About the Journal | Journal of Lusophone Studies

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Lusophone Studies is the official journal of the American Portuguese Studies Association. It is peer-reviewed and published twice a year.

In keeping with the founding principles of APSA, the Journal of Lusophone Studies strives to foster the expansion and diffusion of knowledge on the peoples and cultures of Portuguese-speaking countries and diasporas. It achieves this by publishing the scholarly work of APSA members.

The journal’s commitment to open access is an extension of APSA’s founding principles. It shows our support for the accelerated discovery of information through the unrestricted sharing of ideas, and it allows us to increase public enrichment through the free presentation of cutting-edge research on the languages, peoples, and cultures of countries where Portuguese is spoken.

Peer Review Process

All articles, interviews, and translations published in JLS undergo full peer review, key characteristics of which include:

All materials are reviewed by at least two suitably qualified experts.
All publication decisions are made by the journal's Executive Editor on the basis of the reviews provided.
Members of the Editorial Board lend insight, advice, and guidance to the Executive Editor generally and provide assistance with decision-making on specific submissions

Publication Frequency

The Journal of Lusophone Studies is published twice a year. We publish general issues and special dossiers proposed by and guest-edited by area experts.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All published material is archived via the LOCKSS archival system.

Publication Fees

The Journal of Lusophone Studies does not charge any fee for publishing articles. APSA values the policy of free access to information, and so it does not charge any fee for the submission, review, publication, distribution or download of articles.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Lusophone Studies (JLS) is a peer-reviewed arts and humanities journal committed to ensuring the highest standards of publication ethics. All parties involved in the act of publishing (editors, authors, reviewers, and the publisher) must agree upon standards of ethical behavior. We adhere to the following principles of publication ethics, all of which are based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE.

Responsibilities of the Executive Editor of JLS

The executive editor is responsible for:

deciding which manuscripts submitted to the journal should be published. In making these decisions, they are guided by the policies of the journal and by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism;
providing guidance to guest editors, authors, and reviewers on what is expected of them and also a description of the peer review process;
providing new editorial board members with guidelines on everything that is expected of them and keeping existing members updated on new policies and developments;
evaluating manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic and intellectual merit, without regard to the author’s race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation or social class;
ensuring a fair and unbiased double-blind peer review of the manuscripts and that all information related to them is kept confidential. They also ensure that both authors’ and peer reviewers’ identities are protected;
ensuring that appropriate reviewers are selected;
developing and maintaining a database of suitable reviewers and updating it on the basis of reviewer performance;
ensuring that unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript are not used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author;
taking reasonable responsive measures when ethical complaints are presented concerning a submitted or published manuscript. In cases of suspected misconduct, they follow the COPE flowcharts.
publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies whenever needed.

Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest editors are responsible for:

defining the subject matter and role of every article in a thematic issue;
providing clear guidelines to authors regarding the topic and boundaries of their contributions and the overall design of the issue;
ensuring, in collaboration with the executive editor, that appropriate reviewers are selected for all the articles (whether or not they have been commissioned or submitted as a result of a call for papers);
establishing a timeline for draft paper submission, peer review, revision, and final paper submission with the executive editor, and ensuring that all deadlines are met;
writing the Introduction to the issue.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable;
Authors should not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one publication at a time. This constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable;
Authors must ensure that they have written original works and that any work or words of other authors, contributors, or sources have been appropriately credited and referenced;
Authors submitting their works to JLS for publication as original articles confirm that the submitted works represent their own contributions and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works without clearly citing the source. Furthermore, authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work;
Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable;
Authors must ensure that the manuscript has not been published elsewhere;
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors;
The corresponding author with the journal should ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the author list of the manuscript, and that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the paper and its submission for publication;
Authors should disclose financial or other conflict of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support should be disclosed;
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the executive editor and cooperate with them to retract or correct the manuscript.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer review assists the executive editor of JLS in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communication with the author, it may also assist the author in improving the manuscript;
Any invited referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should immediately notify the editor so that alternative reviewers can be contacted;
Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents;
Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage;
Reviewers must report to the executive editor of JLS if they are aware of copyright infringement and plagiarism on the author’s part;
Reviews should be conducted objectively, and observations should be formulated clearly with supporting arguments, so that authors can use them for improving the manuscript;
Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on content without regard to the authors’ race, age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation, or social class;
Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscript.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

As publisher of JLS, the American Portuguese Studies Association (APSA):

provides practical support to the executive editor and editorial board of JLS so that they can follow the COPE Code of Conduct for Journals;
ensures the autonomy of editorial decisions;
protects intellectual property and copyright;
ensures that good practice is maintained to the standards defined above.

[These policies have been adapted from the Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement of the Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais (RCCS), published by the Centro de Estudos Sociais at the Universidade de Coimbra.]