Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the scientific production of a graduate program in Movement Sciences

Abstract - Aim To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the scientific production of the graduate program in Movement Sciences of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. Methods: The scientific production of the program was assessed in terms of quantity (number of studies) and quality (Qualis/CAPES rank score and Web of Science® Journal Citation Reports). Chi-squared crosstab tests were used to compare the data according to year of publication of the studies, sex of the researchers, Qualis/CAPES rank score, and Journal Citation Reports. Significance was set at 5%. Results: The number of studies decreased by 30.2% during the COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.011). Publications were similar according to researchers' sex (P = 0.666). The Qualis/CAPES rank score of the studies was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.227). Differently, the impact factor was affected (P = 0.039). The median Journal Citation Report of the scientific production of the researchers decreases from 4.091 in 2020 to 3.346 in 2022. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the number of studies published by researcher of the graduate program in Movement Sciences of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. While the Qualis/CAPES rank score of the studies remained unchanged, the median Journal Citation Reports declined. Although this study highlighted the reality of a specific program in Movement Sciences, the findings may be similar across other programs. This should alert funding agencies to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientific production within Movement Sciences programs