Submiting a paper

1. Although the Portuguese Review of Regional Studies (RPER) is not a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), its Editorial Board decided to adhere to the principles of the COPE Code of Conduct, from January 1st 2012 onwards (http://publicationethics.org/files/Code%20of%20conduct%20for%20journal%20editors4.pdf).
   
2. In principle, only papers that have never been published (in another journal or book, including conference Proceedings) can be considered for publication in RPER. The previous publication in a series of “working papers” (electronic or paper format) is an exception to this rule. The Editorial Board may agree with other sporadic exceptions, when copyrights are secured.
   
3. When a paper is submitted to RPER, authors must explicitly state that it will not be submitted for publication in any other journal or book until the reviewing process is completed. For this purpose, a signed declaration must be sent along with the paper. If the paper is rejected by the Editorial Board, the authors are free to publish it anywhere else.
   
4. Papers submitted for publication will always be reviewed (anonymously) by two experts in the area, invited by the Editorial Board. Both referees will offer their comments and classify it in accordance with the criteria defined by the Editorial Board. The reviewing criteria include originality, consistency, readability and the paper’s formal correction. The authors will be informed by the Editorial Board of the results of the evaluation within 16 weeks of its receipt. The assessment has three possible outcomes:
   (1) The paper is accepted for publication just as it is (or with minor changes) and it is included in the editorial plan. In this case, the authors are immediately informed of the expected publication date.
   (2) The paper is considered acceptable provided that major changes are made to its form or contents. In this case, authors will have a maximum of six weeks to make such changes and to submit the paper again. Once the revised version is received, a new assessment process starts.
   (3) The paper is refused.
   
5. RPER may organize special issues on specific themes, following conferences, workshops, or other events relevant in its area of interest. Although, in these cases, a simplifying shorter reviewing process may be adopted, the principle of peer-review selection will always be preserved.
   
6. Exceptionally, RPER may publish articles “by invitation”, meaning that they are not subject to the reviewing process. These outstanding articles, however, are always clearly signaled as such in their front page.
   
7. RPER acknowledges the right of the members of its Editorial Board (including its Director) to submit papers to the journal. When an author or co-author is also a member of the Editorial Board, he/she is excluded from the reviewing process in all its stages, including the final decision.
   
8. RPER acknowledges the authors’ right of appeal on any publishing decision of the Editorial Board. That appeal is made to the Director of RPER that will inform the Editorial Board. The new arguments will be sent to the reviewers, asking for a final judgment within a 30-day term. In case of disagreement between the two referees, the Editorial Board is compelled to appoint a third reviewer. There is no further appeal for a second decision ensuing this process.
   
9. RPER positively welcomes cogent criticism on the works it publishes. Authors of criticized material will have the opportunity to respond.
   
10. Reviewers are required to preserve the confidentiality on the contents of the papers and on their comments, and requested, more generally, to handle all the submitted material in confidence. Proper information on the principles of the Code of Conduct referred in 1. will always be provided to the reviewers.
    
11. Once the paper has been accepted and formatted for publishing, it will be sent to the author for graphics checking and revision. Any corrections the author might want to make must be sent to RPER within five days. Only formal corrections will be accepted.
    
12. Each author and co-author of accepted papers will be offered a number of the published issue
    
13. Articles cannot exceed 30 pages after being formatted according to the present norms, including the title page, the summary page, notes, tables, graphics, maps and references.
    14. Papers must be sent, by e-mail to rper.geral@gmail.com or by normal mail, to the Executive Secretariat of RPER at APDR – APDR - Universidade dos Açores 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo  – PORTUGAL. For further information or future contact please use the e-mail address: rper.geral@gmail.com.
    

B. Norms concerning papers structure

1. The authors must send a complete version of the paper by e-mail or on a CD-Rom by mail, in the original Microsoft Word file, to the contacts specified in point 14 of Norms (A).
   
2. Texts must be processed in Microsoft Word for Windows (97 or later version). All written text must be black.
   
3. Graphics, maps, diagrams, etc. shall be referred to as “Figures” and tables shall be referred to as “Tables”.
   
4. Figures and Tables must be delivered in two different forms: inserted in the text, according to the author’s choice, and in a separate file. The tables will be delivered in Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 97 or later; For the maps, figures and graphics, a .jpg image format should be used.
   
5. Mathematical expressions must be as simple as possible. They will be presented on one line (between two paragraph marks) and numbered sequentially at the right margin, with numeration inside round brackets. Equation Editor (Microsoft) or Math Type are the accepted Applications for original format files.
   
6. The paper must have no more than four co-authors. Exceptions may be accepted when a reasonable explanation is presented to the Editorial Board. Authorship must be limited to actual and direct contributors to the conducted research.
   
7. Text must be processed in A4 format, Times New Roman font, size 12, line space 1.5 and 6 pt space between paragraphs. The upper, lower, left and right margins must be set to 2.5 cm.
   
8. The first page shall contain only the paper’s title, the author’s name, address, phone and fax numbers and e-mail, and the author’s affiliation. In the case of several authors, please indicate the contact person for correspondence. A remark on funding institutions of the research or related work leading to the article – that is compulsory when it applies – must be placed as well in this first page.
   
9. Second page shall contain the title and the abstract of the paper, in English and, if possible, in Portuguese as well, with no more than 800 characters, followed by two lines, one with the key-words to a limit of 5, and the other with the proper Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes describing the paper. JEL codes must be from 2 up to 5, with three digits, as for example R11. The title, the abstract, the key-words and the JEL codes area all compulsory, at least in English.
   
10. Text starts on the third page. Sections or chapters are numbered sequentially using Arabic numbers only (letters or Roman numeration must not be used).
    
11. Figures and Tables must contain a clear source reference. These shall be as clear as possible. Each must have a title and, if applicable, a legend.
12. The final format of Figures and Tables will be of the responsibility of the Editorial Board, who will allow some adjustments, whenever necessary.

C.Norms concerning bibliographic references

1. The references listed at the end of each paper shall only contain citations and references actually mentioned in the text.
   
2. To ensure the anonymity of papers, each author’s self references are limited to three and no expressions that might betray the authorship are allowed (for example, “as we affirmed in previous works (cfr. Silva (1998:3)”).
3. Although their meeting in preliminary versions is recommendable, the bibliographic norms below are mandatory for the final (accepted) version only.
   
4. Authors cited in the text must be indicated by his/her surname followed, within round brackets, by year of publication, by “:” and by the relevant page number(s). For example, the citation “Silva (2003: 390-93)”, refers to the work written in 2003 by the author Silva, on pages 390 to 393. If the author is merely mentioned, indication of “Silva (2003)” is sufficient.
   
5. In case an author has more than one work from the same year cited in the paper, citation must be ordered. For example: Silva (2003a: 240) and Silva (2003b: 232).
   
6. References must be listed alphabetically by authors’ surnames, at the end of the manuscript. The name will be followed by year of publication inside round brackets and the description, thus:
   Monographs: Silva, Hermenegildo (2007a), The Vegetables Theory, Cambridge, Agriculture Press
   Collection: Sousa, João (2002), “Weed Killers and Manure” in Cunha, Maria (coord.), Farming - Theories and Practices, London, Grassland Publishing Company, pp. 222-244
   Journal Papers: Martins, Vicente (2009), Tasty Broccoli, Farmer Review, Vol. 32, nº 3, pp. 234-275
   
7. The final format of the references will be the responsibility of the Editorial Board, who will allow adjustments whenever necessary.