As of 6/4, the CAPES Journals Portal received an important technological update, debuting a new search system developed in partnership with RNP, based on artificial intelligence (AI). The solution is neutral, non-commercial, and customized for the Portal's objectives of disseminating Brazilian scientific production internationally and consolidating the platform as a primary source of research. “In addition to improvements to the Portal, this technology is being evaluated in the context of other CAPES systems challenges, so that the solution also increases the cost-effectiveness of the investment”, explains Adi Balbinot Júnior, IT director at CAPES.

The new index-based discovery service is stored in the cloud and brings together all retrieved information (articles, journals, books, researchers, institutions, etc.) with relevance parameters identified and controlled by CAPES. Thus, citations made by Brazilian researchers are now considered, that is, all journals with articles that were cited by an author linked to a Brazilian teaching and research institution.

The results are retrieved from the main collection, that is, all journals with articles that were cited by an author linked to a Brazilian teaching and research institution. The user can expand the results from the filter list, available on the left side.

The search engine presents a new, simple and unified interface for all types of searches: subject, databases, books and journals, in which it is possible to favorite all content of interest to the user. Furthermore, information about journals subscribed to CAPES and open access content appears prominently. “Since 2009, the search solution adopted did not allow the integration of systems and a better user experience, so that each database consulted had its own interface, making navigation and a consolidated view of the scientific production of each topic researched difficult” highlighted Andréa Carvalho Vieira, coordinator of the CAPES Journals Portal.

The discovery is broader, which searches for content indexed on the Portal even if it is not signed by CAPES. This allows the researcher to find content of interest for their research. Other new features are PlumX metrics and clickable references, with the trail of citations displayed in the search result detail.

With all these improvements, the Portal will also generate more complete access data that, over time, will be able to support improvements in the journal acquisition policy and support the publication of Brazilian production.

Part of this package is also a new subscription management system, which will bring better control over what is made available to the community, analysis of the effective cost per access and which has already been designed to deal with new contracts signed under the transformative Agreements logic, that is, not only the right of access but also the right of publication starts to be managed. “CAPES is committed to advancing open science solutions and the new generation of contracts with publishers in the logic of transformative agreements is a first step in this direction and a major paradigm shift in the Journal Portal's own mission, of an access, to also be a publishing solution”, added Andrea.

The Journals Portal was launched by CAPES in 2000 and since 2007 it has been developed through a partnership with RNP: “RNP's role has always been to support innovation in the Journals Portal, seeking and experimenting with new technological solutions that allow its evolution and better support for Brazilian researchers. We inaugurated a new phase in the Journals Portal by adopting an AI solution in the search system and many other new features and services are planned to add value to the process of accessing and producing scientific knowledge”, commented the deputy director of Solutions Management at RNP, Claudio Fabricio.