth and trends of the analyzed area, by measuring the registration and dissemination of knowledge. Regarding the area of Law, studies on its scientific production are still incipient. In this context, the general objective of this research was to analyze the scientific production in the area of Law, published in Brazilian scientific journals, based on the journals listed in the Sucupira data platform of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), in the last four years (2017 to 2020), considering the QUALIS A1 stratum. This research is characterized as descriptive and exploratory, with a quantitative approach, using bibliometric techniques and descriptive statistics to measure the productivity of literature in the field of Law. A total of 353 journals were found, of which 10 met the criteria after applying the filters determined as inclusion criteria: originating from stricto sensu postgraduate programs with master's and doctorate degrees in Law in Brazil, whose content is freely accessible. It was decided to collect the data (title, author and co-authorship, year of publication, theme, keywords) directly from the journals' electronic address, which were transcribed and processed in Excel spreadsheets, resulting in 1,342 articles analyzed. As a result, it was found that the largest concentration of titles of the selected journals are in programs from the South (40%) and Southeast (40%) regions. A total of 5,518 keywords were found, which derive from 3,609 different ones, so that 81.82% of the keywords appear only once and the highest frequency of keywords refers to the theme of legal theory. Regarding authorship, it was identified that the legal field has a preference for publishing in pairs or in partnership with few authors, especially when compared to the natural sciences. The data show that researchers in the field publish little and, therefore, after applying Lotka's Law, the lack of solidity of the field in relation to the publication of scientific articles became evident. It is considered that the behavior of publication in the field of Law within the defined scope is characterized by a geographic concentration of production of knowledge on Law in the South and Southeast regions. A dispersion of productivity in relation to the researched topics is perceived. A specific characteristic of the field of Law in relation to scientific publications is highlighted when considering technical publications. With this, they point out a weakness in the issue of criteria and scientific rigor such as methodology and peer review. Another aspect identified in the research was the lack of criteria in the choice of keywords for better access to the researched topics. This highlights the non-use of controlled vocabulary by the journals in the field. The results show that despite the efforts in the field and the growth in the number of publications, there is still a need to improve scientific production in articles in Law.