Strategies for Expanding the International Influences of Academic Journals: An Example from Chinese Pharmaceutical Journals

Abstract

Internationalization is the major aim of most Chinese academic journals in their development frameworks to attract a sufficient amount of high quality contributions. This study used Scopus to conduct a bibliometrics analysis of the present international influence of Chinese pharmaceutical journals using multiple indicators including SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) scores, the number of foreign contributions, and the number of citations by foreign author, affiliation, and journal. Five representative titles were selected including Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, Yaoxue Xuebao, Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal, Zhongguo Zhongyao Zazhi, and Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines. Results show that the present international influence of most Chinese pharmaceutical journals still remains unsatisfactory and is characterized by few foreign manuscript contributions, low SJR scores, and narrow international citations. The Chinese government has been making great efforts to boost pharmaceutical development, which provides an unprecedented chance for Chinese pharmaceutical journals to promote their international influence and reputations. Multiple approaches have been proposed based on the successful experiences of some Chinese journals with well established international reputations including constructing an international editorial board, cooperating with international and prestigious publishing groups, creating an international peer review process, and expanding international readerships.