About the Journal

Diacrítica is a journal published by the Centre for Humanistic Studies at the University of Minho (CEHUM). For more than three decades, it has established itself as a national and international reference in disseminating quality academic studies in various areas of the Humanities, namely Literature, Arts, Cultural Studies and Linguistics.
 
Created in 1986 on the initiative of CEHUM's founder and first Director, Professor Vítor Aguiar e Silva, it was established as an annual specialised publication (until 2001). The first 16 issues were published according to this model.
 
From volume 17, number 1 (2003) onwards, the Journal underwent a renewal, becoming a four-monthly publication and being divided into three thematic series: Diacrítica-Linguistics, Diacrítica-Philosophy and Culture and Diacrítica-Literature.
 
In 2019, starting with volume 31, number 2, the Journal adopted the current format of volumes with thematic dossiers, in line with the eminently transversal and interdisciplinary nature of research that has always defined CEHUM's orientation. In addition to the thematic dossiers, Diacrítica now receives submissions for the Varia, Review and Interview sections, which are open on a rolling basis.

Since March 2023, Diacrítica is hosted by UMinho Editora.

Diacrítica is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

ISSN 0870-8967 (paper format) 
 
ISSN 2183-9174 (electronic format)

The Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC Licence.  The authors retain all copyright rights, granting the Journal the right of first publication. Authors are authorized to deposit the published version of the articles in their repositories.

 

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Journal follows an Open Access policy, ensuring that all content is accessible to users and their institutions free of charge. Readers are permitted to view, download, replicate, share, print, search, or link to the complete articles or utilize them for any lawful purpose without the need for prior consent from the publisher or the author. 

The Journal does not charge Article Processing Charges (APCs) or any submission or publication fees.

The Journal adopts the double-blind peer review system and is published online through the Open Journal System (OJS) four-monthly.

The Journal accepts submissions for thematic issues (with an open call) and the Varia, Reviews and Interview sections (on a rolling basis).

The Journal publishes articles by doctoral graduates and doctoral students. Articles by master's students are also accepted, provided they are co-authored with at least one PhD author.

It publishes original articles in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, always with summaries in Portuguese and English.

The Journal archives digital copies through the PKP PN service and complies with I4OA guidelines.

The Journal aims to follow good ethical practices to prevent irregularities in its publications and, therefore, follows the Code of Conduct and Standards of Good Practice for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Code of Ethical Conduct of the University of Minho.

Editors, authors, and reviewers have responsibilities based on the principles described below.

 

  • EDITORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

Professional and scientific responsibility. Editors must provide high-quality service to the best of their ability and knowledge. Editors ensure Diacrítica's quality assurance processes.

The decision to publish. Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the editors can accept, reject or request modifications to the manuscript. The editors will publish all accepted articles, except in cases where gross errors or reprehensible ethical behaviour (plagiarism or other gross practices) are detected after acceptance.

Originality check. Before starting the review process, the editors ensure each manuscript's originality is assessed. After testing for plagiarism and self-plagiarism, the editors ensure the confidentiality of the double-blind peer review process and the anonymity of authors and reviewers. If plagiarism or any other malpractice is detected, the editors will follow the COPE guidelines (see the flowchart for plagiarism practices at https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/plagiarism-submitted-manuscript).

Equity. The editors will always evaluate the manuscripts submitted to Diacrítica for their intellectual contents, as long as their topic is in keeping with the journal's theme, without regard to the origins of their authors, particularly about aspects such as ethnicity, culture, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, language, health conditions or socio-economic status.

Confidentiality. The editors will ensure that all information regarding manuscripts submitted to Diacrítica is kept confidential.

Transparency and conflicts of interest. The contents of a submitted manuscript may not be used in the research of the editor or any other member of the editorial team without the express written consent of the author(s) of the manuscript.

Respect for human rights, dignity and diversity. Although the content and language of manuscripts are the authors' responsibility, the editors will reject texts with language and/or content that is discriminatory and/or offensive to a particular social group.

  • AUTHORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

Scientific and academic responsibility. Authors should carefully read the description of the scope and objectives of the journal Diacrítica, ensuring that the article submitted is of high quality and constitutes a relevant contribution to the area of research in question.

Integrity. Authors do not falsify or fabricate data, sources, results or conclusions. The authors ensure that the confidentiality of information is protected to guarantee the integrity of the research and the protection of sensitive information obtained during the course of the research. The authors guarantee the veracity of the personal and academic data provided at the time of submission.

Authorship of the manuscript.  All authors must be aware of the submission of the article and agree to the inclusion of their names as authors and to the order of authorship indicated in the submitted version. The responsible author must ensure that all co-authors are identified when submitting the article.

Originality and plagiarism. Authors must ensure that they have produced a completely original manuscript and that any work or words by other authors have been duly credited and referenced.

Ethical approval. The authors pledge to obtain free, informed and properly documented consent from the research participants or their legal representatives in research with human beings. In such cases, the identification code, the date of approval and the name of the ethics committee or institutional review board that approved the research must be referenced in the Methodology section.

Verification and authorisation of data. Authors must provide original data or sources whenever requested and obtain the necessary authorisations for using copyrighted materials.

Multiple, recurrent or redundant publications. An author should not submit the same manuscript describing the same research to different journals.

Acknowledgement of sources. Acknowledgement of the work of other authors should be included in any manuscript. Authors should always cite publications that have been instrumental in the work being reported.

Conflicts of interest. Authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other conflicts of interest that could be considered to influence the results or interpretation of the data reported in the manuscript. All funding sources for the research must also be disclosed in the manuscript.

Significant errors in published work. Whenever an author discovers a significant error in an article, they are under the obligation to immediately notify the journal's editorial team and provide the necessary information for its correction, with a correction note being inserted in the published article.

Respect for human rights, dignity and diversity. Authors agree not to use offensive, discriminatory or abusive language, particularly concerning ethnicity, culture, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, language, health conditions or socio-economic status.

  • REVIEWERS' RESPONSIBILITIES

Scientific and academic responsibility. Reviewers should only agree to review articles that fall within the scope of their areas of scientific expertise and knowledge. By agreeing to review manuscripts submitted to the Journal, reviewers undertake to provide a high-quality service.

Confidentiality. The reviewers must treat all manuscripts received for review as confidential documents.

Indication of sources. Reviewers must ensure that the authors have identified all the sources used in their research. A reviewer should also draw the journal's editorial team's attention if they notice any similarities between a manuscript under review and any other published article of which they are aware.

Objectivity. Manuscript reviews must be conducted objectively, and observations must be clearly formulated and based on supporting arguments. Reviewers should follow the evaluation criteria provided by the journal and use objective language with constructive recommendations free from bias.

Acceptance of the review. Any reviewer who cannot guarantee that their review will be sent in by the deadline must report this to the editorial team immediately so the manuscript can be sent to another reviewer.

Conflict of interest. Any of the following situations must be avoided, as they constitute a conflict of interest: having co-authored publications with at least one of the authors in the last three years; being/having been the PhD supervisor of the author(s) or being/having been supervised by the author(s); receiving professional or personal benefits as a result of the review in question; having a personal relationship (namely family or friendship) with the author(s); having a direct or indirect interest in the article under review.