Open Science Policies

OPEN SCIENCE POLICIES OF THE REAMEC JOURNAL

Starting in 2024, the REAMEC Journal will embrace the Open Science modus operandi as a new paradigm in the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Thus, it commits to best Open Science practices regarding the following aspects:

1) Open evaluation or open peer review
2) Open access
3) Open data
4) Preprint
5) Open source code
6) Citizen science
7) Copyright
8) Scientific social networks
9) Research ethics committee approval
10) Author contributions
11) Usage license
12) Retraction policy
13) Identification of editors and reviewers in the manuscript
14) Publication of commented reviews
15) DEIA principles (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility)
16) FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)

A detailed description of each of these Open Science aspects will be presented subsequently, addressing the specific policies adopted by the REAMEC Journal from 2024 onwards.

The implementation of these policies reflects the Journal's commitment to promoting a culture of open and collaborative research, aligned with contemporary trends and the needs of the scientific community in the field of Science Education and Mathematical Education.

1) Open Review or Open Peer Review

The REAMEC Journal follows an open peer review model, revealing the identities of reviewers and authors mutually, whenever both parties authorize the disclosure. Upon manuscript submission, through "Doc. 4 - Form on Compliance with Open Science (mandatory for all three submission options)," authors have the possibility to inform whether they accept revealing their identity to the evaluators/reviewers, and if they do, reviewers are asked whether they authorize revealing their identity to the authors.

Therefore, if both parties accept the invitation to open the evaluation process, peer review becomes open. If one of the parties does not authorize, the double-blind peer review process continues. Whenever possible and if both reviewers and authors authorize, their detailed opinions and the authors' responses (regarding the requests from the reviewers in their opinions) are published alongside the manuscript/article.

2) Open Access

Manuscripts published in the REAMEC Journal are freely accessible under the Open Access model, without charging submission fees or article processing charges (APCs) to authors. The Journal uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to ensure wide dissemination and reuse of the content.

3) Open Data

The REAMEC Journal encourages authors to make datasets from their research available in public repositories, respecting privacy and copyright, and articles make clear reference to this data. This Data information is recorded in "Appendix 1 - Manuscript Information," provided in the Template. Authors are required to declare that they will make the research data available (when applicable). When necessary, it is stated that the dataset supporting the research results has been published in the article itself.

In cases where data requires authorization from the author or other individuals and institutions involved in the research, authors are responsible for providing the appropriate permissions. It is also essential to respect the conditions for data sharing and other content used in the research, taking into account ethical considerations and the protection of sensitive data, when applicable.

Authors are instructed to inform, cite, and reference all data, program codes, and other materials used or generated in the research, whether they are public/published in research data repositories or not. This approach aligns with emerging practices of Open Science, encouraging articles to cite all components underlying the main text, with the aim of facilitating and promoting a deeper understanding of the research, its peer review, reproducibility, reuse, preservation, and visibility.

4) Preprint

The REAMEC Journal values preprints as a means of rapid scientific dissemination and accepts submissions of papers that are available in recognized preprint repositories. If the manuscript's preprint has been published, its respective DOI is provided in "Appendix 1 - Manuscript Information," available in the Template.

The document titled "Criteria, Policy, and Procedures for the Admission and Permanence of Journals in the SciELO Brazil Collection" (Link), adopted by the REAMEC Journal as a guideline for the implementation of its Open Science policies, presents a definition of preprint and recommendations for authors and journals, which are informative and contribute to understanding this aspect of Open Science.

A preprint is defined as a manuscript ready for submission to a journal and deposited in reputable preprint servers, before or in parallel with submission to a journal. [...]

Preprints share with journals the novelty in the publication of articles and inhibit the use of double-blind procedures in manuscript evaluation. The use of preprints is an option and choice of the authors, and it is up to journals to adapt their policies to accept manuscript submissions previously deposited in a preprint server recognized by the journal (SCIELO BRAZIL, 2022, p. 9).

The use of preprints, as defined by SCIELO Brazil, represents an important and emerging facet in scientific communication. By depositing a manuscript on reputable preprint servers, authors not only expedite the dissemination of their findings but also contribute to greater transparency in research.

This practice, which allows for the publication of a manuscript before or simultaneously with journal submission, challenges the traditional model of double-blind peer review, as the work is already public before formal evaluation. By making this choice, authors demonstrate a commitment to the rapid dissemination of scientific information, while the REAMEC Journal, which accepts preprint manuscripts, recognizes and values the importance of this practice in the evolution of academic research.

5) Open Source

For articles involving software development or computational analyses, the REAMEC Journal encourages authors to make the source code available in open repositories, under licenses that facilitate review and reuse by other researchers. If the research has recorded and published any source code in open repositories, the DOI or link to the document is provided in "Appendix 1 - Manuscript Information," available in the Template.

6) Citizen Science

The REAMEC Journal promotes the publication of research adopting Citizen Science approaches, encouraging the inclusion of non-scientists in the research process and valuing work with significant social impact.

On the Journal's website, on each article's page, as another Citizen Science action, any citizen is allowed to post comments, likes, or a specific discussion about the manuscript, through the installed DISQUS plugin, enabling some level of public involvement and participation in the topics published in the manuscripts/articles. In addition to this plugin, the Journal also features the Hypothesis plugin, which allows any reader to make and record comments on the PDF of the published manuscript/article. These two tools facilitate greater interaction among the authors, editors, and readers of the manuscripts published in this journal.

7) Copyright

Authors retain the copyright to their works published in the REAMEC Journal, in compliance with the requirements of Law No. 9,610 of February 19, 1998, which amends, updates, and consolidates legislation on copyright and provides other provisions. Meanwhile, the journal uses a licensing model that promotes the dissemination of the work, particularly by adopting the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Copyrights are retained by the authors, who grant the REAMEC Journal exclusive rights for the first publication. Authors will not be remunerated for the publication of their work in this journal. Authors are permitted to enter into separate additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., publishing it in an institutional repository, on a personal website, publishing a translation, or as a book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal. The editors of the Journal have the right to make textual adjustments and adaptations to the publication standards.

8) Scientific Social Networks

The REAMEC Journal encourages the dissemination of published manuscripts on social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and scientific and academic social networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Mendeley, and LinkedIn, encouraging authors to share their articles on these platforms to increase bibliographic and bibliometric reach and impact. Additionally, the REAMEC Journal has its own accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Academia.edu, Mendeley, and LinkedIn as channels for disseminating published manuscripts and their updates.

9) Research Ethics Committee Approval

The author(s) must inform whether the research has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) involving human subjects. The author(s) must submit along with the manuscript a copy of the certificate and/or declaration attesting to compliance with research ethics standards, including a copy of the approval of the research protocol by the Research Ethics Committee involving human subjects. The manuscript must include the Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Appreciation (CAAE) number generated by the National Commission for Ethics in Research (CONEP) for the research project from which the manuscript originates. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements will not be accepted for publication in the REAMEC Journal. Please state "Not applicable" when appropriate for manuscripts that do not involve human subjects in the methodology or analysis.Copyright**

10) Author Contributions

The REAMEC Journal adopts clear and rigorous criteria for determining authorship, based on substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the published work. All authors must have made significant contributions and agree to the final submission of the manuscript. Minor contributions are acknowledged in the acknowledgments section. This authorship contribution information is recorded in "Appendix 1 - Information about the manuscript," provided in the template.

The main topics for identifying author contributions include: Abstract; Introduction; Theoretical framework; Data analysis; Discussion of results; Conclusion and final considerations; References; Manuscript review; Approval of the final published version. For each item, it is necessary to inform the names of authors who made significant contributions to its development.

In addition to the items mentioned above, the REAMEC Journal recommends the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) if necessary. CRediT is a high-level taxonomy that encompasses 14 functions representative of the activities commonly performed by contributors in academic scientific production. These functions specify each contributor's contribution to academic work, including: (1) Conceptualization; (2) Data curation; (3) Formal analysis; (4) Funding acquisition; (5) Investigation; (6) Methodology; (7) Project administration; (8) Resources provision; (9) Software development; (10) Supervision; (11) Validation; (12) Visualization; (13) Writing - original draft; (14) Writing - review and editing.

The roles defined in the above taxonomy include, but are not limited to, traditional authorship roles. The goal of these roles is not to define what constitutes authorship but to document all contributions that enable the production of academic publications.

11) License of Use

The REAMEC Journal uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows sharing, copying, redistributing the manuscript in any medium or format. It also allows adaptation, remixing, transformation, and building upon the material, provided proper authorship and initial publication credit are given in this journal.

12) Retraction Policy

The REAMEC Journal follows strict guidelines for the retraction or correction of articles. In cases of significant errors or discoveries of inappropriate conduct (such as plagiarism or fabricated data), the journal takes necessary measures by publishing a retraction or correction notice while preserving the original record for transparency purposes. Authors and editors assume responsibility and commitment to the terms of the REAMEC Journal's Retraction Policy. This policy is registered with Crossref under the DOI: https://doi.org/10.26571/reamec.retratacao.

13) Identification of Editors and Reviewers in the Manuscript

In alignment with the practice of open peer review, the REAMEC Journal promotes transparency in the editorial process by identifying the names, ORCID links, and Lattes links of the editors and reviewers involved in each publication, whenever possible and after obtaining the appropriate authorizations from the individuals involved.

Reviewers have the option to remain anonymous but are encouraged to allow the disclosure of their identities to strengthen the openness and integrity of the process. Reviewer names are disclosed if all reviewers authorize it, considering the open peer review inherent to this journal's alignment with the modus operandi of Open Science, based on the guidance and recommendations of the SciELO Brazil Program and the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors (ABEC Brazil).

If reviewers do not authorize disclosure, the editor will record the following message: "Two/Three ad hoc reviewers evaluated this manuscript and did not authorize the disclosure of their names," or, if one reviewer authorizes and another does not, the editor will inform the name of the reviewer who authorized, followed by their ORCID and Lattes links, and record the following message for the reviewer who did not authorize the disclosure of their name: "Reviewer x: did not authorize the disclosure of their name." This information is made available in "Appendix 1 - Information about the manuscript," as per the template.

The REAMEC Journal also annually publishes the list of reviewers for each issue on the journal's website, along with the following information about the reviewers: academic title, full name, institution, city, state, country.

14) Publication of Commented Reviews

The REAMEC Journal adopts the practice of publishing commented reviews as part of its commitment to transparency in the peer review process. Reviewers' comments, along with authors' responses, are published with the articles if both parties agree. This practice promotes a better understanding of the review process and values the work of the reviewers.

Reviewers' identities will be protected unless they choose to reveal them. The publication of reviews aims to enrich academic dialogue and increase confidence in the integrity of the editorial process.

15) DEIA Principles (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility)

The REAMEC Journal is committed to the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in all aspects of its editorial operation. The Journal ensures diverse representation of authors, reviewers, and editors, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, or disability.

The REAMEC Journal promotes equity and inclusion in access to and participation in all its editorial activities. The Journal also takes measures to ensure that its content is accessible to a broad audience, including the implementation of accessibility features for individuals with disabilities.

The implementation of DEIA principles by the REAMEC Journal is evidenced through various concrete actions and practices that have already been implemented and others that this journal is committed to undertaking:

a) Diverse Representation:

Action 1 - Selection and Representation: The journal ensures diverse representation in its editorial board, authors, and reviewers by adopting selection practices that consider gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, and abilities. This can be seen on the article pages, editorial team, and lists of reviewers available on the Journal's website, ensuring that diverse voices are consciously and equitably heard and represented.

Action 2 - Reporting and Statistics: Publication of reports and statistics on the diversity of contributors, offering transparency about its demographic composition.

b) Promotion of Equity and Inclusion:

Action 3 - Editorial Policies: Adoption of policies that promote equity and inclusion, such as ensuring equal opportunities for publication regardless of authors' backgrounds.

Action 4 - Training and Awareness: Conducting training and awareness activities for editors and reviewers on the importance of equity and inclusion in manuscript review and selection.

c) Accessibility of Content:

Action 5 - Accessibility Resources: Implementation of accessibility features on the website and in journal publications, such as alternative text for images, captions for videos, and accessible document formats for screen readers.

Action 6 - Diverse Formats: Offering content in multiple formats (such as HTML, E-PUB, accessible PDF) to meet the needs of a broader audience, including individuals with visual or reading disabilities.

d) Ongoing Evaluation and Adjustments:

Action 7 - Feedback and Improvement: Collecting feedback from authors, reviewers, editors, and readers about DEIA practices and making ongoing adjustments to policies and practices to better serve the needs of a diverse community.

e) Partnerships and Collaborations:

Action 8 - Engagement with Diverse Communities: Establishing partnerships with organizations and groups that represent a variety of communities to ensure that different perspectives are considered in editorial policies.

These actions demonstrate the commitment of the REAMEC Journal to go beyond statements of intention, effectively implementing the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in all its editorial operations.

16) FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)

In line with the FAIR principles, the REAMEC Journal is committed to ensuring that research data and published content are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. This is achieved through:

a) Findable: Publishing data and content with persistent identifiers (such as DOIs) and rich metadata.

b) Accessible: Maintaining an infrastructure that allows access to data and content even after publication.

c) Interoperable: Using standardized and compatible formats with other platforms and repositories to facilitate integration and use of data.

d) Reusable: Adopting clear licenses (such as the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)) that enable and encourage the reuse of published data and content.

In the context of these policies, contributing to increased dissemination of published manuscripts, in addition to the PDF version, the REAMEC Journal also publishes texts in five other formats: PDF-A, VIEWER, HTML, E-PUB, and MOBILE. All manuscripts published in the REAMEC Journal, since its founding in 2013, are available in these formats.

These policies reflect the commitment of the REAMEC Journal to Open Science, emphasizing transparency, integrity, and innovation in the field of Science Education and Mathematics Education. The REAMEC Journal is also committed to complying with the guidelines established by the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO Brazil), based on the "Criteria, Policy, and Procedures for Admission and Permanence of Journals in the SciELO Brazil Collection" (Link), even though it is not yet indexed in this database.

Note:
Text updated on: December 30, 2025.

Source: https://doi.org/10.26571/reamec.v11i1.16911