Information Resources: Differential Characteristics between Ibero-American and Dutch JCR Psychology Journals from 1998 to 2017

The objective of this study is to compare the evolution of the Psychology journals included in the Journal Citation Report (JCR) databases (Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)) in the last 20 years (from 1998 to 2017), which are published in Ibero-American countries and in the Netherlands under the purpose of analyzing the main differential characteristics between one group and the other. This analysis includes the characteristics of journals, in particular: publications publishing categories in which they are classified in the JCR Science and Social Science; if they are open access journals or not; the language of the publication; numbers published by year; origin of the main contributions; quartiles; deciles and the position reached within the thematic category of Psychology in which they are classified. The total number of journals reviewed published in the Netherlands was 701, of which 18.8% belonged to Quartile 1, 36.2% to Quartile 2, 27.1% to Quartile 3, and 17.9% to Quartile 4. The total number of Ibero-American journals consulted was 242, of which 3.3% belonged to Quartile 1, 14.9% to Quartile 2, 18.2% to Quartile 3, and 63.6% to Quartile 4. The results found in the present study show a clear discrepancy between Psychology journals published in Ibero-American and Dutch journals, differences that may bias their JCR position and the evolution of journals over the years. There are also differences in the number of publications, the years of permanence in the JCR, and number of thematic categories in which journals are classified, being higher in the case of Dutch Psychology journals. These results only confirm that, currently and according to the historical trajectory of the Ibero-American JCR Psychology journals, they have increased their presence in the JCR. However, there has not been an improvement in the position in terms of quartiles and position, an aspect that may be conditioned by biases related to the current scientific scenario.