Database integration in bibliometric studies: the Brazilian scientific production in Zika

Based on the case study of the Brazilian scientific production involving Zika virus, this article aims to discuss the importance of integrating different data sources to better represent the landscape of the research, highlighting how the restriction of sources impacts the results of a bibliometric analysis. Four scientific databases of peer-reviewed literature were used to identify the scientific production of Brazilian authors related to Zika virus: Web of Science and Scopus as two general sources; PubMed as a specific database related to the field of the study; and SciELO as a database with a more regional focus. The analysis of the results indicates the relevance of integrating different databases in bibliometric studies in order to mitigate distortions and provide a consistent vision of the scientific research landscape in a certain field.