The BPSR is strongly committed to ethical editorial practices and is continuously striving to ensure the highest standards of best editorial practices as it processes the works it receives, from receiving their submission, through the evaluation stage, to publication.

Any and all allegations of misconduct are reported to the editor-in-chief, who submits them to the BPSR Ethics Committee for its consideration and assessment. Reports of misconduct include, but are not limited to, issues regarding authorship; bad practices among reviewers, the editorial team, or the editorial department of the BPSR; conflicts of interest; data and replicability; monitoring of ethical practices in research involving human beings; plagiarism and republication. Other issues may also include topics regarding the editorial process.

The members of the BPSR Ethics Committee include the president of the Brazilian Association of Political Science (ABCP), the members of the board of the ABCP’s Publications and Projects departments, and the editor-in-chief of the BPSR. Alleged cases of misconduct are reviewed in light of the guiding documents on best editorial practices adopted by the BPSR.

All authors of a manuscript must be informed at the time of submission, including their contact information. Each author’s specific contribution must be acknowledged. Manuscripts with omitted authors, defined by strategic calculations on the effects of prestige on the possibility of approval of the work, or incorporated for honorary or authority reasons (“ghost,” “guest,” or “gift” writers) will be excluded from the editorial process.

Any complaints regarding misconduct involving any BPSR reviewers, editorial team members, or editorial department members are reported to the editor-in-chief, who submits them to the BPSR Ethics Committee for consideration and assessment.

Reviewers and authors must inform throughout the editorial process any financial support received and any and all possible conflicts of interest derived from it. Associate editors and the editor-in-chief are also encouraged to refrain from participating in any manuscript submission process that may imply conflicts of interest.

The BPSR recommends all those involved in the editorial process – authors, reviewers, associate editors, editor-in-chief, and external suppliers – to consult, whenever necessary, the documents that guide the publication’s best editorial practices, especially on issues regarding authorship and references; authors’ responsibilities; conflicts of interest; anonymity and evaluation processes; and research involving human beings.

Guidelines documents

For best practices regarding specific aspects of its editorial process, the BPSR adopts the “Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing” (English only) of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE); and the “Recommendations for Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications” (English only) of the Council of Science Editors.

Regarding research development, the BPSR adopts the “Basic Guidelines on Integrity in Scientific Activity” of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); the “Guidelines on Communication of Research Results and Authorship” set forth in the “Code of Good Scientific Practice” of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and also the National System of Ethics in Research with Human Beings (Law No. 14,874/2024).

Policy on conflicts of interest

Authors must inform any form of research funding (public or private) and provide the name of the funding institution, the title of the project funded by it, and the identification number of the source of funding.

Reviewers must also inform any financial support they receive and any and all potential conflicts of interest derived from it.

Associate editors and the editor-in-chief are encouraged to refrain from participating in any manuscript submission processes that may imply conflicts of interest.

Adoption of similarity software

The BPSR uses the Turnitin similarity checker. All manuscripts submitted for publication, including reviews, undergo this verification process before proceeding to editorial assessment.

In cases of high similarity rates without proper reference, the publication requests that authors provide the appropriate references and resubmit the manuscript.

Ethics Committee

Any investigation that does not use existing data and involves the direct participation of populations, population groups, or individuals must be carried out with the approval of the research ethics committee of the responsible institution and the explicit consent of those involved, with the signature of an “Informed Consent Form” (ICF).

At the time of submission, authors must also submit the approval from the research ethics committee.