Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Last updated: 08/01/2026

This page answers the questions our editorial office receives most often. If yours is not covered here, write to revistapensar@unifor.br.

About the journal

What is the focus of Pensar?

The journal publishes work in the Legal Sciences, organised into three permanent thematic axes — Law, Democracy and Social Justice; Constitution, Institutions and Democracy in Brazil; and Law, Technology and a Changing Society — together with a cross-cutting International Articles section. Each axis is described in full under Article Submission and Mission, Focus and Scope.

Is the journal open access?

Yes. All content is published open access under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence, with no embargo period and no registration required to read.

Where is the journal indexed? What is its Qualis rating?

Pensar is indexed in DOAJ, Latindex, REDIB, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO and the CAPES Journal Portal, among other databases — the full list is available under Indexers. The journal holds an A2 rating in the CAPES Qualis Periódicos system.

How often does the journal publish? What does "continuous flow" mean?

Pensar publishes on a continuous flow basis. There is no call for papers to wait for and no submission deadline: manuscripts may be submitted on any day of the year and enter the evaluation process as they arrive, in the order received.

Nor is it necessary to wait for an issue to close before an article becomes available. Each article is published individually, with its own DOI, as soon as it completes every stage of the editorial process — and becomes citable from that moment. Articles are added to the issue for the current period as they are published.

In practice, the publication date of your article is determined by the progress of its own evaluation, not by a fixed journal calendar.

e-ISSN 2317-2150. Published issues are available under Archives.

Before submitting

Are there any fees?

No. Pensar charges no fees at any stage of the editorial process: there are no submission, evaluation, article processing (APC), translation or publication charges. Reading access is likewise free of charge.

When can I submit? Is there a deadline?

Submission is continuous and may be made at any time through the online system, with no need to wait for a call for papers. Specific thematic calls, when issued, are announced under Announcements.

Who may submit? Is a doctoral degree required?

The journal gives priority to work produced within stricto sensu graduate programmes. At least one of the authors must hold a doctoral degree. Master's students, master's degree holders and doctoral candidates may submit provided they do so in co-authorship with a doctorate holder.

What is the maximum number of authors?

Six authors per manuscript. Where there are more than three authors, a justification of authorship must be submitted along with the manuscript.

How long should the article be?

Between 12 and 30 pages, as set out in the Submission Template and Guidelines.

Which languages are accepted?

Portuguese, English, Spanish, French or Italian. Professional language editing before submission is recommended, particularly for manuscripts written in a foreign language. International Articles are published in their original language.

What qualifies as an International Article?

Either of two conditions is sufficient: at least one author affiliated with a foreign institution; or a subject, approach and scholarly dialogue that are predominantly international, even without an institutional link abroad. The manuscript still belongs to one of the three thematic axes.

Is an ORCID iD mandatory?

Yes, for every author, without exception. Registration is free at orcid.org. A short biography of each author is also required.

Must the article be unpublished? What if it is on a preprint server?

The manuscript must be unpublished, but prior deposit on a recognised preprint server does not prevent submission. See the Preprint Submission policy.

May I submit the same article to another journal at the same time?

No. Simultaneous submission to more than one journal is contrary to the good practice set out in Publication Ethics and in the Code of Ethics.

Will the editors assess my topic before I submit?

No. Fit with the journal's scope is checked at initial screening, after submission through the system. Preliminary enquiries about topics are not answered by email.

How to submit

How do I submit?

Register in the system using your ORCID iD, go to Make a Submission and follow the five steps of the OJS submission wizard. The complete procedure, with all requirements, is set out under Article Submission.

Which documents must I attach?

Two files only:

• the manuscript in Word format (.doc or .docx), anonymised;
• the Submission Form — Author Data, Open Science and IDEIA, completed and signed by the corresponding author and by all co-authors.

Do not send separate declarations: the Form already covers the thematic axis, full author data (ORCID, Lattes, affiliation and short biography), gender and race/colour self-declarations, author contributions under CRediT, research data availability, the chosen peer review model, any prior preprint deposit, and the declaration of conflicts of interest and funding.

Three further items are required only where applicable: Research Ethics Committee approval, with its protocol number, attached as a Supplementary File; funding sources, declared in Part 6 of the Form; and a justification of authorship where the manuscript has more than three authors.

Where do I find the template?

The full guidelines and the formatting model are combined in a single document: Submission Template and Guidelines.

What does "anonymising" the manuscript mean?

It means removing from the manuscript file anything that identifies the authors: names, affiliations, contact details, acknowledgements, references to funding sources, mentions of the authors' own projects or research groups, and self-citations written in the first person. Check headers and footers as well and — above all — the file properties: in Word, use File → Info → Inspect Document to remove personal information, which remains stored in the metadata even when it does not appear in the text. Full author identification goes in the Submission Form, which is not forwarded to reviewers.

How do I declare each author's contribution?

Through the CRediT taxonomy, in the Submission Form.

May I use artificial intelligence when preparing the article?

Any use must be declared, in accordance with the Use of Artificial Intelligence policy, which sets out what is and is not permitted. The declaration has been mandatory since 2026 and is not a separate document: where applicable, it must be written as a dedicated paragraph in the introduction to the manuscript.

How is plagiarism screening carried out?

Every manuscript undergoes similarity screening through Crossref Similarity Check / iThenticate, at the initial screening stage.

Timelines and tracking

How long does it take from submission to publication?

The timeline is three months, extendable by a further three months, counted from the date of submission. This covers screening, peer review, author revisions, the editorial decision, translation, layout and JATS XML markup. The timelines actually achieved in the most recent period are reported in the 2026.1 Editorial Flow Metrics.

How do I track the progress of my submission?

Through the system itself, without contacting the editorial office:

1. Go to ojs.unifor.br/rpen and click Login;
2. Sign in with your author credentials (if you have forgotten your password, use Forgot your password?);
3. Open Submissions and find your manuscript;
4. The stage column shows where it currently stands: Submission, Review, Copyediting or Production;
5. The Discussions tab inside the submission holds every message exchanged with the editorial office.

When should I write to ask about my submission's status?

Only if the maximum six-month period has passed with no communication at all, or if the dashboard shows something inconsistent. Every editorial decision is formally communicated through the system and by email — there is no need to request it.

I need to publish urgently. Can the review be expedited?

No. All manuscripts are processed in the same order and there is no fast-track route, including for thesis defence deadlines, graduate programme requirements or scholarship assessments.

Can I be told the exact date my article will be published?

Only after final acceptance, when the article is assigned to an issue. Before that, the editorial office does not provide an estimated date.

How long do I have to return the requested revisions?

The deadline is set by the handling editor and communicated together with the reviewer reports, in the message sent through the system. It may be extended where necessary: request this through the submission's Discussions tab before the deadline expires, stating your reasons.

Peer review

How does the review process work?

Manuscripts that clear initial screening are sent to external reviewers, who have 45 days to return their report. The model follows the preference indicated in the Submission Form: open peer review, which requires the reviewer's express agreement, or double-blind review, which is the default. Where either party does not agree to open review, double-blind review applies.

What are the review criteria?

They are set out in detail under Manuscript Evaluation Criteria.

What decisions can the editors reach?

Accept, with or without formal adjustments; accept subject to minor revisions; accept subject to major revisions, with resubmission and a further round of review; reject with the possibility of a new submission after substantive reworking; or reject outright.

My reviews were favourable. Is publication guaranteed?

No. Approval by ad hoc reviewers does not in itself guarantee publication. The final decision rests with the scientific editors, who may decline to publish on editorial, strategic or ethical grounds even where the reviews are favourable.

Can I appeal against a rejection?

Yes, under the Appeals Policy. Complaints about editorial conduct follow the Complaints Policy.

My article was rejected. May I submit it again?

That depends on the decision. Where rejection allows a new submission, yes, after substantive reworking. Where the rejection is outright, no.

I would like to serve as a reviewer. How do I register?

Write to revistapensar@unifor.br with the subject line Reviewer registration, providing:

• your full name and contact email;
• your highest degree and the year it was awarded;
• your institutional affiliation and graduate programme, if any;
• your ORCID iD and a link to your Lattes CV;
• your areas of expertise and the journal's thematic axis you wish to review for;
• your approximate availability, as a number of reviews per semester.

The editorial office assesses each profile and, where it matches current demand, registers the reviewer in the system and begins sending review invitations. Registration carries no obligation to accept invitations.

After acceptance

Does the journal translate the article?

Yes. Accepted articles by Brazilian authors are translated into English at the journal's expense.

What happens between acceptance and publication?

Copyediting and standardisation, layout, translation, JATS XML markup under the SciELO Publishing Schema, assignment of a Crossref DOI, and a final check of editorial and ethical compliance.

Does the article receive a DOI?

Yes, a permanent Crossref DOI, assigned on publication.

Who holds the copyright?

Authors retain their rights under a CC BY 4.0 licence. Depositing the published version in institutional repositories and scholarly networks is permitted, provided the original source is cited.

How is the article disseminated and preserved?

Content is distributed automatically to the indexers in which the journal is registered and preserved through the PKP PN/LOCKSS and Cariniana (IBICT) networks, in accordance with the Digital Preservation Policy. The editorial team also promotes articles on the journal's social media channels.

May I submit a video presenting my article?

Yes, and it is encouraged: two to five minutes, under item 7 of the Open Science Editorial Policy.

I found an error in a published article. What should I do?

Request the correction under the Retraction, Correction and Erratum policy. Published articles are never altered silently: every change is recorded publicly.

How do I cite an article from the journal?

Use the metadata and DOI shown on the article page. OJS offers citation export in formats including ABNT, APA and BibTeX from the sidebar of each article.

Still have a question?

Write to revistapensar@unifor.br, stating your submission number and the topic in the subject line — for example, [Submission 12345] Question about required documents. Other channels and our response time are listed under Contact details.