Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Revista NERA is a peer-reviewed scientific journal committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics. All parties involved in the editorial process—including editors, authors, reviewers, and the publisher (the university)—are expected to adhere to established standards of ethical conduct.

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement follows the principles set forth in the COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. 

Authorship and Author Contributions Policy

Three minimum requirements define authorship across all recognized standards: making a substantial contribution to the work, participating in the conception of the manuscript, and assuming responsibility for the content of the manuscript and its published version. The Acknowledgements section may be used to recognize contributions that do not meet the formal criteria for authorship. Individuals who have been involved exclusively in the following activities are not considered co-authors: obtaining funding; collecting data or organizing databases; providing general supervision of a research group; academic supervision or co-supervision; or developing software or technical tools without direct involvement in the conception, analysis, interpretation of data, and substantial writing of the manuscript. As stated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), responsibility for ensuring that all named authors meet the authorship criteria rests collectively with the group of authors, not with the journal.

The maximum number of authors permitted per article is three. In exceptional cases, the Editorial Board may consider requests to exceed this limit, particularly in view of the nature of the research. The addition of new authors after manuscript submission is not permitted. Each author may publish only one article per year. For all submissions with more than one author, an individual author contribution statement must be submitted as a supplementary document. Manuscripts submitted without this document will be automatically archived. All authors must actively participate in the discussion of the results, the revision of the manuscript, and the approval of its final version. Individual contributions must also be specified according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy), which comprises fourteen roles describing the contributions made throughout the manuscript development process. Practices such as honorary, ghost, gift, forged, or hyperauthorship are expressly rejected by Revista NERA, as they violate the ethical principles of research integrity. The identification of any such practice during the peer-review process will result in the immediate archiving of the manuscript.

With regard to the order of authorship, authors must, at a minimum, ensure that they have actively participated in the preparation of the manuscript and have not infringed upon the legal rights of other authors during this process. Authorship must be determined jointly, with the consent and full awareness of all parties involved, taking into account the ethical, legal, and intellectual responsibilities associated with scientific authorship. The designation of a corresponding author is mandatory. The corresponding author is responsible for maintaining communication with the editorial team, responding promptly to requests from the journal, and serving as the point of contact for any future questions concerning the integrity of the work. The corresponding author does not necessarily have to be the first author. The order of authorship should, preferably, reflect the descending order of each author's actual contribution to the development of the manuscript. Criteria such as alphabetical order should be avoided. However, the authors themselves must determine the order of authorship based on collectively agreed criteria. In large co-authorship groups, it is recommended that authorship criteria be established before the work begins and confirmed prior to submission. It is essential to distinguish between scientific collaboration and manuscript co-authorship: co-authorship should be attributed only to those who have made an active and significant contribution to the writing of the manuscript. Contributions that do not meet these criteria may and should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section. Regardless of the order of authorship, all authors are equally responsible for the entire content of the manuscript.

To prevent disputes, authorship and the order of authors should be agreed upon consensually by all parties involved from the early stages of manuscript development, as recommended in the section on authorship order. If authorship disputes arise after submission, the journal recommends that the parties seek to resolve the matter transparently and collaboratively, preferably through direct dialogue among the authors. The addition of new authors after manuscript submission is not permitted. Revista NERA does not act as a mediator in authorship disputes; responsibility for resolving such conflicts rests with the authors and the institutions responsible for the research. However, the journal may request documentation or clarification to safeguard the integrity of the editorial process. Unresolved disputes that compromise the proper attribution of authorship may result in the archiving or rejection of the submission.

Complaints and Appeals Policy

Revista NERA welcomes complaints and appeals from authors, members of the Scientific Advisory Board, readers, and any member of the scientific community. In accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), this policy aims to ensure transparency, fair treatment, and the continuous improvement of our editorial processes.

Distinction between Appeals and Complaints

Appeals: Appeals specifically concern challenges to editorial decisions, such as the rejection of a manuscript.

Complaints: Complaints concern dissatisfaction with the journal's processes, conduct, or management, such as lengthy delays in the review process, inappropriate behavior by members of the editorial team, or breaches of confidentiality.

Procedure for Appeals against  Editorial Decisions

Authors who believe that the rejection of their manuscript resulted from a significant technical or scientific error by the reviewers or editors, or who consider that the arguments presented in the review reports do not correspond to the content of the submitted manuscript, may submit a formal appeal against the editorial decision.

Before communicating an editorial decision to the authors, the Editorial Board of Revista NERA reviews the reports received. If inconsistencies, inadequacies, or discrepancies are identified in the evaluation, the manuscript is sent for a third review in order to ensure the quality and consistency of the editorial process.

How to submit an appeal: The corresponding author must send an email to revista.nera@gmail.com within 30 days of the editorial decision. The email must include the submission ID (available in the upper-left corner of the submission system) and a detailed appeal letter addressing, point by point, the reviewers' comments in an objective and scientifically grounded manner. The appeal letter must be signed by all authors.

What will not be considered: Appeals based solely on disagreement with the reviewers' or editors' assessment of the relevance or originality of the work will not be considered.

Appeal process: The appeal will initially be assessed by the Editors-in-Chief of Revista NERA. If the appeal presents valid and well-founded arguments, the manuscript will be sent for a new round of evaluation, specifically to two members of the Scientific Advisory Board who have had no previous contact with the manuscript.

The decision reached following the appeal is final, and no second appeal will be accepted for the same manuscript.

Procedure for Complaints concerning  the Conduct of Revista NERA

If a complaint concerns the conduct of reviewers or editors of Revista NERA:

How to submit a complaint: The complaint must be formally submitted by email to revista.nera@gmail.com, providing a detailed description of the incident, the parties involved, and, where applicable, evidence supporting the complaint, such as screenshots or email correspondence.

Management of Conflicts of Interest 

If the complaint concerns the journal's general processes or a member of the Scientific Advisory Board or an editor, the investigation will be conducted by an Editor-in-Chief who is not involved in the complaint.

If the complaint concerns an Editor-in-Chief, the matter will be referred to the Editorial Board.

Timeframes: Revista NERA will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within seven business days and will provide a substantive response or an update on the status of the investigation within 30 days.

Resolution

Revista NERA is committed to handling all complaints and disputes in good faith, seeking to resolve them within the editorial process itself and following the COPE flowcharts and guidelines applicable to each type of case.

If the complainant considers that the final decision of Revista NERA has not adequately resolved the matter and believes that principles or standards of publication ethics have been violated, they may appeal to Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), the institution to which Revista NERA is affiliated.

Procedures for Handling Allegations of Research Misconduct

Revista NERA considers the following practices to constitute research and publication misconduct:

1. Plagiarism and self-plagiarism: The appropriation of ideas, text, data, images, or any other content belonging to third parties without proper attribution, as well as the substantial reuse of one's own previously published material without appropriate citation, justification, or transparency, thereby constituting redundant or duplicate publication.

2. Data fabrication and falsification: The creation of nonexistent data, results, or information, as well as the manipulation of data, images, documents, or research procedures with the purpose of altering, distorting, or concealing the results actually obtained.

3. Authorship manipulation: The inclusion of individuals who have not made a substantial contribution to the conception, execution, analysis, or writing of the manuscript (guest or honorary authorship), as well as the exclusion of contributors who meet the criteria for authorship (ghost authorship).

4. Ethical violations in research: Ethical violations include conducting research involving human participants or animals without prior approval from the Research Ethics Committee (Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa – CEP), whenever such approval is required by applicable legislation and institutional regulations. As Revista NERA is a journal in the field of the Humanities, submissions involving animal experimentation or the manipulation of genetic material are uncommon. Nevertheless, the journal emphasizes the importance of obtaining prior ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the researchers' affiliated institution whenever applicable to the research design.

5. Failure to disclose conflicts of interest: The omission of financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other relationships that may influence, or may reasonably be perceived as capable of influencing, the conduct of the research, the interpretation of results, or the editorial process.

6. Improper use of Artificial Intelligence tools: The use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the preparation, analysis, translation, editing, or proofreading of manuscripts without appropriate disclosure, in violation of Revista NERA's policy, as well as attributing authorship to artificial intelligence systems or using such tools to fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data, images, references, or research results.

7. Peer-review manipulation: Any attempt to compromise the integrity of the peer-review process, including the nomination of reviewers using false identities, fraudulent email addresses, or misleading information, as well as any other practice intended to improperly influence the editorial evaluation.

Detection and Reporting Mechanisms 

Revista NERA uses both proactive and responsive mechanisms to identify research misconduct:

Screening: All submitted manuscripts undergo similarity screening using detection tools before being sent for peer review.

External reports: Editors, members of the Scientific Advisory Board, readers, or anonymous whistleblowers may report suspected misconduct at any time by sending a formal email to revista.nera@gmail.com, providing relevant evidence, such as references to allegedly plagiarized passages or inconsistencies in the data.

Investigation Procedure

When a substantiated suspicion or allegation arises, the Editorial Board will follow the protocol below, while maintaining the anonymity of the complainant and the presumption of innocence of the authors until the case has been concluded:

Stage I: Initial Assessment. The Editor-in-Chief assesses the allegation and the evidence provided. If the allegation lacks sufficient grounds, the case will be closed and archived.

Stage II: Contact with the Authors. If there are valid indications of possible misconduct, the editor will contact the corresponding author, present the evidence objectively, and request an explanation within 30 days.

Stage III: Internal Assessment. The editor will assess the authors' response. If the explanation is satisfactory and the issue resulted from an honest, unintentional error, the case may be closed with minor corrections to the manuscript.

Stage IV: Institutional Referral. If the authors fail to respond or if their response is unsatisfactory, Revista NERA does not have investigative or law-enforcement authority to adjudicate criminal offenses. However, it has a responsibility to refer the matter to the authors' affiliated institution (such as a university, ethics committee, or funding agency) and request a formal investigation, in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Sanctions and Outcomes

If misconduct is established, or if the authors' institution confirms the misconduct, the journal will apply sanctions proportionate to the severity of the violation:

If the manuscript is still under review: Immediate rejection of the manuscript and notification to the authors.

If the article has already been published:

Retraction: An article will be formally retracted if fraud, plagiarism, or an error invalidates the conclusions of the work. The retraction notice will publicly state the reasons for the retraction and identify who requested it (the editors and/or the authors themselves).

Expression of Concern: An Expression of Concern may be published when there are strong indications of misconduct, but the institutional investigation is inconclusive or excessively delayed.

Correction: A correction will be issued for honest, isolated errors that do not compromise the scientific integrity of the study.

Future Submission Restrictions: Revista NERA reserves the right to prohibit authors involved in confirmed misconduct from submitting new manuscripts to the journal for a specified period of five years.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Conflicts of interest may be personal, commercial, political, academic, or financial in nature. Conflicts of interest may arise among authors, reviewers, or editors. Authors must disclose any and all conflicts of interest that have arisen during the development of the submission. Furthermore, upon submitting a manuscript, authors are responsible for acknowledging and disclosing any financial or other relationships that may have influenced the manuscript.

If there is an actual or potential conflict of interest, authors must disclose it in a separate statement, signed and submitted as an attachment through the submission platform. For further information, see Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest.

Members of the Scientific Advisory Board are expected to disclose any and all conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to undertake a peer-review assignment.

Authors: Authors must disclose, at the time of submission, any financial, institutional, or personal relationship that could reasonably be perceived as a conflict of interest.

Reviewers: Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts if they identify conflicts that could compromise their impartiality and must immediately notify the Editorial Board.

Editors: Editors must refrain from making editorial decisions regarding manuscripts in which they have any type of involvement or conflict of interest and must delegate responsibility for the manuscript to another editor.

Failure to comply with this policy may result in editorial review, retraction, or archiving of the manuscript, depending on the severity of the case. Revista NERA follows the best-practice recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for the management of conflicts of interest.

Policy on the Use and Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools and Resources

Revista NERA follows the guidelines established in the Guide for the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools and Resources in Research Communication within the SciELO Network and in CNPq Ordinance No. 2,664, of March 6, 2026, issued by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The use of tools that assist in the preparation, writing, proofreading, and translation of articles, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, is permitted, provided that the principles of transparency, scientific integrity, and authorial responsibility are observed.

It is emphasized that only human beings may be recognized as authors, translators, or reviewers. The attribution of authorship or scientific responsibility to Artificial Intelligence systems is strictly prohibited.

Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and proper attribution of all information, including citations and bibliographic references. Authors must ensure that material produced and/or assisted by Artificial Intelligence tools does not contain nonexistent references, factual errors, or distortions of scientific content. Concealing the use of such tools, or using them in a manner inconsistent with the principles of transparency and academic integrity, constitutes an ethical violation.

Any use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the preparation, revision, translation, or editing of a manuscript must be disclosed through the Declaration of Originality of the Manuscript, Conflict of Interest, and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools, which must be submitted at the time of manuscript submission. When no such tools have been used, the declaration must also be submitted, expressly stating that AI tools were not used.

If the use of Artificial Intelligence tools is identified without the required disclosure or in violation of Revista NERA's editorial policy, the evaluation process will be immediately suspended. The editors will formally notify the corresponding author, requesting clarification and establishing a deadline for a response. If no response is received, if the author refuses to provide the requested clarification, or if deliberate concealment is established, the manuscript will be archived.

If the irregularity is identified after publication, the Editorial Board will assess its severity and take the appropriate measures. In cases where undisclosed use of Artificial Intelligence results in data or information fabrication, the generation of nonexistent references, plagiarism, image manipulation, compromise of methodological integrity, or other forms of research misconduct, the article will be retracted in accordance with Revista NERA's Retraction Policy. When the omission does not compromise the scientific validity of the study but constitutes a violation of the journal's transparency policy, measures such as the publication of an Expression of Concern, an editorial correction, or formal notification to the authors' affiliated institution may be adopted, depending on the severity of the case.

Research Data Sharing and Reproducibility Policy

In accordance with the principles of Open Science and the “Criteria, Policy and Procedures for the Admission and Retention of Journals in the SciELO Brazil Collection,” all submissions to Revista NERA must be accompanied by a research data availability statement.

How should research data be prepared for submission?

Research data must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines established in the SciELO Research Data Preparation Guide. In addition, authors must follow the instructions provided in the Research Data Deposit Guide, also published by SciELO. Authors are strongly encouraged to watch the video tutorial How to Deposit Data, prepared by the SciELO team.

After submission, research data will undergo curation by the Revista NERA editorial team and may be returned to the authors for corrections and/or additional information, if necessary.

Authors are strongly encouraged to review and agree to the Terms and Conditions of Use of the SciELO Data Repository before submitting any research data.

If authors have already deposited their research data in another research data repository, they do not need to submit the data to SciELO Data. Authors must simply provide the link or DOI of the research data in the research data availability statement. SciELO provides a List of Repositories for Research Data Deposit, which is recommended for this purpose.

When should research data be submitted?

Research data should be deposited at the time of manuscript submission to Revista NERA through the SciELO Data platform (access the Revista NERA collection on the platform). After depositing the research data in accordance with the instructions provided in the SciELO Research Data Preparation Guide and the Research Data Deposit Guide, authors must provide the link to access the research data in the Revista NERA submission system through the research data availability statement.

During the peer-review process, the research data will be assessed together with the manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted, the research data will be published; if the manuscript is rejected, the data will be deleted from the SciELO Data repository.

Important notes:

1. The sharing of research data is the responsibility of the researchers involved and must be disclosed at the time of submission.
2. As an Open Science practice, journals may require, except in duly justified cases, that research data be made openly accessible through the designated repository.
3. Authors are encouraged to read the complete material on SciELO Data, available on the SciELO website.
4. If the submitted manuscript is not accepted for publication, the submitted research data will not be made publicly available and will be deleted from SciELO Data.
5. All research data will undergo curation by the Revista NERA editorial team at Level 1 (basic curation), in accordance with the Research Data Curation Guide for Editorial Teams, prepared by the SciELO team.

Submission of research data is not mandatory; it is encouraged as an Open Science and scientific reproducibility practice. However, all submissions to Revista NERA must include a research data availability statement, in accordance with the model provided here.

Revista NERA requires all submitted research to have been conducted in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards and with respect for human and territorial rights. In accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal monitors and requires ethical compliance in the conduct of research and reserves the right to reject manuscripts when there are well-founded concerns regarding the integrity of fieldwork or laboratory procedures.

Ethical Oversight Policy

Given the scope of Revista NERA as a journal specializing in Agrarian Geography, the submission of an opinion issued by a Research Ethics Committee (Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa – CEP) is not mandatory for all submissions. Nevertheless, the journal emphasizes the importance of obtaining prior ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the researchers' affiliated institution whenever applicable to the research design. In cases where the research has been approved by a CEP, the approval document must be submitted as a supplementary file at the time of submission and must include the corresponding process or protocol number.

This policy does not exempt authors from the responsibility to conduct their research in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards and with respect for human, territorial, and environmental rights. Authors are encouraged to follow the Guidelines for Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity issued by the Forum of Humanities, Social Sciences, Applied Social Sciences, Linguistics, Literature and Arts (FCHSSALLA), as well as all other ethical standards applicable to their field of knowledge.

Revista NERA's policy is based on the following principles:

1. Power relations and vulnerability: Research involving rural communities, traditional peoples and communities in their diversity, quilombola communities, agrarian reform settlements, Indigenous peoples, children and adolescents, populations affected by large-scale development projects, or other groups in situations of vulnerability must demonstrate that rigorous measures have been adopted to prevent coercion, exploitation, or the exposure of participants to political, legal, social, or territorial risks.
2. Community protocols: Some communities have their own consultation and research protocols. In such cases, researchers must respect collective decision-making processes and obtain authorization from community leaders or competent representative bodies before beginning any fieldwork or spatial data collection.
3. Data access and feedback: Researchers are encouraged to share research findings with participating communities in accessible formats and appropriate language, ensuring that knowledge production does not amount solely to the extraction of information but contributes meaningfully to the communities involved.
4. Genetic heritage and traditional knowledge: Research involving access to genetic heritage or associated traditional knowledge must demonstrate compliance with applicable national biodiversity legislation and the obtaining of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the communities that hold such knowledge. When soil, water, plant, or other material samples are collected within protected areas, the authorizations issued by the competent authorities responsible for managing the area must be provided.
5. Fieldwork ethics and prevention of academic extractivism: Fieldwork is one of the principal methodologies of Geography and must be conducted in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Revista NERA recommends that researchers return research findings to participating communities in accessible language and through means compatible with their circumstances, so that the knowledge produced can contribute to their empowerment and autonomy. The journal also encourages the horizontal development of the research process, recognizing research participants as co-producers of knowledge rather than merely as sources of data.
6. Protection of vulnerable populations in contexts of territorial conflict: Given the scope of Revista NERA, manuscripts addressing territories marked by conflicts and territorial disputes are frequently submitted. In such cases, researchers must adopt risk-mitigation strategies to ensure that their presence, methodological procedures, or data-collection instruments do not expose participants to physical, legal, political, or social risks. In addition, strict anonymization of potentially identifiable information is mandatory, both in the manuscript and in any datasets made available, in accordance with the SciELO Research Data Preparation Guide. Researchers are also encouraged to consult the Good Practices Manual on Privacy and Protection of Personal Data published by Fiocruz.
7. Geotechnologies, surveillance, and privacy: Researchers are encouraged to adopt the principle of cartographic privacy, avoiding the disclosure of coordinates or spatial representations that could allow the precise identification of communities, residences, areas of traditional use, or other sensitive locations. The journal also emphasizes the ethical responsibility inherent in cartographic production, since maps and geospatial databases may be used by public or private actors for surveillance, territorial control, expropriation, or other forms of rights violations.

Intellectual Property and Usage Rights Policy

The ideas and concepts presented in articles published by Revista NERA are the sole responsibility of the authors. All content published by the journal, including its articles, unless otherwise specified, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).

Authors of articles published by Revista NERA retain the copyright to their work while licensing it under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows articles to be reused and distributed without restriction, provided that the original work is properly cited.

Revista NERA encourages authors to self-archive their accepted manuscripts by publishing them on personal blogs, institutional repositories, academic social media platforms, and their personal social media accounts, provided that a complete citation of the version published on the journal's website is included.

Post-Publication Discussion and Challenge Policy

Revista NERA encourages ongoing scientific debate and recognizes that peer review does not end with the publication of a manuscript. In accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal provides a Letters to the Editor section through which the academic community may review, challenge, or comment on published articles.

Acceptance criteria: Letters must be strictly technical, respectful, evidence-based, and submitted within six months of the publication of the original article.

Submission procedure: Letters must be submitted exclusively through the Revista NERA submission system, under the “Letter to the Editor” section. In the final submission step, in the comments to the editors, authors must provide the title of the article to which the letter refers and its link. Letters that do not meet the objectives described above will be automatically archived.

Right of reply: If a letter presents valid arguments, the authors of the original article will be formally invited by the editors to prepare an Authors' Response within 30 days.

Publication: The Letter to the Editor and the Authors' Response will be assessed by the Editorial Board and, if approved, published on a continuous basis and electronically linked to the original article.

Editorial Handling of Pos-Publication Discussions

If a post-publication discussion through Letters to the Editor clearly demonstrates that the original article contains substantive flaws, the editors will take the following measures, depending on the severity of the issue:

Correction: Issued when the discussion identifies an honest statistical or typographical error that requires correction but does not invalidate the study's overall conclusions.

Expression of Concern: Issued when the discussion raises serious concerns about possible data manipulation or substantial inconsistencies and a more thorough institutional investigation is underway.

Retraction: Issued when the post-publication challenge conclusively demonstrates that the results are irreproducible due to a serious methodological error, fraud, plagiarism, or an irreparable ethical violation that invalidates the article.

Retraction Policy

Retraction is a public mechanism used to record problems affecting a published manuscript (partial retraction) or to announce its cancellation (full retraction). The primary purpose of this policy is to preserve the integrity of the scientific record and maintain readers' trust in the quality of the journal. Decisions to retract a manuscript are made with the commitment to upholding ethical standards and academic credibility.

Revista NERA follows the guidance established in the Retraction Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Guide for the Registration and Publication of Retractions of the SciELO Brazil Collection.

Members of the Scientific Advisory Board who identify, during the peer-review process, evidence of substantial errors, incorrect data, research misconduct, similarity without proper citation, redundant publication, citation manipulation, or any other issue that compromises the integrity of the manuscript must immediately notify the responsible editorial team and, where appropriate, recommend retraction, correction, or archiving of the manuscript.

Retractions will be published only after assessment and authorization by the Editorial Board. A retraction may be issued in the following cases:

• Manuscripts found to contain the unauthorized appropriation of data or research published by third parties.
• Manuscripts involving improper authorship, including the exclusion of co-authors who participated in the preparation of the work.
• Evidence that research data or information were altered, falsified, or modified to obtain desired results.
• Manuscripts that have been published redundantly or are simultaneously under consideration or have already been published by another journal.
• Manuscripts containing information disseminated without the necessary authorization for its use.
• The need to correct information or data in already published manuscripts, excluding routine updates or changes to the theoretical framework.

Retractions will not be issued in the following cases:

• Authorship is disputed, but there are no grounds to question the validity of the results.
• The main findings remain reliable and a correction can adequately address the identified errors or concerns.
• The available evidence is inconclusive to justify retraction, or additional information is pending, such as the outcome of an institutional investigation.
• Authors' conflicts of interest are reported to the journal after publication, but, in the assessment of the Scientific Advisory Board, such conflicts could not have influenced the article's interpretations, recommendations, or conclusions.

Retractions will be announced through the official Revista NERA website, following the Guide for the Registration and Publication of Retractions of the SciELO Brazil Collection. Retraction notices will be electronically linked to the retracted manuscripts through identification of the article and its authors.

The original article will not be removed from the Revista NERA platform or from indexing services. Instead:

i) The original PDF file will receive an indelible watermark on every page containing the words “RETRATADO / RETRACTED”; and

ii) The article's HTML page will display a prominent notice at the top directing readers to the Retraction Notice.

Scientific Integrity and Safeguarding of the Scholarly Record Policy

Revista NERA adopts a rigorous policy regarding research misconduct and is committed to preserving the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record. To this end, the journal establishes the following procedures:

1. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and redundant publication

All submitted manuscripts are mandatorily screened using iThenticate software during the desk-review stage. Revista NERA does not adopt a fixed similarity percentage as a criterion for acceptance or rejection, as each report is assessed individually by the Editorial Board, taking into account the nature, extent, and context of the similarities identified.

When plagiarism, inappropriate self-plagiarism, or redundant publication is identified, the following measures will be taken:

Before publication: Immediate rejection of the manuscript and formal notification to the authors, stating the reasons for the editorial decision.

After publication: Formal retraction of the article in accordance with the Revista NERA Retraction Policy.

2. Fabrication and falsification of data, images, and results

As a preventive measure, Revista NERA encourages the adoption of Open Science practices. Authors are strongly encouraged to make the data underlying their research available. However, a Research Data Availability Statement is mandatory at the time of submission.

If members of the Scientific Advisory Board, during peer review, or readers identify statistical inconsistencies, indications of data fabrication, or signs of image manipulation—such as duplication, cropping, inappropriate editing, or other alterations inconsistent with scientific integrity—the editorial process will be immediately suspended for investigation.

Authors will be required to provide the original files, raw data, and any explanations requested by the editorial team. Failure to provide this information, or the submission of insufficient explanations to resolve the identified inconsistencies, will result in rejection of the manuscript.

If the irregularity is identified after publication, Revista NERA may issue an Expression of Concern, retract the article, and formally notify the authors' affiliated institution for appropriate action.

3. Citation manipulation

Revista NERA does not permit any form of citation manipulation during the editorial process. Bibliographic references must have a direct and justifiable relationship to the content of the manuscript and must effectively contribute to its theoretical, methodological, or empirical foundation.

Inappropriate practices include the deliberate inclusion of irrelevant references, requests for citations without scientific justification—particularly citations to articles published by the journal itself or works authored by editors or reviewers—as well as any strategy intended to artificially inflate bibliometric indicators.

If authors are found to have intentionally included irrelevant citations, they will be required to remove them as a condition for the continuation of the editorial evaluation. If an attempt at citation manipulation occurs during peer review, the manuscript may be archived.

Likewise, reviewers who request the inclusion of self-citations or scientifically irrelevant references may be removed from the Revista NERA Scientific Advisory Board for violating the journal's ethical standards. These guidelines are expressly included in the instructions provided to reviewers.

4. Undisclosed conflicts of interest

At the time of submission, all authors must submit a duly signed Declaration of Originality of the Manuscript, Conflict of Interest, and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools, stating whether or not they have any conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation.

Similarly, members of the Scientific Advisory Board must declare themselves unable to participate whenever they identify conflicts of interest that could compromise their impartiality in evaluating a manuscript.

If the omission of a relevant conflict of interest is identified after publication, Revista NERA will assess the severity of the situation and take appropriate action. An editorial correction may be published when the omission does not compromise the validity of the results, or the article may be retracted when the undisclosed conflict compromises the credibility, impartiality, or integrity of the research.

5. Undisclosed use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools

Any use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the preparation, revision, translation, or editing of a manuscript must be disclosed by the authors through the Declaration of Originality of the Manuscript, Conflict of Interest, and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools, submitted at the time of manuscript submission.

When no such tools have been used, the declaration must also be submitted, expressly stating that AI tools were not used.

If the use of Artificial Intelligence tools without proper disclosure, or in violation of Revista NERA's editorial policy, is identified, the evaluation process will be immediately suspended. The editors will formally notify the corresponding author, request clarification, and establish a deadline for a response.

If no response is received, if the authors refuse to provide the requested clarification, or if deliberate concealment or use incompatible with the journal's editorial policy is established, the manuscript will be archived.

If the irregularity is identified after publication, the Editorial Board will assess its severity and take the appropriate measures. When undisclosed use of Artificial Intelligence results in the fabrication of information, generation of nonexistent references, plagiarism, image manipulation, compromise of methodological integrity, or any other form of research misconduct, the article will be retracted in accordance with the Revista NERA Retraction Policy.

When the omission does not compromise the scientific validity of the study but constitutes a violation of the journal's transparency policy, the editors may issue an Expression of Concern, publish an editorial correction, or formally notify the authors' affiliated institution, depending on the severity of the case.

Critical Reading and Dissemination of Knowledge

To strengthen scientific integrity and the collective construction of knowledge in the field of Agrarian Geography, Revista NERA, based on the Geography Manifesto for Ethics in Scientific Publishing produced within the Associação dos Geógrafos Brasileiros (AGB), encourages readers to adopt the following ethical and responsible practices when accessing and sharing our publications:

Critical and reflective reading: Read articles carefully and critically. Rigorous interpretation helps identify potential flaws or inconsistencies, strengthening scientific knowledge production and continuous dialogue between authors and readers.

Ethical and contextualized dissemination: Ensure that scientific information is not distorted, manipulated, or used out of context for inappropriate purposes.

Combating plagiarism and proper attribution: Avoid any form of unauthorized appropriation of data, texts, or ideas. When using content published by the journal, always cite the original document appropriately. As the journal adopts the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) open-access license, reproduction and dissemination are free of financial barriers, provided that proper credit is rigorously given to the authors and the journal.

Rejection of predatory journals: Do not use predatory journals as research sources and avoid disseminating their content. Such publications disregard editorial ethics and publish articles without adequate methodological rigor, disseminating false or misleading information that undermines the credibility of science.

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Responsibilities of Editors, the Editorial Board, and Authors of Revista NERA

Responsibilities of Editors and the Editorial Board

The editors and the Editorial Board of Revista NERA are responsible for:

• Deciding which manuscripts submitted to the journal should be sent for peer review and which should be published, in accordance with the journal's author guidelines and editorial policies, as well as applicable legal requirements concerning defamation, copyright infringement, and unreferenced similarity.
• Providing clear guidelines to authors and members of the Scientific Advisory Board regarding the peer-review process and their respective responsibilities.
• Ensuring that new members of the Editorial Board receive guidance on their roles and keeping current members informed about new policies and developments.
• Evaluating manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic and intellectual merit, without discrimination based on the authors' race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, citizenship, political orientation, or social class.
• Ensuring that peer review is fair, impartial, and free from conflicts of interest, maintaining the confidentiality of all information relating to manuscripts and following Revista NERA's established peer-review policy.
• Selecting appropriate reviewers for each manuscript.
• Ensuring that unpublished material contained in submitted manuscripts is not used for the editors', Editorial Board members', or Scientific Advisory Board members' own research without the authors' explicit consent.
• Taking appropriate action in response to ethical complaints concerning submitted or published manuscripts, following the COPE flowcharts available at COPE Flowcharts.
• Publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies whenever necessary.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must:

• Provide an accurate description of the work conducted and an objective discussion of its significance, ensuring the accuracy of the data presented.
• Not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one publication, a practice known as duplicate submission or duplicate publication. At the time of submission, authors must provide the Declaration of Originality of the Manuscript, Conflict of Interest, and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools.
• Ensure that their work is original and that any use of the words or ideas of other authors is properly cited and referenced.
• Ensure that manuscripts submitted as original research articles reflect the authors' own intellectual contribution and do not improperly reproduce pre-existing content. At the time of submission, the Declaration of Originality of the Manuscript, Conflict of Interest, and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools is mandatory.
• Refrain from plagiarism, including copy plagiarism, mosaic or patchwork plagiarism, and self-plagiarism, all of which constitute unethical and unacceptable publishing practices.
• Ensure that their manuscript has not been previously published.
• Restrict authorship to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, execution, and interpretation of the study. For multi-authored articles, an individual contribution statement must be submitted, specifying each author's contribution according to the CRediT Taxonomy and bearing the required signatures.
• Ensure, through the corresponding author, that all co-authors who have made significant contributions to the research are properly included in the authorship list and that all authors have reached a consensus regarding the submission of the manuscript. Authorship and the order of authors' names must be defined during the metadata stage of the submission process. Changes after submission, including the addition of new authors or modification of the authorship order, are therefore not permitted.
• Disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript and indicate all sources of funding at the time of submission.
• Declare the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the research and preparation of the article, including the data sources used and the nature of the AI contribution. Authors must verify the accuracy of references generated by AI, confirming the existence of the cited sources and the relevance of the citations to the claims made.
• If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, immediately notify the editors of Revista NERA so that appropriate corrective or retraction measures can be considered.

Responsibilities of the Scientific Advisory Board 

Peer review assists the editors and the Editorial Board in making editorial decisions and improving submitted manuscripts. All manuscripts submitted to Revista NERA are evaluated by members of the Scientific Advisory Board identified on the journal's official website and are not sent to ad hoc reviewers.

Any member of the Scientific Advisory Board who feels unqualified to evaluate a manuscript or is unable to complete the review within the stipulated timeframe must immediately inform the editors so that another reviewer can be assigned.

Manuscripts submitted for peer review are considered confidential documents, and their disclosure is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes uploading all or part of a manuscript to Artificial Intelligence platforms.

Privileged information obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal benefit.

Members of the Scientific Advisory Board must notify the editors of any evidence of unauthorized appropriation of intellectual material or copyright infringement in manuscripts under review.

Reviews must be conducted objectively, and comments must be presented clearly and with appropriate reasoning to assist authors in improving their articles.

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic content, without discrimination based on the authors' race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religious beliefs, citizenship, political orientation, or social class.

Reviewers must not evaluate manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the manuscript.

The use of Artificial Intelligence applications and AI-generated content during peer review requires members of the Scientific Advisory Board to adopt ethical and transparent practices. Any use of AI must be explicitly disclosed and appropriately justified in the review report.

Responsibilities of the Publisher 

As the publisher of Revista NERA, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) is responsible for:

• Providing practical support to the editors and the Editorial Board to ensure compliance with the COPE Code of Conduct.
• Safeguarding the autonomy of editorial decisions.
• Protecting the intellectual property and copyright of published works.
• Maintaining good editorial practices in accordance with the ethical standards established in this statement.