[Coverage of Mexican articles and journals in the database Bibliomex Salud].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the coverage of Mexican journals and manuscripts of biomedical research in a Mexican data base (Bibliomex Salud) during its 10 years of existence (1985-1994).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

All the manuscripts published by a single Mexican journal Revista de Investigación Clínica (RIC) were searched for in Bibliomex: the absence of a RIC manuscript in Bibliomex was considered a failure. Also, the number and identity of the Mexican journals included in Bibliomex was also noted. From a total of 744 manuscripts 99 were excluded (22 non-Mexican, 25 nonindexable, and 52 initially not indexed by Bibliomex). The remainder (645) were classified according to starting year of indexing: originals since the first year; letters to the editor since 1990; and editorials and authors' replies since 1993.

RESULTS

Bibliomex started out with 21 Mexican journals and now has more than 50 (12 indexed during the 10 years, 27 for the last 5-9 years, and 16 for the last 1-4 years). Regarding manuscripts, Bibliomex had an 8% failure rate in originals (46/597) and letters (3/36), and 25% in editorials and authors' replies (3/12).

CONCLUSIONS

a) The coverage of Bibliomex has improved in its second half of life in the number of both journals and manuscripts indexed; b) the retrieval of information could be improved by two changes in the procedures of Bibliomex; c) Bibliomex seems to be a database which could be used to analyze Mexican research production at several levels (institutional, regional, and national).