Evolution of Higher Education Scientific Journals in El Salvador from 2000 to 2018

Abstract

The publications of scientific journals of the Higher Education Institutions of El Salvador are a relatively new field, this category has very defined and demanding editorial criteria that are needed to enter international databases or repositories of a scientific-academic nature. The objective of the article was to carry out a comparative-evolutionary study on the journals that communicate science from the Higher Education institutions of El Salvador. The research that served as a basis was of a mixed type, using the survey and interviews with editors and researchers as methods; There were 13 Higher Education Institutions and 16 journals that were taken into account in the study in three geographical areas of the country: West, Center and East. They were revised according to the parameters of the Regional Online Information System for Scientific Journals of Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal (LATINDEX). The main findings were that, of 16 journals, two are located in national repositories; ten indexed internationally, and four hosted only on its institutional website. Regarding the criteria of scientific rigor in the peer review process, it was found that five journals have not yet incorporated it into their editorial management to improve, publish or reject articles. It was concluded that it would be appropriate to create a national structure within Higher Education that monitors the quality with which science communicates from its institutions, in order to gain visibility and credibility at the regional and international level in terms of the scientific production of universities. Salvadorans.