Submissions

Author Guidelines

We recommend that you carefully read the Guidelines for Authors and the SiD Evaluation Process   

The non - compliance with editorial standards may imply the text rejected by the Editorial Team of SiD.   

Sustainability in Debate - SiD, an interdisciplinary journal, publishes texts on sustainability in its various dimensions and aims to expand the scientific debate on sustainable development and to create a direct channel of research in diverse spatial scales and on related issues, such as environmental management, socio-environmental conflicts, health and the environment, environmental governance, climate change, technologies, and sustainable production processes.  

For the submission of texts, which must be original and without simultaneous submission/evaluation processes by other journals, the following information is essential:   

Types of Published Texts

I) Texts with Double Anonymous Evaluation 

Texts in the form of articles on the theme of sustainability in its various dimensions (environmental, social, economic, cultural, institutional and others) submitted to a Thematic Dossier or to the Varia category .       

These are firstly submitted to internal evaluation and, if accepted by the editors-in-chief, proceed to the beginning of the process of external peer-review ( double blind peer-review).    

• Regarding the originality, SiD is willing to examine works published in Annals of events if such information appears in a note directly associated with the title.
• Literature review texts are not eligible for publication in SiD.  

Languages

Due to its internationalization policy, SiD uses English as its primary language, allowing articles to become more visible and accessible to readers worldwide when published.

However, for the first round of evaluation, texts can be submitted in Portuguese, French or Spanish and as soon as accepted, translated into English (authors' responsibility). Articles are only accepted for publication after acceptance during the 2nd round by sending a translated version, revised with academic rigour. We will not consider translations by Softwares such as Google Translator.

Acceptance in this round is essential for your work to receive a final positive decision and be published (in English and the original language – if applicable).

Article Processing Charge 

In line with the principles of open science and the current standards in the academic community, we have chosen to suspend the APC fee. This decision reflects our commitment to promoting widespread access to knowledge, enhancing transparency in research dissemination, and fostering inclusion in scientific discourse. By eliminating fees, we aim to remove financial barriers that may hinder the participation of researchers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, thus cultivating a more inclusive and collaborative research environment. We believe that this initiative will not only enhance the integrity and credibility of our journal but also contribute to advancing the broader goals of open science.

Ethics Statement

It is also recommended to read the Declaration on ethics and bad publishing practices. 

Article authorship should be limited to those who made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the reported study. Anyone who has made significant contributions should appear as co-authors. If others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be credited or listed as contributors only in a note or acknowledgements.

The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors appear in the appropriate place in the manuscript and all of them must have seen and approved the final version of the document, agreeing to its submission for evaluation and eventual publication in SiD.

Scientific articles involving research with human beings must comply with the principles and procedures of the National Ethics Commission (CONEP) and the Research Ethics Committee (CEP), defined in Resolutions 466/2012 and 510/2016 of the National Health Council/ Ministry of Health. 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

For article submission, after proper registration or access on the website, two files must be sent in the SiD journal system:       

• A cover sheet containing title and author information:  
  • It must contain the title of the article (in English and second language – original or Portuguese) and information about the authors:
  • Name, highest degree, position/institutional affiliation (institution name in full), city, state (acronym), country and email address, in Arial 12;
  • Postdoctoral or ongoing courses are not degrees;
• A blind version of the article, with title, abstract, text (with tables, figures and others), and references.;
• A supplementary file with the suggestion of 3 doctoral reviewers (with full name and email);
• Proof of payment of the article processing fee.

Authorship/Affiliation

We request that the first author has, at least, a Master's degree. Articles submitted without meeting this requirement will be rejected by the editorial team. 

At the time of submission, all authors must inform their highest degree and affiliation in the appropriate fields of "Metadata", as in the example:

• Affiliation and Institution: Major title (English), Affiliation (English), Center (original), University (original), City, Acronym State, Country (English)   
  • Ex: PhD in Sustainable Development, Researcher, Center for Sustainable Development, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
• ORCID: must be included for all authors - register at: https://orcid.org/register
• Biography summary: may be brief; 

Note: We invite authors with a Doctorate to assume the role of evaluators at SiD.  

Formatting

All texts submitted to SiD must be submitted digitally, typed in word processors such as Microsoft Word or compatible with the last one (.doc/.docx).   

I) Varia - Articles

Cover sheet with author information

It must contain the title of the article (in English and second language – original or Portuguese) and information about the authors:

• Name, highest degree, position/institutional affiliation (institution name in full), city, state (acronym), country and email address, in Arial 12;
• Postdoctoral or ongoing courses are not degrees.

Number of characters

The text must contain between 30 thousand to 50 thousand characters (with spaces), including the bibliographic listing, notes, annexes, tables, etc. 

Titles

Titles must express the content of the work and also facilitate its location in an internet search.

• They must have a maximum of 20 words, with only the first letter in capital letters, with the exception of proper names;
• Available in English and a second language (original or Portuguese):
• Arial 16 font, in bold, right-aligned, with single spacing between lines;
• The title in the second language must appear in italics;                       

          Ex: The risk of backtraking on brasilian pesticide regulation 

                 Risco de retrocesso na legislação brasileira sobre o uso de agrotóxico

Summary/Abstract

Must be inserted in the blind version of the article (without author information):  

• 100 to 150 words, in Arial 12, justified, single line spacing;
• The abstract is not a mere formality, it is the text's business card;  

Note: Note: Many authors have their work summarily rejected when they do not consider the need for a translation with academic rigour without using translation software such as Google Translator.

Keywords

As well as the title and the abstract, they are also the text calling card. Therefore, it is recommended to choose terms illustrating the content of the text, such as concepts, places, methods, among others:

4 to 6 keywords must be provided written in two languages (English and second language  - original or Portuguese);

Font Arial 12, below the Abstract/Abstract, separated by dots;

Text body 

• In Arial 12, black, left and top margins of 3.0 cm and right and bottom margins of 2.0 cm, with 1.5 spacing between lines; 
• Italics should be used for foreign words and underlined in email addresses;
• Numbering must be included in subtitles, containing no more than two levels (eg 3.1). From this level onwards, the use of subtitles in italics should be used;
• Footnotes should be avoided, being placed in Arabic numerals at the end of the text (in the form of endnotes), before the bibliographical references; 
• The Introduction and Conclusion must also be numbered.

Illustrations, tables, graphs, figures and the like

• After the fourth figure or table, each new addition will count as 1500 characters from the total of the article;
• They must be sent in the body of the text, with a minimum resolution of 600 dpi;
• Subtitles, titles, authorships and fonts, in Arial 10, with simple spacing between lines;
• The use of images by other authors (photos, maps, graphics) requires public domain certification or authorization for reproduction.

Supplementary material and attachments

• SiD does not publish supplementary material or attachments - these must be introduced in the body of the text in accordance with the established rules regarding the number of figures and tables (above);

References

The inclusion of the bibliographic references used is mandatory for the consideration of all texts sent to SiD journal and must follow the following rules:

*We recommend that authors give priority to the use of indexed journal articles in the references (and include the DOI), as well as include appropriate references from past editions of Sustainability in Debate.

Text body

a) References or bibliographic calls in the body of the text must adopt the author-date-page system (the last in the case of direct citations), also called the parenthetical system;

b) The source is indicated by the author’s last name or by the full name of the institution responsible for the publication, up to the first punctuation mark, followed by the date of publication of the document (year) and the page(s) citation (only in cases of direct citations). The three components must be separated from each other by commas and must be in parentheses: 

• Reference in the text, with direct citation:
  • Bobbio (1995, p. 30) reminds us, when commenting on this situation, that “medieval jurists formally justified the validity of Roman law considering that this was the right of the Roman Empire that had been reconstituted by Charlemagne with the name of Holy Empire Roman."
• Reference in the text, in paraphrase:
  • Merrian and Caffarella (1991) note that the location of resources plays a crucial role in the self-directed learning process.
• End of Paragraph: Remember that when the reference appears at the end of the paragraph, the author(s) surname(s) must be written in capital letters and inserted in parentheses.
  • : "(...). The location of resources plays a crucial role in the self-directed learning process (MERRIAM and CAFFARELLA, 1991).
• Reference in the text, with direct citation:
  • “The community must be able to be exchanged in any circumstance, without any state restrictions, for the currencies of other Member States” (COMISSÃO DAS COMUNIDADES EUROPEIAS, 1992, p. 34).

List of Bibliographic References

The SiD adopts the alphabetic system to compose the list of references. In this case, references must be gathered at the end of the work and arranged in alphabetical order of the last surnames from the first authors of each reference: 

a) The list must not be numbered and must follow the examples below, according to ABNT Rule 6023: 

• ARAUJO, UAM Tukuna one-piece masks: possibilities for studying museum artifacts for the knowledge of the indigenous universe. 102 p. Dissertation (Masters in Social Sciences). São Paulo School of Sociology and Politics Foundation, São Paulo, 1986. 
• GURGEL, C. State Reform and Public Security.Politics and Administration, Rio de Janeiro, v. 3, n. 2, p. 15-21, Sept. 1997. 
• KELLY, R. Electronic publishing at APS: its not just online journalism. APS News Online, Los Angeles, Nov. 1996. Available from: (website). Accessed on: 25 Nov. 1998.
• NAVES, P. Andean lakes bathe in beauty. Folha de S. Paulo , São Paulo, 28 jun. 1999. Folha Turismo, Notebook 8, p. 13. 
• ROMANO, G. Images of youth in the modern age. In: LEVI, G.; SCHMIDT, J. (Org.). History of young people 2.São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1996. p. 7-16. 
• SOUZA, LS; BORGES, AL; REZENDE, JO Influence of soil correction and preparation on some chemical properties of soil cultivated with banana trees. In: BRAZILIAN MEETING OF SOIL FERTILITY AND PLANTS NUTRITION, 21., 1994, Petrolina. Proceedings... Petrolina: EMBRAPA, CPATSA, 1994. p. 3-4.
• WEBER, M. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.São Paulo: Pioneer, 1999. 

b) Even if more than one work by the same author appears in the bibliography, we ask that the author surname and name be written in full. Avoid dashes by substituting the name in the second reference by the same author.  

Dossier

SiD works with a minimum 8-10 articles published in the dossiers. This means guest editors should try to secure at least 12 to 15 submissions as there are possibilities for rejections, delays and dropouts. Each article must be evaluated by two doctoral reviewers indicated by the guest editors and approved by the editorial team of SiD.

Articles submitted must follow the same editorial rules specified for articles in the Varia section, including being subject to desk-rejection or final rejection by the editors-in-chief. In some cases, the decision-making over a desk-rejection may be given to guest editors. If it is decided to send the article to the evaluation flow, the reviewers of the article will be selected by the journal's editorial board.

The entire procedure – submission of scientific articles, invitations to reviewers, submission of articles to reviewers and evaluation – must be done via the SiD journal system, with follow-up and support from the journal's editorial team. 

To allow the articles to be viewed and considered by the invited editors responsible for the Dossier, potential authors must select the "Dossier" section at the time of submission through the journal system.

The finished articles and dossier sections must be sent to the editorial team 45 days before the publication of the edition.

This means that all final English versions (and the version in the original language, if applicable) must be in the hands of the Executive Editor to be submitted for review and design by the IABS Editor.

Files

All texts, properly formatted and revised, must be sent in a digital file to the SiD editors, exclusively through the journal website . Submissions sent as attachments to email messages will not be accepted.    

The spelling and grammar review of the submitted manuscripts depend on the authors before submission. Editors reserve the right to reject summarily texts that have been submitted without prior checking of spelling and grammatical quality. 

SiD's editorial team will be committed to informing authors about the acceptance or not of their work within 90 days. However, this deadline can be extended when there are delays beyond the editors' discretion. 

Evaluation/Publication Flow

a) The submitted works will first be appreciated by the editorial team (desk review). If the manuscripts fit our journal profile and present publication potential, blind reviewers appointed by the Editorial Committee will review them. They will issue opinions through the double-blind peer review system. If the work does not align with the scope of the journal there may be desk rejection of the submission;

b) Authors will be notified by SiD about the acceptance or rejection of their texts based on the opinions received from blind reviewers. When submitting texts to the journal, authors also undertake to verify any notifications in the SiD system.

We ask authors to pay attention to their email (check the spam box and enter the journal email address in the safe senders' list) and regularly access the Control Panel from the platform. The journal mostly communicates via the system.

c) Authors will receive any necessary suggestion for changes in the structure and/or content. They will be responsible for carrying out them and resubmitting the text within the deadline established by the editorial team. We request that, along with the new version of your article, you send a detailed table with the appropriate information regarding the corrections and modifications realized (or any justification for non-compliance) with the requests of the reviewers;

• In the return of the revision, the system requires 3 files attachments:

1. 1. Finished article (with tables, graphics and other files in the body of the text);
   2. Finished article with corrections highlighted (review mode enabled or highlighted in yellow text);
   3. Detailed table of corrections - with all the comments from the reviewers and comments on the correction or justification for not implementing the suggestion;

d) If the author(s) do not comment on the revisions within the stipulated period, the work will be rejected, and the evaluation process archived due to inactivity;

e) Additions or modifications to the texts will not be allowed after the acceptance of the work.