About the Journal

Journal Identity

Title: Revista Bioética

Acronym: RB

Abbreviation: Rev. bioét.( Impr.).

Focus and Scope

Revista Bioética does not charge for submission, editing or publication of manuscripts. Manuscripts that are unpublished and/or that have been previously made available on preprint servers recognized by SciELO will be accepted, only in an online version. Manuscripts of a conceptual, documentary nature, resulting from research or experiments in the field of bioethics or medical ethics, and critical reviews related to these themes will be accepted. All manuscripts will be submitted to the scrutiny of editors, the Editorial Board and ad hoc reviewers following open science practices, promoting informed peer review.

Revista Bioética is distributed free of charge to federal councils of health specialties, regional medical councils, medical associations, public libraries, bioethics programs and interested physicians who register in our database. It is also available electronically on the CFM website, Virtual Health Library and SciELO. 

Manuscripts that are unpublished and/or that have been previously made available on preprint servers recognized by SciELO will be accepted, only in an online version. Manuscripts of a conceptual, documentary nature, resulting from research or experiments in the field of bioethics or medical ethics, and critical reviews related to these themes will be accepted. All manuscripts will be submitted to the scrutiny of editors, the Editorial Board and ad hoc reviewers following open science practices, promoting informed peer review.

Review process

  • Initial phase: the manuscript is checked for text and abstract size, then formatted and checked for originality in the iThenticate: Plagiarism Detection Software. At this stage, the references are also checked, observing if they are complete, correctly numbered and presented in the Vancouver style. Adequacy to the editorial line, spelling and grammatical aspects are also observed, and the keywords are checked in the database of Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS). When necessary, the manuscript will be returned to the authors for adjustments; If the quantity or characteristic of the identified changes are considered significant, the manuscript may be refused with instruction of possible resubmission upon compliance with the indicated specifications. If no changes are necessary at this stage, after receiving the version rectified by the authors, the next phase of the editorial process is initiated;
  • Evaluation: the reviewer selection criteria seeks to contemplate the widest possible analytical diversity, in line with the interdisciplinarity of the bioethics field. Each article is sent to a reviewer with training in the specific area of the work (specialties in health and biology, law, philosophy, social sciences, etc.), to another reviewer who studies or has already discussed the subject (inequities in health, human rights, abortion, dysthanasia, genetics, research ethics, etc.), and to a bioethicist with lato or stricto sensu training in bioethics to review the use of ethics concepts and categories. The work will be sent to a first group of reviewers – members of the Editorial Board and ad hoc reviewers. If those initially designated cannot perform this voluntary task within the stipulated period, other reviewers will be selected from among the registered collaborators and the opinion request process will be restarted. The reviews consider the following criteria: content, consistency with the editorial line, originality of the ideas presented, timeliness, textual clarity, language adequacy, information relevance, coherence and conceptual and methodological logic, in addition to title, abstract, indication and name of manuscript parts, indication of objectives, method, presentation of results, discussion and final considerations. The references are also checked, considering if they are adequate and updated;
  • Publication: the peer-approved version will be copyedited (spelling and grammatical review) and submitted to the authors for approval. However, the final revision of the diagrammed article in the three languages, as well as the graphic proofs, will not be sent to the authors, as well as the articles' translation into English and Spanish, which will only be published online on the journal's website and in the indexing databases.

At any stage, the editors reserve the right to promote normative, orthographic and grammatical changes in the texts, in order to maintain the cultured standard of the language and provide better understanding of the articles, respecting, however, the style of the authors. If the authors decide not to publish the manuscript, after the initial edition, the version edited by Revista Bioética will belong to the journal and cannot be sent to another journal. 

Periodicity

In 2023, Revista Bioética started to adopt the model of continuous publication.

Free Access Policy

This journal offers free and immediate access to its content, following the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public provides greater worldwide democratization of knowledge.

Statement on ethics

 Revista Bioética is committed to ethical behavior at all stages of the editorial process and is based, to that end, on the best practice guidelines for journal editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), available at https://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors_Mar11.pdf, and on this statement, which provides in detail the ethical behavior standards expected of all parties involved in the act of publication – authors, journal editors and reviewers. Any author who wants to publish their material in Revista Bioética must first of all agree with the instructions contained in this statement and also in the journal's Editorial Standards. All these procedures seek to ensure the quality of the works published in our journal, with respect to the readers and authors of the written works.

Duties of the Authors

  1. a) Regarding the reporting of standards and procedures: all information and guidelines for authors are available on the page https://portal.cfm.org.br/images/stories/revistabioetica/normaseditoriais.pdf. Manuscripts of a conceptual, documentary nature, resulting from research or experiments in the field of bioethics or medical ethics, and critical reviews related to these themes will be accepted. 
  2. b) Regarding the accuracy of data and information in the manuscript: an article must contain sufficient details and references to allow others to replicate the work or verify the data and information obtained. Fraudulent or intentionally inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable;
  3. c) Regarding originality and plagiarism:
  • Unpublished manuscripts in Portuguese, Spanish or English will be accepted.  
  • Manuscripts in which the use of the "Change Control" feature is identified may be removed after submission. 
  • The works cannot have been submitted concomitantly to other journals. 
  • The opinions and concepts presented in the articles, the origin and accuracy of the citations are the responsibility of the authors. 
  • Manuscripts that reproduce in whole or in part, without due reference, works by other authors, as well as an article, or a substantial part thereof, already published by the author himself, will be summarily rejected. 
  1. d) Regarding multiple, redundant or concurrent publication: authors must not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one primary publication or journal. Additionally, submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.
  2. e) Regarding the recognition of sources:
  • All references must be listed, at the end of the article, in the corresponding numerical order. 
  • All citations of sources presented in the text must be part of the references, including documents, treatises, reports, books and book chapters. 
  • The link and the date of access of all electronic references used must also be informed in the list at the end. 
  • Literal citations, which reproduce ipsis litteris a text already published, must inform in the list of references at the end the page number of the original from which the excerpt was taken. 
  • Authors should always seek the original reference that they want to mention and avoid second-order reference, that is, when the cited author is being referred to by another author. If the apud is unavoidable, this must be made explicit in the text. For example: “Analyzing Potter's work, Pessini 3 describes…”.
  • All references must be presented correctly and completely, according to the following examples. Book titles, location, and publisher names should not be abbreviated.
  • The veracity of information contained in the reference list is the responsibility of the authors. 
  1. f) The article authorssection should be limited to those who contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have contributed significantly should be listed as co-authors. If others participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be credited or listed only as contributors. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the article, and that inappropriate co-authors are not included; they must also ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the document and have agreed to its submission for publication. When submitting, the email addresses of all co-authors must be provided. Once the manuscript is accepted by the Editorial Board, Revista Bioética will send a copy of this statement to all co-authors, for which individual statements of agreement are expected as a requirement for initiation of the review process. After this point, all communication will only include the corresponding author;
  2. g) Regarding the disclosure of conflicts of interest: all authors must disclose in the manuscript any financial, professional or any other substantive conflict of interest that may be considered a factor influencing research results or interpretation. Authors must also disclose all sources of financial support;
  3. h) Regarding fundamental errors in published works: if an author finds a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, they must immediately notify the Editorial Team of the journal and collaborate with them to retract or correct the article.

Duties of reviewers 

  1. a) Regarding the contribution to editorial decisions: peer review assists editors in editorial decision-making. The reviewer selection criteria seeks to contemplate the widest possible analytical diversity, in line with the interdisciplinarity of the bioethics field. Each article is sent to a reviewer with training in the specific area of the work (specialties in health and biology, law, philosophy, social sciences, etc.), to another reviewer who studies or has already discussed the subject (inequities in health, human rights, abortion, dysthanasia, genetics, research ethics, etc.) and also to a bioethicist with lato or stricto sensu training in bioethics to review the use of ethics concepts and categories. For final approval, a new adjustment or reformulation of parts of the article, title or references may be necessary, as recommended in the summary opinion;
  2. b) Regarding timeliness: any invited reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research presented in a manuscript or who knows that its immediate review will be impossible must immediately notify the editors and withdraw from the review process;
  3. c) Regarding confidentiality: all manuscripts will be submitted to the scrutiny of editors, the Editorial Board and ad hoc reviewers in a double-blind system;
  4. d) Regarding standards of objectivity: reviews and opinions must be conducted and written objectively. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their opinions clearly, using arguments that support their assessment;
  5. e) Regarding source recognition: all submitted works are checked for originality in the iThenticate: Plagiarism Detection Software. The results indicated by the program are carefully analyzed to identify whether the indications refer to citations or improper copies. If the reviewers, at the time of evaluation, identify relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors, they must inform the editors as to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript in question and any other published work of which they have personal knowledge;
  6. f) Regarding disclosure and conflict of interest: privileged information or ideas obtained by reading the manuscripts must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal benefit of the reviewers. Reviewers must not consider manuscripts with which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competition, collaboration or other relationships or associations with any of the authors, companies or institutions related to the manuscripts.

On the duties of editors:

  • The editors are responsible for the content published in Revista Bioética. 
  • The team of editors will do their utmost to meet the needs of authors and readers.
  • All appropriate measures will be adopted in the editing processes to ensure the quality of the published material. 
  • The editors of Revista Bioética are defenders of freedom of expression, but manuscripts will be rejected if they contradict the Fundamental Principles of the Brazilian Constitution and, in particular, its articles 1, 3 and 4, which guarantee human rights and the repudiation of racism, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. 
  • Editors will maintain the integrity of the academic record. 
  • They will prevent business interests from compromising the journal's intellectual and ethical standards. 
  • Whenever necessary, they will publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies.
  • They will provide information on the funding of research or other academic work. 
  • They will promote fair, impartial and timely peer review. 
  • They will encourage the accuracy, completeness and clarity of research reports. 
  • They will require objective and impartial reviews from the Editorial Board. 
  • They will abide by the laws on confidentiality in their own jurisdiction. 
  • They will obtain written informed consent for publication in the case of persons who may be recognized or identified in participation in the research. 
  • They will adopt plagiarism detection systems. 
  • They will support authors whose copyrights have been infringed or who have been victims of plagiarism.

Informed Consent 

Subjects participating in research have the right to privacy, which must not be infringed without informed consent. Patient identification, including name, initials, or hospital numbers, must not be published in texts, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for such purpose requires the identifiable patient to view the manuscript prior to submission. Authors must identify the persons who provided assistance in writing and disclose the source of funding for such assistance. The identifications must be provided if they are essential. Complete anonymity may be difficult; however, informed consent must be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in patient photographs is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, as in genetic pedigrees, authors must ensure that the alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors must note it. The published article must inform when informed consent was obtained.

Qualis Background

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