Data supporting research on the development of Paleontology in Brazil

The documents made available present the data set that was processed in Lucas George Wendt's dissertation, presented in 2024 in the Postgraduate Program in Information Science (PPGCIN) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). The study is entitled: Brazilian Paleontology: a scientometric analysis based on the Lattes Curriculum. The abstract is as follows. This research sought to carry out a scientometric analysis of Paleontology in Brazil based on data collected in the Lattes Curriculum. The general objective of this dissertation is to analyze the scientific field of Paleontology diachronically and through a scientometric study - which will be explained based on the personal information of the researchers collected in their profiles and the scientific literature produced and registered in the Lattes Curriculum of the Lattes Platform. The literature review presented the concepts of Information Science, the area that, in this study, seeks to understand Paleontology through its research instruments; Scientific Communication, the main subject analyzed in this study; Metric Information Studies, the theoretical-methodological framework used in this research; Scientometrics, the theoretical scope used to understand in greater depth the constitution of the field of national Paleontology. Finally, references were also presented that help in the understanding of Paleontology in its national, South American, North American and European contexts. The research used a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative elements. The data were generated from the CVs of researchers registered on the Lattes Platform, collected using the Brapci Bibliometric Tools tool and analyzed in specific software for metric analysis. To achieve the research objectives, data from 1,465 researcher profiles were analyzed. Regarding the full articles published in journals, 43,333 articles were considered valid. Regarding the keywords of the articles, 91,922 keywords were analyzed for word clouds and 84,771 for relationship networks. Of the academic orientations, 1,182 profiles generated 51,400 valid orientations. The aspect of the current employment relationship had 1,256 profiles considered. Regarding academic backgrounds, 1,465 profiles generated 4,556 academic backgrounds analyzed. The main contribution of this study is the realization of an unprecedented mapping of the panorama of Paleontology in Brazil, since there are no other studies that establish the same relationships that this research sought to establish. Regarding the results, based on the data collected and analyzed, the general metric indicators linked to the scientific production associated with Brazilian Paleontology were presented based on the information collected in the Lattes Curriculum; the directions of research in Paleontology that currently constitute this field in Brazil were mapped, as well as their thematic associations with other fields of knowledge; the training of PhD researchers who work with Paleontology or who have their production associated with Paleontology in terms of their academic training was characterized; and where the scientific knowledge in Paleontology or associated with Paleontology is produced was identified. The results of this study are relevant to understanding Brazilian Paleontology, highlighting its national orientation in fossil studies, doctoral training in local institutions and predominant activity in national organizations. These elements are important to consolidate Brazilian paleontological science globally. Regarding interdisciplinary relations, a clear proximity between Paleontology and Geosciences is observed, influenced by the history and current dynamics of the field. The study is available in full at this link: https://lume.ufrgs.br/handle/10183/278682.