Publishing Procedures

In order to ensure good practices and transparency in the publishing process, listed below are the main steps, with emphasis on the evaluation stage.

 

Submission of proposals

  • Spontaneous proposals: no specific deadline. The AHAM are permanently open to spontaneous proposals.
  • Proposals resulting from “calls for articles” divulged in the journal’s website and through official channels of CHAM.
  • Proposals of thematic dossiers by invitation of the coordinators and the Editorial Board.

Notification of reception and brief explanation of the procedure

  • The secretary of the Editorial Board is responsible for notifying authors.
  • Authors may be advised at this stage to make formal alterations to their texts in order to comply with AHAM’s “norms of elaboration and presentation of texts”, indicated in "Submissions".
  • Expected deadline for notification: 1 week

First evaluation

  • The selection of texts for publication is done by the Editorial Board. After an initial appraisal of all proposals those eligible for external scientific evaluation are chosen.
  • In this initial evaluation the coordinator of the Editorial Board, advised by a second member of the Board, evaluates the originality, relevance, methodological soundness, currentness of the bibliography, writing style and pertinence of the theme to the profile of the journal.
  • If an agreement is not reached, the case may be discussed by the full Board.
  • Authors are informed of all decisions taken concerning the proposals.
  • A rejection notification will be issued within 15 days after receipt of proposals is formalized.

Preparation of external referees

  • In accordance with standards for international scientific journals, all articles selected in the first evaluation are submitted to two referees for external scientific evaluation. This journal uses double blind peer review to provide double anonymity.
  • Proposals ensuing from formal invitations by coordinators of thematic dossiers or from the Editorial Board are submitted to review by the above mentioned coordinators and coordinator of the Editorial Board. An external referee is also consulted on a double anonymity basis.
    Referees must:
    • be external to the administration and Editorial Board of the AHAM;
    • not have any impediments of an ethical or professional nature that could hinder a correct and impartial evaluation, like belonging to the same institution as an author, or having worked with them in the last three years;
    • be from different institutions, or even from different countries;
    • one of the evaluators must be a native speaker of the language of the text under evaluation.

  • Estimated deadline: one week.

Preparation of the necessary materials for the referees

  • Although the authors are requested to omit anything that could indicate their identity, the secretary of the Editorial Board does a second screening before the files sent to the AHAM are converted into a format that guaranties the integrity of the originals.
  • It is also the responsibility of the secretary of the Editorial Board to personalize the evaluation forms.

Selection of referees: confirmation of availability

  • Selected referees are questioned by the Editorial Board about their interest in the proposed subject and their availability to commit to an evaluation within a month.

Evaluation of articles

  • Once an invitation has been accepted, the secretary of the Editorial Board delivers the necessary evaluation material to the referees.
  • The referees must fill in all the fields of the "evaluation form" and substantiate their opinion about whether the articles are appropriate or not for publication. The referees are also encouraged to make suggestions to the author regarding alterations, development of ideas, or specific aspects that could significantly improve their work. 
  • Once the evaluation form has been filled out, it must be sent to the Editorial Board by e-mail within an agreed time limit.
  • It is up to the Editorial Board, advised by a second member of the board, to interpret the classification resulting from the (collected) evaluations. If feedback from the external evaluators is not unanimous, a decision is taken by the coordinator of the Editorial Board, whereby an opinion may be solicited from a third referee.
  • Based always on the same criteria, the evaluation should be concluded within three months.

Disclosure of results

  • Authors are notified of acceptance or rejection of their articles for publication in the AHAM within a 15 day period after the close of the evaluation process.
  • If alterations are necessary, an additional 2 – 3 week period will be allotted for submission. If there is a substantial amount of recommended alterations, the article may be forwarded to the referee(s) for re-evaluation.

Final adjustments

  • If any aspects are less precise or in divergence with the evaluation, there may be further dialogue between the Editorial Board coordinator and authors of proposals to decide on a set of final adjustments.
  • This stage should not exceed two weeks.

Proof reading

  • A manuscript will be given to the authors for revision and possible inclusion of small corrections. In this stage major alterations in the structure and length of the text are not permitted.
  • The manuscript should be returned to the editorial staff of the AHAM within a maximum period of two weeks.

Free offprint and copy

  • Each author will be given 1 printed copy of the edition of the journal in which his/her text is published, as well as an offprint of the article in digital format.

 

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DOCUMENTS, REVIEWS AND NEWS

Publication of unpublished sources (documents), critical reviews and news follows the publishing procedures indicated in points "Submission of Proposals", "Notification of Receipt", "Proof reading", "Free offprint and copy" and presupposes acceptance of the terms stated in About the Journal.

Evaluation

  • Selection of texts is done by the Editorial Board, who read all the proposals and decide whether they will be published.
  • The coordinator of the Editorial Board, advised by a second member of the board, assesses the originality, relevance, methodological soundness, currentness of the bibliography, writing style and pertinence of the subject to the AHAM profile.
  • In the absence of an agreement, the case may be debated by the full Board and/or an external opinion may be solicited.
  • Authors are informed of all decisions concerning the proposals.

Book Reviews

The AHAM accept works for review, which must be delivered to the care of:
João de Figueirôa-Rêgo
Anais de História de Além-Mar
CHAM, FCSH/NOVA
Av. de Berna 26-C
1069-061 Lisboa, Portugal.

 

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THEMATIC DOSSIERS

Submission of Proposals

The AHAM accepts proposals for thematic dossiers. These can be submitted spontaneously or by invitation of the Editorial Board. Applications should consider:

  • Coordination of the dossier by at least two specialists, one of which should be from a foreign institution;
  • Biographical notes of the coordinators (maximum of 200 words);
  • A text of presentation of the subject in Portuguese and in English (maximum of 250 words each);
  • A list of important topics;
  • In addition, the coordinators may submit a list of articles by invited authors to be part of the dossier.

Notification of Receipt

  • Notification take place within a week.
  • It is the responsibility of the secretary of the Editorial Board.

Appraisal

  • Selection of proposals is done by the Editorial Board, who evaluate the originality, relevance and pertinence of the subject for the editorial profile of the AHAM and future scheduling.
  • Applicants are informed within a month after the receipt of proposals has been formalized.

Schedule and Call for Articles

  • Once the proposal of a thematic dossier has been accepted, the secretary of the AHAM prepares the publication schedule and the document for putting out the “call for articles”, in collaboration with the Editorial Board coordinator and the dossier coordinators.
  • The "call for articles" is made know through the AHAM website and official channels of CHAM.
  • Dossier coordinators are recommended to participate actively by divulging through their contacts and networks.

Notification of receipt of article applications/ proposals

  • Notification will be given within a week and is the responsibility of the Editorial Board secretary.

Previous evaluation of submitted articles

  • Selection is done by the dossier coordinators and the EB, who assess the interest of the topics for analysis of the subject.
  • Authors are notified of acceptances or rejections before the closing indicated in the "call for articles".
  • Accepted articles must be sent by the authors before the closing date indicated in the “call for articles”.
  • After this phase the process is the same as for articles.