About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Created in 1996, the journal Mediações (Mediations in Portuguese) is actualy a quarterly publication of the Postgraduate Program in Sociology at the State University of Londrina. It is intended for the dissemination of knowledge relevant to the areas of knowledge of the Sciences Social (Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology) and their multiple interfaces.

Mediações is committed to its mission of publishing quality scientific content produced by Brazilian and foreign researchers in the Social Sciences and related areas, aiming to foster and amplify the production of knowledge, contributing both to theoretical and/or methodological innovation, and to the advance of empirical analyses in Social and Human Science research. 

Mediações publishes a thematic dossier in each issue, selected following a public call for dossier proposals with regular deadlines set for submissions, as well as an open section for articles and reviews, both received in continuous flow.

Contributions to Mediações must be previously unpublished and may be submitted in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Texts are evaluated by at least two ad hoc reviewers, both specialists on the theme.

Thematic coverage coded according to the CAPES classification: Areas of knowledge Human Sciences (70000000) and Sociology (70200009).

Open Science

Since 1996, Mediações has provided open access to all of its content, following the principle of making the results of peer-reviewed scientific research freely available to the public. This aims to promote global exchange of scientific knowledge and enhance the democratization of knowledge. Mediações adheres to the fundamental principles of open access scientific production, offering digital access (under a Creative Commons CC-BY license) to its authors and users, providing public, free, and permanent access to all published volumes. Additionally, the journal fully grants copyright ownership to its authors, thus characterizing itself as a Gold Open Access (Gold OA) journal.

By subscribing to the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) principles, Mediações ensures that authors and users can read, download, search, print, copy, and/or link to the full texts of published articles. They can also use them for other legal purposes, without any additional cost to any party and without the need to request prior permission from the editor or authors, as long as the terms of the Creative Commons license adopted by the journal are respected. The journal also encourages authors to make their materials and databases used in manuscripts available to promote reference and dissemination of research materials, as well as combat misconduct related to data fabrication and falsification.

Mediações offers authors and reviewers the option of open evaluations and commits to promoting the FAIR Principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), as well as adopting the DEIA Principles (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) throughout the scientific communication workflow, as outlined by SciELO (2022, p. 6) and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) – paramount mechanisms and instruments for promoting open science and its practices.

In accordance with the guidelines of open science, Mediações accepts and encourages the submission of articles that have been previously published on public preprint servers (Scielo PrePrint, EmeRI, Advance – SAGE Pub e OSFPreprints – Center of Open Science).

With regard to accessibility, Mediações features the default theme of OJS that complies with the OJS 3.3+ Default Theme Accessibility Statement and follows the general principles for creating accessible content, achieving high levels of overall readability for its texts and editorial policies using tools like the Hemingway app, which aids in assessing writing complexity. The journal's editorial team also fill the metadata in accordance with the Coalition Publica's metadata best practices guide, thereby contributing to providing users of software applications and adaptive technologies with essential information about the published document.

Modalities, Peer Review Politics and Process

Mediações operates with two evaluation modalities: the Double-Blind Review method and Informed Peer Review, also known as Open Peer Review. The method by which the manuscript will be assessed is chosen by the authors, who indicate one of the two modalities practiced by the journal in the submission form. In the case of opting for iinformed peer review, authors fill out a specific assessment form provided by SciELO. Similarly, reviewers can choose, when taking on the manuscript evaluation in our system, between informed peer review or Double-Blind. However, both options, open or blind, follow the same procedures and evaluation processes described below, in accordance with the principles of open science.

When reviewers opt for informed peer review, their names and ORCID are also identified at the end of the published article. If reviewers opt for the Double-Blind method, the section editor responsible for the processing and evaluation of the manuscripts (along with their ORCID) is identified at the end of the published article, ensuring transparency and trust in the procedures adopted by the journal.

Finally, Mediações ensures authors and reviewers the option to reveal their identities in the interaction between authors and their respective reviewers when there is a mutual demand and agreement.

The manuscripts pass through two preliminary phases. In the first, before reaching the section editors, they are checked for compliance with the journal’s criteria (number of characters, co-authors, degree, quarantine rules, etc.), plagiarism and self-plagiarism, the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), focus and scope. In the second (called ‘screening’), under responsibility of a section editor, the texts are checked to ensure they are previously unpublished and that they match the journal’s editorial policy and profile. The average time to prepare and sort the manuscripts until they are forwarded to the referees is about 1 (one) month.

The manuscript must be analytic in nature and possess a concise and coherent structure in compliance with the usual norms of a scientific article.  When these criteria are not met, the manuscript will be rejected. When these criteria are met, the manuscript will be sent to the ‘ad hoc’ reviewers, who must evaluate the manuscript (see Evaluation Form).

Texts are evaluated by at least two ad hoc reviewers, both specialists on the theme. The average time for evaluating submissions is 5 (five) months and the average time for publication of submitted articles is 8 (eight) months.  Further details on the  processing of articles can be found in our Privacy Statement.

If accepted by the section editor, submissions are forwarded to reviewers. Submitted texts are analysed by at least two ad hoc reviewers (double-blind peer review method), specialists in the theme, invited by Mediações to issue their reviews (see Evaluation Form). In the case of disagreement between the two reviewers, a third evaluation will be necessarily requested. It is up to the section editor responsible for the article to choose the reviewers who will evaluate the manuscript, as well as to communicate the editorial decision to the author. The article may be accepted without need for alterations, accepted on condition that the requested corrections are made, or rejected.

If the manuscript has been accepted without need for alterations, it is the section editor’s responsibility to: 1 – send the manuscript to the associate editors.

If the manuscript has been accepted on condition that the requested corrections are made, it is also the section editor’s responsibility to:

1 – confirm that the author is willing to make these corrections within a reasonable time period stipulated by the section editor;

2 – forward the manuscript to the reviewer(s), if the latter have opted on the review form to check whether the alterations have been made to their satisfaction; or carry out this verification when the reviewers are unavailable to do so;

3 – inform the author of the final decision;

4 – if approved, send the manuscript to the associate editors.

If the manuscript has been rejected, is the section editor’s responsibility to:

1 – contact the author, sending the reviews rejecting the article and

2 – inform the associate editors of the rejection, also sending the reviews attesting to the decision.

Publication Frequency

Mediações is a quadrimestral continuous publishing journal, which works with a continuous flow of submissions and publications. Articles are published as soon as the evaluation cycle of each submission and its editing process ends. The maximum date for uploading the complete volume is the end of each volume’s reference quadrimest: 04/30, 08/30 and 12/30 yearly.

Open Access Policy

In addition to embracing the principles of Open Science, Mediações offers Open Access to its whole content, adhering to the principle of making the result of scientific research evaluated by peers free of charge to the public, in order to both foster the global exchange of scientific knowledge and promote greater democratization of knowledge. Mediações allows any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles,  or use them for any other lawful purpose. It does not charge authors any fees related to the submission, evaluation and editing process. The journal adopts the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For information on the impacts of open access on increasing reading and citing scientific papers, see Public Knowledge Project website.

Interoperability protocol

The journal uses the OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) protocol: https://ojs.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/mediacoes/oai.

Indexes:

Fees

The journal Mediações does not change authors any fees or request any financial contributions for submission, evaluation and publication of articles or any other type of text that may be published.

The journal adheres to the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public promotes greater global democratization of knowledge.

Plagiarism

Copying a study, or part of one, written by another author or authors, of generative artificial intelligence machines, or even your own previously published work, constitutes unacceptable fraud and dishonesty. Ideas and words already published by yourself or others must not be used without identifying the source of information.

Mediações condemns academic plagiarism and adopts rigorous verification practices: all texts submitted to the journal are checked using Ephorus and other programs, which allow us to detect plagiarism,  texts produced by artificial intelligence and also closely control self-plagiarism.  The maximum amount of self-citation accepted by Mediações is 5%.

We consider it the duty of authors to observe the rules of good academic practice. Authors must declare, therefore, at the time of submission, that these have been duly followed, as well as indicating its use.

Mediações is a periodical committed to good academic practices in research and subscribes to the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Ethical Principles

Mediações is a journal committed to the ethical principles of research and publication. It subscribes to the principles and practices outlined in the Core Practices (2017) of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), through the adoption of various instruments for regulating and controlling good editorial practices. It requires its authors to include a document specifying the exact contribution of each party, the availability of data and information used, among other commitments to ethical and quality scientific production. The publication of articles presenting research results involving human subjects is subject to compliance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (1964, revised in 1975, 1983, 1989, 1996, 2000, and 2008) by the World Medical Association.

When submitting articles, authors ensure that their research followed the ethical principles prescribed for their field of knowledge, meeting all the requirements specified by the specific legislation in force in the country where the research was conducted. The submission of a Supplementary Document of Co-Authorship is mandatory for articles with more than one author.

A copy of the research ethics committee's approval document should be attached, whenever applicable, as a supplementary document in the submission process.

In accordance with the guidelines for ethical conduct in scientific publication, Mediações subscribes to and adopts specific rules and procedures that must be followed by all those involved in the process of submission, evaluation, editing, and publication of articles in the journal:

a) It is the duty of the Editor-in-Chief and Section Editors to ensure strict compliance with the rules outlined in the Modalities, Processes, and Peer Review Policies, as well as other editorial policies endorsed by Mediações. They must ensure the fairness of the evaluation procedures, manage and mediate any conflicts between parties involved in an impartial and transparent manner, and adequately fulfill their tasks and responsibilities outlined in Articles 10 to 13 of Mediações Internal Regulation (2023).

b) It is the duty of reviewers, whose editorial decisions are final in Mediações, to observe all rules, norms, and procedures specified in the journal's editorial policy and specific recommendations for reviewers. They must adhere to the deadlines and conditions proposed by the journal, ensuring confidentiality of reviewed documents and the quality and integrity of approved research for publication.

c) It is the duty of authors to observe all rules, norms, and procedures specified in the editorial policy of Mediações, comply with the ethical and documentary requirements outlined by the journal (supplementary documents, accurate completion of data and metadata, etc.), and guarantee the originality and uniqueness of the submitted manuscript.

Archiving

Mediações uses the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), which is part of the Rede de Serviços de Preservação Digital Cariniana (IBICT), responsible for preserving Open Journal System journals in the country. It also utilizes, alternatively, the LOCKSS and CLOCKSS system, which allows for the creation and distribution of permanent files among libraries, with the aim of preserving and/or restoring documents. The journal is also housed within the Portal de Periódicos da UEL, and integrates databases such as Sherpa/RoMEO, Diadorim, ROAD, among others. It is registered on the ISSN portal (https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/2176-6665).

Supplementary Document of Co-Authorship

If the text submitted to Mediações has more than one author, each author must attach a Supplementary Document of Co-authorship via the journal site at the time of submission, declaring:

1) The complete title of the manuscript, as well as the name of all the co-authors involved in producing the text;

2) The full personal details of the authors: name, correspondence address, ID document number, and nationality;

3) A description of their involvement in the elaboration of the text (specifying who is responsible for which parts of the work: research design, data collection, interviews and/or other material used, processing of the material, analysis and interpretation of the data, and so on). If the write up of the final version of the text was divided between authors according to separate internal sections, which authors wrote which parts should also be indicated;

4) Co-authors should also declare that they are in full agreement with the version submitted to the journal by the primary author and that they assume complete ethical and scientific co-responsibility for the manuscript’s contents;

5) The declarations must be signed (each containing the place, date and signature of the co-author) and attached, separately and preferably in PDF format, as a ‘Supplementary Document’ via the Mediações site at the time of submission. Authors are also responsible for observing that the option “Make document available to the reviewers” is left unchecked.

If the terms of the Supplementary Document of Co-Authorship fail to comply with the above guidelines, the submission will be returned and archived.

Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may be personal, academic, political, professional, commercial, financial, and so on. They may occur when authors, section editors or reviewers have interests that can influence and/or interfere in the elaboration or evaluation of the manuscripts. Consequently, they should be declared by the parties involved in the editorial process when they detect potential conflicts of interest.

To avoid this problem, when they agree to evaluate a submitted text, reviewers must declare the absence of any conflicts of interest concerning the manuscript, including no prior identification of the manuscript’s authorship.

Authors, for their part, are responsible for recognizing and declaring potential conflicts of interest that may interfere in the blind peer review process. They must also specify the financial support received, as well as other personal connections linked to the work’s production that may affect the proper execution of the editorial procedures.

Sponsors

Mediações does not receive any financing from funding agencies.

Sources of Support

History

Created in 1996, the journal Mediações is actualy a quarterly publication of the Postgraduate Program in Sociology at the State University of Londrina.  Mediações is committed to its mission of publishing quality scientific content produced by Brazilian and foreign researchers in the Social Sciences and related areas, aiming to foster and amplify the production of knowledge, contributing both to theoretical and/or methodological innovation, and to the advance of empirical analyses in Social and Human Science research. 

Documents and Rules

Mediações is driven by a specific set of rules and regulations, approved within the institution by the relevant authorities to which it is affiliated. Until 2023, the journal was primarily associated with the Department of Social Sciences of the Center for Literature and Human Sciences at the State University of Londrina (CLCH-UEL), as outlined in its Internal Regulation (2017), and secondarily with the Especialização in Sociology Teaching and the Post-Graduate Program in Sociology (PPGSOC).

Starting from May 2023, Mediações became directly and immediately affiliated with PPGSOC and the UEL Journals Portal. The journal has restructured its Internal Regulation (2023), as well as the guidelines pertaining to the Editorial Policy of the journal as outlined therein.

Call for Dossiers 2024  -  (Portuguese)   (Spanish)

  (English)

Call for Dossiers 2022  -  (Portuguese)   (Spanish)   -   Result

Call for Dossiers 2020 -  (Portuguese)   (Spanish)   -   Result

Call for Dossiers 2019  -  (Portuguese)   -   Result

Call for Dossiers 2017  -  (Portuguese)   -   Result