Ethics Statement

Ethics and Quality Statement

  1. Ethics Statement
  2. Research Ethics Involving Human Beings and/or Animals
  3. Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism
  4. Authorship and Contributions
  5. Scientific Misconduct, Errors, Corrections, and Retractions
  6. Conflicts of Interest
  7. Copyright
  8. Confidentiality and Privacy

 

  1. Publication Ethics

The Revista Agulhas Negras (RAN) Journal adheres to rigorous ethical values based on and inspired by the concepts and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/) and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (https://fapesp.br/boaspraticas/).

There is constant interaction and dialogue with the scientific community in the field, fostering the effective participation of the Editorial Board. Likewise, meticulous peer review, clear guidelines, transparent editorial workflow, and well-defined evaluation criteria constitute the foundation of RAN and are part of our daily, diligent work.

The main principles guiding our actions throughout the editorial process—and which must be adopted by all participants involved—will be briefly addressed below. Any omitted issues or problems may be resolved based on the aforementioned codes.

a) Editors

RAN has a permanent Editor-in-Chief, a Managing Editor, and an Editorial Board. For special issues, guest editors may be invited to oversee the necessary scientific management. Members of the Editorial Committee and Language Review Committees are invited professors who help maintain excellence in scientific management. Their responsibilities include deciding which content offers the highest academic-scientific value to readers and ensuring the quality and accuracy of the scientific information provided by authors and reviewers. Editors must:

I. safeguard confidentiality in double-blind peer review and protect the privacy of all participants in the editorial process;

II. ensure that peer review is strictly technical, accurate, fair, and consistent with the journal’s evaluation criteria;

III. accept or reject submissions based solely on scientific merit and adherence to the scope of the journal, regardless of social, political, religious, sexual, or institutional issues.

Additionally, editors may decline to handle submissions in which there are conflicts of interest of any kind, whether involving collaboration or competition, self-authored manuscripts, or potential financial conflicts.

In cases of controversy regarding a publication, the Editor-in-Chief and the Managing Editor will make the final decision after consulting the Editorial Board.

 

b) Reviewers

Peer review is the essential process that ensures the integrity of our publications. Although voluntary, reviewers play a critical and central role in validating manuscripts and must also comply with ethical principles. Reviewers must:

I. be familiar with and agree to RAN’s reviewing guidelines;

II. decline to review submissions in which conflicts of interest exist;

III. decline to review submissions where the reviewer can identify the author(s);

IV. request corrections and/or the inclusion of references relevant to the subject matter, especially if authored by the reviewer;

V. accept or reject a submission based solely on scientific merit and its adherence to the scope of the journal, regardless of social, political, religious, sexual, or institutional factors;

VI. recognize and inform editors of any limitations as a reviewer that could compromise the quality of the review;

VII. detect and report any indication of plagiarism.

 

c) Authors

All authors are responsible for the submitted and published text. During submission process, one corresponding author must be designated to communicate with co-authors throughout the editorial process.

Submissions reporting research conducted under potential conflicts of interest must explicitly declare such conflicts.

RAN may, if deemed necessary, verify authors’ professional affiliations with their declared institutions.

Simultaneous Submission or Prior Publication

As established in our Author Guidelines, submissions that are under review or already published in another journal are not permitted, even if substantially revised.

Authors must inform the editors, in the “comments to the editor” section, if the submission derives from theses, dissertations, or final course papers. Such manuscripts must be revised and/or expanded and must present original results.

 

  1. Research Ethics Involving Human and/or Animal Subjects

Studies involving human beings or animals must be conducted with ethics and integrity, in accordance with the guidelines on ethics referred to in Section 1 above. By submitting a manuscript to RAN, authors are required to adhere to the highest ethical and legal standards in their research.

I – Human Subjects:

a) Informed Consent: Studies involving human beings must obtain informed and voluntary consent from participants. Authors must attach a statement of approval from the institutional ethics committee responsible for authorizing the research, whenever applicable.

b) Confidentiality and Anonymity: Authors must ensure the confidentiality of participants’ data, in accordance with the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD). When necessary, names and details that may identify participants must be withheld to guarantee anonymity.

II – Animal Subjects:

c) Animal Welfare: Studies involving animals must ensure their welfare. Authors must describe the procedures adopted to minimize stress, pain, and discomfort and must also provide a clear scientific justification for the use of animals in their research, demonstrating the relevance of the study.

 

  1. Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism

Plagiarism constitutes a serious ethical violation, particularly in scientific research. Brazilian Military authors may face disciplinary sanctions in accordance with the Brazilian Army Disciplinary Regulations (RDE), in addition to civil sanctions. All use of another person’s work must be properly referenced in the submitted manuscript.

Plagiarism may occur in several ways, including but not limited to:

  • the use of generative AI to write the manuscript (in whole or in part);
  • failure to cite sources when using others’ texts, whether verbatim (direct quotation) or paraphrased (indirect quotation);
  • use of others’ concepts or research without proper acknowledgment;
  • use of images, figures, tables, charts, maps, graphs, or other visual/structural elements without appropriate citation, even when adapted, altered, inspired, or based on the original;
  • failure to recognize co-authors, for example, in group research involving multiple researchers.

All submissions undergo a Desk Review to verify the absence of plagiarism in both textual and visual elements, particularly regarding the use of others’ concepts, theories, or research without acknowledgment.

RAN employs the Similarity Check tool (Crossref) for plagiarism detection.

Further plagiarism checks may be conducted at the recommendation of reviewers.

If plagiarism is suspected, the matter will be investigated. In cases of confirmed plagiarism, RAN will reject the submission or retract the published article.

Self-plagiarism, redundant publication, or duplicate submission occurs when an author republishes the same text or a significant portion of it. Regardless of medium or language, repetition of previously published content is only permissible when referring to essential elements for the presented study.

 

  1. Authorship and Contributions

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the DEFENSE field in which RAN is inserted, authorship and contribution relation is not always as clearly delineated as in specific areas such as the pure sciences or medical research.

RAN therefore adopts the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), maintained by the Consortia for Advancing Standards in Research Administration Information (CASRAI), which defines 14 different roles that may be designated as authorship or contribution. However, considering the characteristics of the field and subfields, only the roles of author and co-author are mandatory. Any additional roles must be indicated in the “comments to the editor” section, following the taxonomy.

* The description of each role is available at: https://casrai.org/credit/

Responsibility for the content of the published article rests with all authors. Additional role specifications provide more precise identification of each author’s contribution, particularly in cases where senior and junior researchers, supervisors, and supervisees collaborate.

 

  1. Scientific Misconduct, Errors, Corrections, and Retractions

We recognize that validation by the scientific community enhances the integrity and natural course of academic dissemination, fostering new knowledge and often helping to resolve existing paradoxes in the field.

Some characteristics of military sciences (intersecting with the human, social, and health sciences) permit multiple perspectives and interpretations of the topics published in RAN. For this reason, we emphasize that RAN is an open and heterogeneous academic space that encourages submissions from both academic and professional communities, regardless of theoretical or methodological orientation. Nevertheless, despite the efforts of our editors and reviewers, instances of scientific and/or ethical misconduct may arise and must be corrected, retracted, or sanctioned.

Any person or organization may request an investigation into potential errors, inconsistencies, misconduct, or ethical issues concerning articles published in RAN via the following e-mail: ran.editor@aman.eb.mil.br. All requests will be treated confidentially unless otherwise requested.

We recognize three levels of corrective action:

i) Minor Corrections – unintentional errors that do not invalidate the article but may be corrected through an erratum or by publishing a revised version (clearly identified on the website). Examples include citation errors, incorrect year, pagination, edition, or version.

ii) Corrections and Retraction – applicable when errors are identified but they do not alter the results presented, however, may harm individuals or institutions.

iii) Removal and Retraction – applicable in cases of serious errors or ethical breaches. Notable examples include content promoting illegal activities and/or crimes, as well as attacks against Institutions and/or National Symbols.

In all cases, the authors will be informed and given the opportunity to present their explanations. The case will be analyzed by the editors, who may seek the assistance of the Editorial Board to mediate, evaluate, and validate the final decision.

All processes involving the removal of an article will remain accessible at the original publication link, with necessary confidentiality preserved.

If false, fraudulent, plagiarized, or otherwise unethical content is confirmed, the authors will be informed and must present their justifications. In cases of clear misconduct, RAN will contact the author’s institutional ethics committee (if applicable), the submission will be withdrawn, and future submissions by the author(s) will be rejected.

 

  1. Conflicts of Interest

RAN follows the definitions and recommendations of FAPESP’s Code of Good Scientific Practices (https://fapesp.br/boaspraticas/) regarding conflicts of interest:

3.4.1. A potential conflict of interest exists in situations where the coexistence of the researcher’s duty to advance science and other legitimate interests may reasonably be perceived, by the researcher or others, as conflicting and detrimental to the objectivity and impartiality of scientific decisions, even if unintentional.

3.4.2. In such situations, the researcher must assess, depending on the nature and severity of the conflict, their capacity to make decisions and, if necessary, refrain from doing so.

3.4.3. If the researcher is convinced that a potential conflict of interest does not impair objectivity or impartiality, its existence must be clearly and explicitly disclosed to all relevant parties at the time of decision-making.

Within RAN’s publishing scope, the following examples of potential conflicts of interest are highlighted and must be analyzed by authors, reviewers, and editors:

- Articles related to the Defense industry, especially those explicitly naming public or private companies. Concerns include minimizing or negatively critiquing such companies, disclosing classified information, acting for personal gain, or citing individuals and their positions without authorization.

- Articles related to institutions and projects, particularly when the author(s) are directly involved in the processes being reported.

 

  1. Copyright

RAN is a nonprofit academic journal, operating under an Open Access policy. Accordingly, all of its content is fully available online.

All information, images, figures, or other graphical elements in submissions must comply with our licensing policies and be appropriately credited.

Authors publishing in this journal agree to the following terms:

  • The authors authorize publication of the manuscript in RAN;
  • The authors guarantee that the contribution is original, unpublished, and not under review in another journal;
  • The authors agree with all guidelines and rules of RAN.

N.B.: RAN is not responsible for the opinions, ideas, and concepts expressed in manuscripts, as they are the sole responsibility of their respective authors.

Since 2021, RAN has been licensed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Authors retain unrestricted copyright of their articles.

Under the CC-BY 4.0 license, you are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.

Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

 

  1. Confidentiality and Privacy

Names and addresses provided to RAN will be used exclusively for the purposes of the services provided by this journal and will not be made available for other purposes or to third parties.