Policies

EDITORIAL POLICY

A Servir, (ISSN 0871-2379, eISSN 2184-5697) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal owned by the Catholic Association of Nursing and Healthcare Professionals (ACPES). It is published by ACEPS and based in Lisbon; it is published quarterly (with special supplementary issues published whenever deemed appropriate).

The journal Servir is available in electronic format and, since 2019, has adopted an open access policy, allowing free access to all published content, without any embargo or charge.

The journal’s editorial policy aims to contribute to the development and dissemination of theoretical and empirical scientific knowledge in the fields of nursing and health, adopting a transdisciplinary approach wherever possible.

To enable the transfer of scientific and technical knowledge into the real-world context of the daily lives of academics, professionals and the general public, it is a requirement that all articles be original and scientifically relevant.

Scientific and technical articles, as well as review articles, are accepted for publication provided they are conducted with methodological rigour and have the potential to contribute to the development of scientific fields within the life and health sciences. Submitted articles must contain original data, must not have been previously published (either in part or in full), and must not currently be under review by another journal. The journal has an international scope, allowing for publication in a bilingual format, in Portuguese and English, with the Portuguese version being mandatory. Authors are advised to submit their articles to specialist translation services.

The journal Servir adheres to the guidelines proposed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for the submission of scientific articles to peer-reviewed journals.

The correct way to cite the journal in bibliographical references is Servir.

The editorial policy adheres to the criteria of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), at no cost to the author or the reader.

The review process is conducted entirely under a double-blind review system, ensuring the anonymity of both reviewers and authors.

PEER REVIEW POLICY

  1. The journal’s panel of reviewers comprises renowned national and international experts of recognised academic and scientific standing;

  2. The selection of members of the Review Board is the responsibility of the journal’s Editorial Team; membership may be on a permanent or ad hoc basis;

  3. It is the responsibility of the reviewers to assess the quality of the texts submitted for publication and to draw up the relevant scientific and technical reports within the specified timeframe;

  4. Articles submitted for publication are subject to a double-blind peer-review process, in accordance with the criteria set out below, whilst taking into account the specific nature of each type of article:

    • The article’s relevance to the dissemination and development of the relevant scientific field;

    • Originality (significant or innovative contribution);

    • Objectives (formulation and suitability);

    • Accuracy (correctness and precision of concepts);

    • Methodology (appropriateness and depth of the approach to the subject; adherence to ethical standards in scientific research and publication);

    • Results (rigour in presentation, analysis and discussion);

    • Conclusions (innovative or confirmatory findings from the study; technical and scientific implications of the study; limitations; future lines of research);

    • The up-to-date nature and accuracy of the bibliography used (accuracy of citations; precise and rigorous referencing);

    • Overall quality of the text (objectives it aims to achieve; logical and balanced structure; clear and coherent presentation; objective and factual style; grammatical accuracy and precision of language);

    • Compliance with the editorial policy and guidelines of Servir Journal;

  5. The article is reviewed anonymously by two or more reviewers using the appropriate assessment tool;

  6. Reviewers have access to an article quality assessment grid, which is available on the journal’s website;

  7. Reviewers are given a maximum of 4 consecutive weeks, from the date of receipt of the text, to assess the article and issue their report. The Editorial Team reserves the right, in specific cases, to alter this deadline. The IT system generates reminders to alert the reviewer to the stages of the review process;

  8. If they are unable to review the texts, reviewers must inform the Section Editor within a maximum of eight (8) days of receiving them, so that the Section Editor can assign them to another reviewer. Where a reviewer fails to meet the specified deadline, they are removed from the review process and, for this purpose, a third party is appointed

  9. Articles are classified according to four quality levels:

    • Level A: the article must be published without any changes;

    • Level B: the article may be published subject to some amendments;

    • Level C: the article may be published provided that the changes suggested by the reviewer are incorporated (the new version of the paper requires assessment);

    • Level D: the article does not meet the criteria for publication;

  10. Authors receive the Editor’s assessment and an anonymous copy of the Reviewers’ report, including the evaluation and comments;

  11. Authors must make the necessary amendments and submit the revised version of the article within 30 days of notification; this deadline may, in exceptional circumstances, be revised at the Editor’s discretion;

  12. The reviewers reserve the right to give a favourable opinion subject to the article being rewritten.

ARBITRATION PROCEDURE POLICY AND EVALUATION MECHANISM

Peer review is a constructive process. Therefore, in addition to assessing the scientific content of the article, reviewers should offer criticism and recommendations for its improvement. The reviewers’ commentswill be sent to the authors where appropriate; however, the authors of the article will not be informed of the reviewers’identities.

  1. All articles submitted to Servir Journal will be assessed for their quality and technical and scientific merit through a peer-review process involving a double-blind review (double-blind review).

  2. The peer review and evaluation process begins upon receipt of the submitted article and culminates in its publication or rejection. This is illustrated in the Decision Flowchart for Publication in 8 steps (A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H):

    • A – Assignment of a Code: All articles submitted to Servir Journal are assigned a unique numerical code to facilitate the double-blind review process, whilst preserving the anonymity of authors and reviewers;

    • B – Preliminary assessment: Upon receipt of the article, the Section Editor carries out an initial assessment focusing on its suitability and relevance in relation to the editorial policy. If the article meets the requirements and is recommended to proceed to the peer-review process, the Section Editor submits the manuscript to a plagiarism detection programme. If it passes the preliminary assessment, the article enters the double-blind peer-review phase. Otherwise, the Section Editor requests any missing documents or informs the authors that the article has been rejected.;

    • C – Peer review: The Section Editor forwards the article to two reviewers specialising in the subject area of the manuscript under consideration. They carry out the assessment and submit their reports via their secure portal. The final result will be expressed as Levels A, B, C or D. Where there is no agreement between the reviewers’ opinions, or in the event of substantiated doubts, the Section Editor will refer the article to a third reviewer for an opinion. In the event of conditional acceptance subject to revision or rewriting, new deadlines will be set for the authors’ response;

    • D – Review Supervision: Once the authors have responded to all the reviewers’ recommendations, the article is reviewed again by the Section Editor;

    • E – Final Review: The text of the article is checked for morphological and syntactic correctness. The authors will be notified of the final decision regarding publication. The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account the opinion of the Section Editor;

    • F – Translation: Following the decision to accept a manuscript for publication in Servir Journal, it is the authors’ responsibility to provide and submit the language versions required by the journal’s guidelines (such as the English translation) within the stipulated deadline, ensuring the technical quality of the language;

    • G – Composition, Graphic Design and Layout: Final formatting of the article and assignment of a DOI (Digital Object Identifier);

    • H – Digital dissemination via databases: The documentation specialists create the metadata (HTML, XML and promotional materials). The articles are made available in full text and as open access on the journal’s website, and are also submitted to databases and indexing services.

OPEN ACCESS POLICY

Servir Journal offers immediate open access (Open Access) to its content, in accordance with the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public fosters a greater global exchange of knowledge. The journal permits the self-archiving of all versions of articles in institutional repositories, where they may be made immediately available.

ARCHIVING AND DIGITAL PRESERVATION POLICY

Servir Journal uses the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, a free and open-source system for the management and publication of journals, developed and distributed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP).

OJS includes the PKP PN plugin, which digitally preserves content on the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN). This ensures that, should the journal cease publication or go temporarily offline, there will be a decentralised and distributed safeguard to guarantee continuous, long-term access to all published articles and issues.

SUBMISSION POLICY

Servir Journal adheres to the policies on open access and copyright, and is integrated with and compliant with indexing systems and reference databases (such as SHERPA/RoMEO).

PRIVACY POLICY

The names and email addresses provided in this Journal will be used exclusively for the services provided by this publication and will not be made available for any other purposes or to third parties.

DIRECT MARKETING AND ADVERTISING POLICY

Servir Journal does not engage in any form of aggressive direct marketing (such as unsolicited direct mail, telemarketing or direct-response advertising). We believe in genuine research and publication based on scientific merit, achieved through a rigorous double-blind peer-review process.

Servir Journal does not have a commercial advertising policy and does not accept third-party advertisements on its pages.