About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Brazilian Journal of Sociology - RBS is the scientific journal of the Brazilian Sociological Society. Launched in 2013 as a semi-annual journal, it became quarterly in 2017 and, in 2024, adopted rolling submission and publication, with a single annual volume. The journal aims to disseminate and improve Brazilian and international sociological production resulting from original and unpublished research in the field of Sociology and Social Sciences on contemporary societies. RBS is aimed both at a specialized academic and scientific audience, and at a broader audience interested in sociological debates.

The scope of the Brazilian Journal of Sociology includes academic articles that offer original theoretical reflections and results of empirical research on topics relevant to contemporary sociology. The journal comprises the following sections:

Articles

Original and unpublished articles can be submitted on a rolling basis and should reflect sociological academic and scientific production, as well as the ongoing debate about contemporary Brazilian and global realities.

 

Dossiers

The dossiers will result from calls for proposals, selected according to the following criteria: (1) sociological relevance of the proposed theme, (2) academic leadership of its proponents, and (3) interest of the proposal for the internationalization of the sociological debate.

 

Sociologies in Dialogue

This section integrates into RBS the former journal Sociologies in Dialogue, published in English by SBS and discontinued in 2020. It aims to disseminate studies containing innovative empirical and theoretical analyses that are relevant to international academic debate. It seeks to promote transnational dialogue and will give preference to manuscripts resulting from empirical research on fundamental themes and issues in sociology, as well as contributions to the current debate on social theory.

 

Peer Review Process

Articles submitted for publication will undergo a similarity check (anti-plagiarism)  (CopySpider) and, at  a first stage, will be evaluated by the editors regarding their suitability to the scope and editorial guidelines of the journal. The average time for this stage is one month after the article submission.

If approved, the article will proceed to blind peer review by two ad hoc reviewers, either Brazilian or foreign, with recognized expertise in the subject matter, regarding the content and quality of their contribution to the scientific debate. In case of conflicting reviews, a third review will be requested. The average timeframe for this second phase, including possible article revisions by authors, is four months.

Finally, based on the opinions issued, the Editorial Board will communicate the final decision to the authors: approved; approved with minor revisions; to be revised and resubmitted; or rejected.

When revising manuscripts accepted for publication, authors must mark all changes made to the text and duly justify, in a letter to the editors, any editorial requirements or recommendations that were not met.

Approved articles will be copy-edited and then returned to the author(s) for approval of any suggested changes. After the author’s approval, the text will proceed to layout and final typesetting. Aa a rule, at this stage, new additions or modifications will not be accepted. The editors reserve the right to make changes or cuts to the received works to adapt them to the journal’s standards, respecting the original content and the author’s style, who will always be consulted.

The data (which should always be available for consultation), analyses, and opinions expressed in the articles are the responsibility of the authors.

The editorial board requires all authors and reviewers to declare any potential conflicts of interest related to manuscripts submitted to the journal. A conflict of interest is defined as any commercial, financial, or personal interest related to data or issues in the study, of one or more authors, that could lead to potential conflicts between the parties involved. Conflicts of interest can influence the results and conclusions of a study and the evaluation process. Their existence does not prevent the submission of an article or its publication in the journal; however, authors must explain the reason for the conflict to the editors, who will decide regarding the manuscript’s progress.

With justification to the editors, authors reserve the right to make corrections, publish addenda or errata.

If misconduct is reported, the editors will gather information about the case and address it appropriately.

The journal follows the Code of Ethics of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and the São Paulo State Research Foundation.

RBS is committed to publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.

By submitting articles, authors ensure that the ethical principles of their field of knowledge have been observed.

Whenever deemed appropriate, the editors may request clarifications and additional documentation.

RBS does not charge submission, evaluation, or processing fees for articles and has open access, following the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public provides greater global democratization of knowledge.

Authors who publish in the Brazilian Journal of Sociology (1) retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a   Creative Commons that allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal; (2) are authorized to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., posting it to an institutional repository or publishing it as a book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal; and (3) are permitted and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal website and self-archiving systems), as this can increase the impact and citation of the published work (see The effect of open access).

Frequency and Periodicity

Starting in 2024, RBS adopted rolling submissions and publication of approved articles.

The periodicity of editions became annual, with editions closing in December of each year.

Open Access and Open Science Policy

RBS offers immediate open access to its content, following the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public provides greater global democratization of knowledge. In line with the parameters of open science, the journal accepts manuscripts made available on preprint servers and is committed to promoting editorial transparency practices.

Archiving

This journal uses the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries, allowing them to create permanent archives of the journal for preservation and restoration.

Fees

RBS does not charge fees for publishing or accessing articles.

Sponsors

Historical background

The Brazilian Journal of Sociology is the result of a collective effort around a long-standing project that was outlined during different administrations of the Brazilian Society of Sociology. The journal was finally created in 2012, at the initiative of the then President of the SBS, Irlys Alencar Firmo Barreira, who assumed the editorial coordination of the project. Rogerio Proença Leite, then 1st Secretary of the SBS, was responsible for implementing it as editor.

The first edition of the Brazilian Journal of Sociology was launched on September 10, 2013, at the opening of the XVI Brazilian Congress of Sociology, “A Sociologia como Artesanato Intelectual,” UFBA Campus, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.