Submissions

Author Guidelines

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1. General Information

1.1. Focus, scope, and thematic coverage

Founded on 29 January 2015, Revista Ciência Plural (RCP) is an electronic journal of the Graduate Program in Collective Health (PPgSCol) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The journal aims to publish, promote, and disseminate scientific output that contributes to health research, with priority given to Collective Health (Public Health).

RCP welcomes manuscripts aligned with, among others, the following thematic areas (non-exhaustive): epidemiology; health policies; health planning and management; evaluation of programs and services; care and care networks; health promotion and health surveillance; equity and social determinants; methods and methodological innovation in Collective Health; global and comparative health; implementation and evaluation of interventions; digital health; and health regulation.

1.2. Frequency and editorial model

RCP is published every four months and operates under a continuous submission model (manuscripts may be submitted at any time during the year).

1.3. Publication languages

RCP accepts manuscripts in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.

In the journal system metadata (OJS), authors must ensure that:

• the title is entered IN UPPERCASE and in the same language as the manuscript;

• the first abstract entered in the metadata is in the same language as the manuscript;

• keywords are mandatorily entered in the metadata (see Section 6.6).

1.4. Authorship policy (eligibility and accountability)

• RCP does not publish manuscripts authored exclusively by undergraduate or master’s students.

• Authorship must reflect substantial contribution. RCP adopts the four ICMJE authorship criteria:
  (1) substantial contribution to the work; (2) drafting or critical revision; (3) final approval; and (4) accountability for all aspects of the work.

• The corresponding author acts as the manuscript guarantor before the journal and is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of all declarations, as well as for all editorial communication.

1.5. Open access and license

RCP provides immediate open access to its content and publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, allowing sharing and adaptation with appropriate attribution.

1.6. Fees

RCP does not charge submission or publication fees.

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2. Article Categories

RCP accepts submissions in the following categories:

• Original Articles

• Experience Reports

• Documentary Analysis

• Integrative Reviews

• Scoping Reviews

• Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (quantitative studies)

• Systematic Reviews and Meta-syntheses (qualitative studies)

• Clinical Case Reports

• Quality Improvement Reports

• Special Issues (conference proceedings)

2.1. Minimum length

To be considered for publication, a manuscript must include:

• at least 10 pages, excluding References; and

• at least 10 references.

Manuscripts shorter than 10 pages are treated as expanded/extended abstracts, according to journal policy.

2.2. Definitions (guidance)

Integrative review
An integrative review synthesizes and integrates evidence from studies with potentially diverse designs (quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed), enabling a comprehensive understanding of the state of knowledge and its implications for practice, management, policy, and research. The manuscript must transparently report: objective/research question, search strategy, eligibility criteria, selection process, data extraction, quality appraisal/consideration when applicable, and synthesis.

Scoping review
A scoping review maps the extent, range, and characteristics of available evidence on a topic, clarifies concepts, identifies gaps, and supports future research agendas, particularly when the topic is broad, emerging, or heterogeneous. Authors should follow recognized reporting guidance (e.g., PRISMA-ScR).

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3. Manuscript Identification Data (Authorship and Registration)

3.1. Maximum number of authors

Manuscripts may include a maximum of 7 (seven) authors.

3.2. ORCID required

All authors must have an ORCID iD and provide it in the appropriate field at submission.
Manuscripts will not be published without an ORCID iD for each author.

3.3. Affiliation format (RCP standard)

Author identification and affiliation in OJS metadata must follow this standard:

Full name — Department or Graduate Program, Institution, City, Country. Email. ORCID.

Example:
“Maria Fernanda Silva — Graduate Program in Collective Health, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil. mariafernanda@example.br. ORCID: 0000-0000-0000-0000.”

Academic titles, positions, and roles are not required in this field.

3.4. Entering names in the system (“Last name” field)

In OJS:

• First name: enter the first name plus middle names.

• Last name: enter only the final family name, or (if desired, especially for Spanish naming conventions) enter the last two family names hyphenated.

Portuguese example:
“Sandro Medeiros Tavares” → First name: “Sandro Medeiros”; Last name: “Tavares”.

Spanish example:
“Ana María López García” →
Option 1: First name: “Ana María López”; Last name: “García”.
Option 2: First name: “Ana María”; Last name: “López-García”.

Middle names may be abbreviated, at the author’s discretion.

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4. Responsibility, Conflicts of Interest, Ethics, and Integrity

4.1. Authorship responsibility (ICMJE)

RCP requires full compliance with the four ICMJE authorship criteria. In addition to submission declarations, accepted articles will include an editorial statement confirming that all authors meet the criteria and assume public accountability for the content.

4.2. Conflicts of interest

Conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, academic, personal, or other) must be:

• declared in the Mandatory Declarations Document (Section 5); and

• stated in the manuscript in a dedicated end-of-text section using one of the following formats:

“Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
“Conflicts of interest: [describe the conflict and the relationship].”

4.3. Ethics approval (when applicable)

For studies involving human participants and/or animals, authors must:

• provide the information in the Mandatory Declarations Document; and

• report ethics approval in the manuscript (preferably in Methods), including:

  • name of the ethics committee (REC/IACUC equivalent; CEP/CEUA or equivalent),

  • approval number and/or CAAE (when applicable),

  • consent procedures (when applicable) and confidentiality safeguards.

When ethics approval is not applicable (e.g., public databases/anonymous secondary data, reviews, public documents), the manuscript must include a brief justification explaining the exemption/non-applicability according to the study nature and applicable standards.

Clinical case reports require signed informed consent for publication and anonymization (Section 5.6).

4.4. Scientific integrity and similarity screening

RCP performs similarity screening and assesses scientific integrity issues, including plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification, duplicate submission/publication, and inappropriate image manipulation. Depending on severity, submissions may be returned for correction, rejected, or referred for investigation.

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5. Declarations and Documents

5.1. Manuscript template (mandatory)

Manuscripts must be submitted using the official RCP Template.

Download the Template

5.2. Mandatory Declarations Document (required at submission)

At submission, the corresponding author must upload the RCP Mandatory Declarations Document, duly completed and signed. This document consolidates editorial requirements and transparency/integrity statements, including items requested by indexing and evaluation systems.

Download the Mandatory Declarations Document

Submissions without this document, or with incomplete information, may be returned for completion prior to peer review.

5.3. Minimum content covered by the Mandatory Declarations

As applicable, the Mandatory Declarations cover:

• responsibility/authorship/originality and exclusive submission;

• author contributions (CRediT);

• ICMJE criteria (full compliance);

• conflicts of interest;

• research ethics (REC/IACUC/CAAE/consents) and informed consent when applicable;

• funding;

• clinical trial and protocol registration (when applicable);

• preprint status (when applicable);

• availability of data/materials;

• scientific integrity/plagiarism/similarity;

• use of artificial intelligence (AI);

• copyright and CC BY licensing;

• signature of the corresponding author.

5.4. Author contributions (CRediT) + ICMJE (mandatory)

Each author’s contribution must be reported using CRediT, as required in the Mandatory Declarations Document.

In addition, all listed authors must meet the four ICMJE criteria. CRediT roles do not replace authorship criteria; they document each author’s participation.

Accepted articles will include:

• “Contributions (CRediT):” [roles by author]

• “Authorship (ICMJE): All authors meet the four criteria and assume public accountability.”

5.5. Funding (mandatory when applicable)

Funding must be reported:

• in the Mandatory Declarations Document; and

• in the manuscript in a dedicated end-of-text section:

“Funding: [agency, grant/process number, funder’s role].”

5.6. Clinical case reports — informed consent required

Clinical case reports must be accompanied by signed informed consent allowing publication and ensuring anonymization.

5.7. Translations and translator certification (when applicable)

When abstracts (or the full text) are provided in a foreign language (English and/or Spanish), authors must upload a translator statement/certification, as required by RCP (see Section 6.5).

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6. Manuscript Preparation

6.1. File format and Template use

• Submit in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx).

• Manuscripts not using the Template or submitted as PDF will not be considered for peer review.

• The Template structure, styles, and graphic elements must not be modified.

6.2. Anonymization (blind review)

The manuscript file must not contain author identification (names, affiliations, emails, identifiable acknowledgements, etc.). Authorship information must appear only in OJS metadata and in the declarations.

6.3. Formatting (as per Template)

• Book Antiqua, size 12, 1.5 line spacing in the main text.

• Abstracts and references single-spaced, as per Template.

• Figures, tables, and charts must be inserted in the text at the point of first citation (not appended at the end).

6.4. Text structure (main categories)

For original articles, experience reports, documentary analyses, integrative reviews, scoping reviews, and systematic reviews:

• Introduction (objectives stated in the final paragraph)

• Theoretical framework (when relevant)

• Methods

• Results

• Discussion (a combined “Results and Discussion” section is acceptable)

• Conclusions

6.5. Abstract/Resumen (mandatory) and translation

Abstracts must be structured (150–300 words) and include the following headings in bold: Introduction, Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion, and the equivalent headings in English/Spanish (Abstract/Resumen).

When an Abstract/Resumen is provided, a translator statement/certification must be uploaded, as required by RCP.

Acronyms should not be used in titles and abstracts, except for universal acronyms (e.g., COVID, HIV, AIDS).

6.6. Keywords / descriptors

Keywords must be entered in the metadata and should preferably be selected from controlled vocabularies: DeCS(Portuguese/Spanish) and MeSH (English). Free terms may be used when no appropriate descriptor exists.

6.7. Illustrations (tables, charts, figures, graphs)

• Maximum of 5 illustrations in total.

• Insert in the body of the text at the point of citation.

• Avoid redundancy between figures and tables.

6.8. References

RCP adopts Vancouver style (Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals). References must be numbered in order of citation.

• Minimum of 10 references and, in general, a maximum of 25, except for integrative, scoping, and systematic reviews, which may exceed this limit.

• Journal titles must be abbreviated according to PubMed.

• Up to six authors: list all. More than six: list the first six followed by “et al.”.

• Include the DOI at the end of each reference; if unavailable, include the URL.

• DOI/URL must be hyperlinked for editorial verification.

6.9. Reporting guidelines (recommended)

Authors should follow recognized reporting guidelines when applicable, including:

• CONSORT (clinical trials)

• STROBE (observational studies)

• PRISMA (systematic reviews)

• PRISMA-ScR (scoping reviews)

• COREQ (qualitative research)

• CARE (case reports)

• SQUIRE (quality improvement reports)

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7. Registrations and Protocols

RCP encourages methodological transparency. When applicable, authors should report protocol registration/deposit and its identifier (e.g., OSF, PROSPERO, ReBEC, or equivalent platforms) in both the manuscript and the Mandatory Declarations Document, including the link/ID. This is particularly relevant for systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and clinical trials.

7.1. Clinical trial registration (mandatory when applicable)

Clinical trials must be registered in a recognized public registry (e.g., ReBEC, ClinicalTrials.gov, or registries accepted by WHO/ICTRP). The manuscript must include the registry name and identification number, preferably in Methods and, when applicable, in the abstract.

If registration is retrospective, authors must provide a justification in the manuscript and in the declarations.

7.2. Review protocol registration (recommended)

For systematic and scoping reviews, protocol registration is recommended when available (e.g., PROSPERO, OSF), including the identifier/link.

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8. Editorial Process and Peer Review

8.1. Peer review

RCP applies blind peer review and, when necessary, double-blind peer review. All stages are managed through the OJS platform.

8.2. Review workflow

• Initial screening: compliance with journal requirements, formatting, and similarity screening.

• Return/archiving: manuscripts failing screening may be returned for correction or rejected/archived, with the possibility of resubmission after revision.

• Editorial assignment: manuscripts passing screening are assigned to a responsible editor.

• Reviewer selection: the editor appoints reviewers (editorial board and/or ad hoc) according to expertise.

• Third review (when applicable): a third reviewer may be appointed in cases of relevant discrepancy.

• Editorial decision: the editors make a decision based on peer review and notify the authors through the system.

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9. Copyright and Licensing (CC BY)

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. As a general rule:

• authors retain copyright; and

• authors grant RCP a non-exclusive authorization to publish and disseminate the work under CC BY, as formalized in the Mandatory Declarations Document.

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10. Submission Conditions and Checklist

Before finalizing submission, authors must confirm that:

• The manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere (or a justification is provided in “comments to the editor”).

• The file is in Word format and uses the official Template.

• The manuscript file is anonymized (no author identification).

• Metadata are complete: title and first abstract in the manuscript language; affiliations in the RCP standard; email and ORCID for all authors.

• The manuscript includes no more than 7 authors and all authors have ORCID iDs.

• The Mandatory Declarations Document is uploaded and duly completed/signed by the corresponding author.

• CRediT contributions are completed and ICMJE compliance is confirmed.

• Conflicts of interest are declared in the document and stated in the manuscript.

• Ethics information is declared in the document and reported in the manuscript (REC/CAAE/approval/IACUC/consents), when applicable.

• Funding is declared in the document and stated in the manuscript, when applicable.

• Clinical trial registration is reported (registry + ID), when applicable.

• Keywords are preferably selected from DeCS/MeSH.

• References follow Vancouver style with hyperlinked DOI/URL.