A Summary Evaluation of the Top-Five Brazilian Psychology Journals by Native English-Language Scholars

Résumé 0

"In the current century, English is the language for the research and dissemination of scientific findings. But for many scholars, English is a foreign language. This is especially true among the emerging and developing nations (EDNs), such as the BRICS nations, encompassing Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The present study conducted a survey examining the translational integrity and overall impression of translated summary materials (abstracts and titles) from the five highest ranking (SCImago Journal Rank) Brazilian journals in the field of psychology. Analysis proceeded with two models. In the first model, translated summary materials from 12 randomly-selected articles from four of the five journals were evaluated by a panel of three native English-language scholars. Findings indicated an inverse relationship between the overall impression of the materials and their: abstract errors, r(34) = -0.61, p < .001; and total errors, r(34) = -0.62, p < .001; suggesting a direct relationship between the translational integrity of these EDN materials and the overall impression they leave with native English-language scholars. A second model added 3 additional articles from the fifth journal (English-language only) to the materials described. The findings from this second model suggested that for EDN journals, an investment in language resources may substantially improve the impression they leave with native English-language scholars, and thus promote wider dissemination of their findings."