Figura 1: Paulo Donato 

Figura 2: Luísa Cláudio 

The recent approval of the Acta Radiológica Portuguesa (ARP) by the SciELO platform is a reason to be pleased. The SciELO Portugal’s Advisory Committee has accepted the journal’s application for this scientific indexing system. It should be noted that this database has had a growing interaction with other international databases, which greatly speeds up the dissemination of published works.

After 31 years of existence, ARP gains new attractiveness as a place for scientific dissemination. This small step, in indexing, is of great importance as a factor of choice for the submission of a paper.

The internet, easy access to search engines and databases associated with the growing number of medical journals have made the effort to attract the best scientific studies in the health field more competitive. The most relevant works are the target of a greater number of citations and consequently condition a greater impact factor in the journal that publishes them. Simultaneously and with a potentiating spiral effect, the journals that are indexed and with the greatest impact factor are the most attractive for authors of studies with higher scientific quality.

In order not to be left out of this global system for the dissemination of scientific knowledge, the latest SPRMN Directions decided to update the ARP, and consistent steps were taken in order to index the journal.

The trajectory made it possible to comply with all the criteria established by the SciELO methodology.

In 2015, with Prof. Doctor Filipe Caseiro Alves as Chief Editor of ARP, the publication goes digital.

In the very same year of 2015, after its application, ARP was accepted by the editing and dissemination platform of national scientific journals, the Scientific Repository of Open Access of Portugal (RCAAP), developed by the University of Minho with the support of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Foundation for Science and Technology).

In 2017, the insertion of ARP in this platform was accomplished, allowing the online edition of the journal, free of charge, with an easier and faster interaction among authors, editors and reviewers, optimizing not only the edition, but also the dissemination of its contents.

In 2018, one year after the on-line submission and editing system was implemented, another step was taken with a view to indexing: all articles published in the ARP are now available in English, although their submission and dissemination in Portuguese is still possible.

Also in 2018, the RCAAP platform facilitated the insertion of DOI in all articles included in the ARP. Since then, it is possible to cite an article published in the ARP.

In 2020, the journal was integrated with the ORCID identifying service, which led to the authentication by ORCID of the authors and co-authors of the works published in the journal, with automatic addition to the respective metadata. The association of identifiers in the context of scientific publications, either through the DOI for publication, or through the ORCID for the identification of the author, is considered essential for the integration of ARP in the global system of scientific information management.

The constant periodicity of a publication, which has characterized the ARP, is crucial to the evaluation process. The stability of a journal is directly related to the quality of its contents, and the stable number of submitted papers and the firm availability of its reviewers are extremely important.

To fulfill the initial objectives of this journal, enumerated by Dr. Emília Silvestre in the first editorial: - to create a periodical journal with the characteristics of an international journal; - constituting an alternative to the publication of young European radiologists; - with the intention of stimulating participation beyond borders; and - reaching an important qualitative level, contributed not only the selfless and resilient work developed by Dr. Francisco Abecasis but also the vision of Prof. Doctor Filipe Caseiro Alves who allowed restructuring the ARP. These objectives remain up-to-date and indexation will most likely make it easier to perpetuate them.

The desired indexation will increase the magazine’s attractiveness, boosting the volume of submitted works and, consequently, its vitality.

We wish to thank you all, authors, reviewers and editors, who maintain ARP a journal of reference to the Portuguese radiological community.(Figs. 1 e 2)