Scientific journals, networks, flows and metrics: reflections and their implications for the field of Education

Abstract

This article offers a theoretical reflection on the transformations that have been reshaping the production, circulation, validation, and construction of scientific knowledge within the informational paradigm. It departs from the assumption that technological innovation, articulated with systems of academic measurement and evaluation, reorganizes scholarly communication and confers centrality upon journals not merely as recording media, but as structuring elements of this ecosystem. The article first examines the historical process through which journals became consolidated and embedded in global networks of knowledge circulation. It then discusses the role of these publications in the construction of academic reputation and in the mechanisms of legitimation of scientific production. Finally, it addresses the dynamics of metrics and research evaluation systems, contemplating the specific area guidelines established by Capes for the evaluation of Master’s and PhD Programs. highlighting their limits, tensions, and effects on editorial practices and academic trajectories. It is argued that this set of processes directly shapes the organization of scholarly communication and the social and institutional conditions under which knowledge is recognized.