Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Production of Universities in Central America (2018-2022) Based on SCImago Data

Resumen

Scientific production from Central American Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has experienced growth in recent years. However, their presence and visibility in international rankings are uneven and require strengthening. With the aim of providing information to facilitate decision-making aimed at enhancing the positioning of Central American universities in these rankings, this paper presents a scientometric analysis of the scientific production of HEIs in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama for the period 2018-2022, based on SCImago data. For the study, information from each country was collected, systematized, and analyzed, sourced from the SCImago Ranking in its global and Ibero-American versions. Additionally, these data were contrasted and enriched with those published in Elsevier's Scopus database. As a result, a comprehensive and integrated overview of the current state of Central American research was obtained in terms of published documents, citations received, registered patents, academic disciplines with the highest number of documents, among other aspects. Costa Rica stands out, with the highest number of academic institutions in the ranking (3) and the highest number of citations, positioning it in the Top 10 of Latin American countries with the highest number of published documents in 2022. This article also includes a series of recommendations to increase the scientific production of HEIs in the region, such as strengthening research skills among system actors, focusing on research quality, enhancing collaboration, and implementing continuous monitoring and evaluation.