Review System

EVALUATION PROCESS
Submissions to the MERCOSUR Journal of Social Policies are evaluated in two stages:

Preliminary Review by the Editorial Team
At this stage, the Editorial Team will determine the relevance and depth of the work, whether the manuscript aligns with the editorial line, complies with the journal’s guidelines, and meets general publication criteria.

A similarity check will be carried out using anti-plagiarism software. The journal allows up to 20% similarity.

To proceed to Peer Review, the manuscript must meet the Preliminary Review criteria. The result will be communicated to the corresponding author.

Reasons for rejection at the Preliminary Review stage include:
• The manuscript does not align with the editorial scope of the journal.
• Insufficient knowledge impact according to the journal’s criteria.
• Failure to meet the required structure.
• Outdated references.
• High percentage of self-citations.
• Inadequate writing.
• Failure to meet ethical standards (plagiarism, redundant publication, fictitious authorship, simultaneous submission).

Peer Review
At this stage, the manuscript will be evaluated by two subject experts, using the double-blind method and following the journal’s guidelines. In cases of divergent decisions, the manuscript will undergo a second round of review with additional peer reviewers.

The final decision may be:
• Approved.
• Approved with modifications, in which case the authors must implement the reviewers’ recommendations.
• Rejected (with suggestions for substantial revisions and resubmission).

Technical reasons for rejection at this stage include:
• Incomplete data (e.g., very small sample size).
• Deficient analysis (e.g., use of inappropriate statistical tests, lack of statistics).
• Inadequate methodology (e.g., outdated methods, superseded by more consistent approaches).
• Data and analyses do not address the research question.
• Inaccurate conclusions or failure to highlight differential contributions to scientific knowledge.

The decision will be communicated via email to the corresponding author within a maximum of eight (8) weeks from receipt.