Submissions

Author Guidelines

Submission guidelines

The review process considers original and unpublished manuscripts, except for materials made available on preprint servers, which are the result of empirical research, essays, review articles, or theoretical research related to the field of Science Education.

For empirical studies, it is required that the research be completed at the time of manuscript submission. In the case of review articles, only those that present a comprehensive summary of the research on a given topic or perspective on the state of the art in a significant number of journal databases, a document collection period (corpus of analysis) of no less than 10 years, detailing with methodological rigor and analytical framework, justifying their contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the field, will be considered.

Submissions of articles originating from academic work or conference presentations are accepted. However, the manuscript text cannot be (in whole or in part) a copy of the original work, and the submitted version must be unpublished. For work presented at conferences, the submitted manuscript must clearly represent an expansion of the original work, constituting a substantial reworking of the previous material. Any submission identified as previously published elsewhere, or whose text corresponds to that of a conference presentation — i.e., considered self-plagiarism — will not be sent for review.

The field of Science Education encompasses the subfields of Environmental Education, Astronomy Education, Biology Education, Physics Education, Geosciences Education, Chemistry Education, and Health Education, which relate to Natural Science Education. Considering that research in these subfields may intersect with other areas (such as Epistemology, History and Philosophy of Science, Linguistics, Mathematics, Psychology, and Sociology of Education, etc.), articles focusing on any of these areas may be submitted provided that the interface and contributions to Science Education are clearly specified. Any manuscript that relates to any of the aforementioned subfields but not to their educational aspect, or to general Education or other areas without a clear relationship or implication for Science Education, will not be sent for review.

At the time of submission, the author must complete and attach the Open Science Compliance Statement as a supplementary file, along with the Ethics Committee approval, when applicable. A maximum of four authors is allowed, including at least one graduate student (stricto sensu) and one PhD.

Each author may have only one manuscript under review at a time, and the publication of texts by the same author must respect a twelve-month interval between publications.

In general, the manuscript review process up to the decision (acceptance or rejection) takes up to nine (9) months from the date of submission, while the total period between submission and final publication of an accepted article is up to twelve (12) months.

The concepts and positions expressed in published articles are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editorial Team.

Articles that are outside the scope and guidelines of RBPEC, lack theoretical and/or methodological rigor, report only on experience, didactic materials or educational products, works fully published in national or international conference proceedings, or are literature review articles that do not meet the journal’s criteria will not be accepted.

Types of Documents Accepted

Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências publishes the following sections:

Editorial: section dedicated to publishing texts addressing a specific theme, suitable for citations, under the responsibility of the Editorial Team;

Dialogues with Readers and Authors: section dedicated to publishing reviews in the form of an article-review in agreement with the author(s) and by decision of the Editorial Team;

Articles: section dedicated to publishing original and unpublished texts resulting from academic research aligned with Open Science, reporting empirical or theoretical studies that provide clear contributions to knowledge in the field;

Dossier: an issue dedicated to publishing articles on specific topics organized as a dossier. This section includes an introduction to the theme, citable, prepared by its organizers and under the responsibility of the Editorial Team.

Author Contributions

Manuscripts must present, at the time of submission (through the Open Science Compliance Statement), the contributions of the authors using the CRediT Taxonomy (The Contributor Roles Taxonomy). In the case of acceptance, this information will be included at the end of the article.

Availability of Research Data and/or Materials

As provided in the Open Science Compliance Statement, information about the underlying content (statistical data, questionnaires, interviews, recording transcriptions, program codes, and other materials) of the text is disclosed. The aim is to facilitate data preservation, optimize its reuse, and ensure the replicability of research. At the editorial stage, this information is required, and the following options are offered: (a) the data are available (cite the repository and the DOI of the deposited data); (b) the data will be provided upon request to the authors; (c) all data generated or analyzed are included in the manuscript; (d) not applicable.

Results of Manuscript Review

The review result will be communicated to the author and may include: (1) acceptance; (2) request for mandatory revisions; (3) resubmission for review; or (4) rejection. The criteria are detailed below:

• Acceptance

Criteria: The manuscript presents research in the field of Science Education or in a related area; it discusses a relevant topic and provides contributions to research in Science Education. The justification(s) for conducting the study are relevant and consistent with the literature in the field. The research objectives and/or questions are contextualized within the field and are clearly formulated. The methodology (empirical or theoretical) is consistent with the research objectives and/or questions and has been appropriately executed. The conclusions relate to the research objectives and/or questions and are supported by the results presented in the data analysis or theoretical argumentation. The references used are current and relevant, and the language throughout the manuscript is clear and appropriate.

Submission: In this case, the author(s) have 10 days to submit the revised version, containing any information previously omitted to avoid identification of the author(s).

• Minor Revision

Criteria: The manuscript meets the acceptance criteria, but some minor adjustments are necessary regarding specific aspects.

Submission: In this case, the author(s) have 20 days to submit the revised version, in which the modifications requested in the decision letter have been incorporated; and a letter explaining how the reviewers’ or editors’ requests were (or were not) addressed. In the revised version, all altered passages must be highlighted with a font color other than black to facilitate the analysis of the requested changes. The revised version must not contain any identification of the author(s).

• Major Revision

Criteria: The manuscript presents a research study in the field of Science Education or in a closely related area; it addresses a relevant topic and has the potential to contribute to the field of Science Education research. However, one or more aspects need to be significantly modified in order to meet the acceptance criteria.

Submission: In this case, the author(s) have 30 days to submit the revised version, which must include the modifications requested in the decision letter; and a letter explaining how the reviewers’ or editors’ requests were (or were not) addressed. In the revised version, all altered passages must be highlighted with a font color other than black to facilitate the review of the changes described in the letter. The revised version must not contain any identification of the author(s).

• Rejection

Criteria: The manuscript does not present a research study in the field of Science Education or in a closely related area; or it does not address a relevant topic. The manuscript does not contribute to the field of Science Education research because (i) there are many weaknesses in the study on which it is based; (ii) one or more weaknesses cannot be improved (for example, due to insufficient data to discuss an important aspect); or (iii) the conclusions are not supported by results presented in the data analysis or theoretical argumentation.

In recent years, we have sought to significantly reduce the time between submission and decision. Our goal is for this time to be less than six months.

In cases where a deadline has been set for the author(s) to submit another version of their manuscript, if the deadline passes without a response from the author(s), the submission is archived.

As part of the production process for publication, authors are asked to review a preliminary version of the manuscript to identify any possible errors.

Manuscript Preparation

Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências publishes articles in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, revised in their original language. Articles accepted may be published in another language, with translation and editing costs being the responsibility of the author.

When submitting the manuscript, the corresponding author must provide, in the designated fields of the Submission System, all author information, institutional affiliation, ORCiD identifiers for authors and co-authors, as well as all other metadata and required documents. Submissions with incomplete information will be immediately rejected.

RBPEC follows a double-blind peer review policy, except in the case of preprint submissions. Therefore, author’s identification must be removed from the document properties, and the manuscript must not include any mentions of city, institution, ethics committee opinion number, direct quotations, references, or notes that refer to publications, affiliations, or personal projects. Such information should be replaced with “Author, year”. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, information must be included in the final version following the norms and guidelines that will be indicated in the editorial decision.

Article Submission Format

Manuscripts resulting from academic research must be at least 35,000 and no more than 60,000 characters long, including spaces, references, title, abstract, and keywords in all three languages (Portuguese, Spanish, and English). They must include the following items, in accordance with the RBPEC template:

1. Article Title: Times New Roman, size 14, centered, bold, with a maximum of 120 characters, representing the content of the article. The title must also be provided in English and Spanish, and should be in bold and italics.
2. Abstract: Left-aligned, bold, Times New Roman, size 12, in a single paragraph, no indentation, justified. Maximum of 1,500 characters. The abstract must also be provided in English and Spanish.
3. Keywords: Placed below the abstract, Times New Roman, size 12, separated by commas, with no period after the last word. They must also be provided in English and Spanish. We recommend using an alphabetical repository of terms for selecting keywords, such as the Thesaurus Brasileiro da Educação or a similar source.
4. Section Titles: Times New Roman, size 16, centered, bold.
5. Body Text: Times New Roman, size 12, justified, 1.5 line spacing, with 6 pt spacing before and after paragraphs; 2.5 cm margins. Pages must be numbered to facilitate the location of information by reviewers, authors, and editors during the review process.
6. Tables and Figures: Tables and figures must be presented in accordance with the APA 7th edition guidelines. They should be numbered sequentially, identified with the corresponding title and source (mandatory), as well as a note (if applicable). Tables must always be in an editable format and never as an image. Abbreviations, terminology, and probability level values must be consistent across tables and figures within the same article. Do not repeat the same data in different tables.

Figures must be of sufficient quality to be legible; otherwise, authors may be asked to provide the figure in its original format. Figures must be authored by the author(s) or the author(s) must have written permission from the original owner/author to use them if they are copyright-protected. This document may be requested as a condition for the publication of the article (if accepted).

Manuscripts submitted for bilingual publication must have the text within the figures translated into the same language as the respective version of the text. Depending on the nature of the figure, if such translation does not apply, for example, in cases with handwritten manuscripts, captions should be added to ensure the figure retains its function for readers.

1. Quotation: Quotations must follow the author-date system according to APA 7th edition guidelines.
1. Indirect quotation with the author cited outside of parentheses: Do not use quotation marks; capitalize the first letter of the first word, followed by lowercase letters, with the year in parentheses. Ex: According to Author 1 and Author 2 (2026)
2. Indirect quotation with the author cited in parentheses: Do not use quotation marks; capitalize the first letter of the first word, followed by lowercase letters, with the year. Ex: (Author 1 & Author 2, 2026)
3. Direct quotation of less than three lines: Use double quotation marks, including author, year, and page; use single quotation marks for quotes within the quotation. Ex: “quotation text” (Author, 2026, p. x)
4. Direct quotation of more than three lines: Paragraph indented 4 cm, no italics, no quotation marks, indicating author, year, and page at the end in parentheses. Ex:

Direct quotations longer than three lines should be added using the same font size as the rest of the text and with a 4 cm indent, without quotation marks. (Author, 2006, p. x).

1. Quotation of more than one work by the same author published in the same year: Add a lowercase letter in alphabetical order after the year, without space in text or references.

Ex: (Author, 1979a, 1979b).

1. Quotation of more than one work by the same author published in different years: Separate the years with a comma.

Ex: Author (1968, 1996)

1. Quotation of works by different authors: Separate each work with a semicolon (;) in alphabetical order.

Ex: (Freire, 1996; Silva, 2024)

1. Quotation of a work extracted from another work: Indicate the author and year of the citation, add “cited in” (do not use apud), and indicate the author, year, and page of the work in which it was cited.

Ex: (Author 1, 1914, p. 120 cited in Author 2, 1974, p. 23)

1. References: References must follow APA 7th edition guidelines and be listed alphabetically by the last name of the first author. Some examples of common references:
1. Book: Last Name, A. A. (Year). Title of the book: Capitalize subtitle as well (Edition number). Publisher.

Ex: Freire, P. (2019). Pedagogia do Oprimido (91st ed.). Paz e Terra.

1. Book Chapter:

Last Name, A. A., & Last Name, B. B. (Year). Title of the chapter. In C. C. Editor & D. D. Editor (Eds.), Title of the book (Edition number, pp. pages of chapter). Publisher.

Ex: Aquino, H. C., Fernandes, I. H., Paula, L. T. F., Barbosa, M. E. S., Martins, A. R., & Pires, U. (2022). Situação de Estudo baseada no Biodigestor. In L. R. Allain & G. W. R. Fernandes (Eds.), Tecnologias Sociais da Permacultura e Educação Científica: Propostas inovadoras para um currículo interdisciplinar (pp. 197–216). Editora Livraria da Física.

1. Thesis/Dissertation: Last Name, A. A. (Year). Title of the dissertation/thesis (Master’s thesis/Doctoral dissertation, Institution, City, State). Name of Repository. URL.

Ex: Roso, C. C. (2017). Transformações na educação CTS: uma proposta a partir do conceito de tecnologia social (Doctoral dissertation, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina). UFSC Institutional Repository. https://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/187060

1. Journal Article: Last Name, A. A. (Year). Title. Journal Name, Volume (Issue), pages. DOI (if no DOI, insert URL).

Ex: Archanjo Junior, M. G. D., & Gehlen, S. T. (2020). A Tecnologia Social e sua Contribuição para a Educação em Ciências. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências, 20, 345–374. https://doi.org/10.28976/1984-2686rbpec2020u345374

1. Conference Paper: Last Name, A. A. (Date). Title of the paper. Name of the conference (Conference acronym, if any), City, State. (URL, if available).

Ex: Bezerra Júnior J. C., & Firme, R. N. (25–28 de junho, 2019). Análise do conto “Tá chovendo sururu” para a abordagem de uma questão sociocientífica. XII Encontro Nacional de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências (ENPEC), Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.

1. Website Documents: Website/Institution Name. (Year). Title of the document. URL.

Ex: Ministério da Educação. (2020). PNLD: Apresentação. http://portal.mec.gov.br/pnld/apresentacao

1. Newspaper Publications: Last Name, A. A. (Date). Title. Newspaper Name. URL

Ex: Militão, E., & Rebello, A. (19 de setembro, 2019). Rede de fake news com robôs pró-Bolsonaro mantém 80% das contas ativas. UOL. https://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2019/09/19/fake-news-pro-bolsonaro-whatsapp-eleicoes-robos-disparo-em-massa.htm

1. Legislation: Law number, date (Year). Act. URL

Ex: Lei nº 9.394, de 20 de dezembro de 1996 (1996). Estabelece as diretrizes e bases da educação nacional. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9394.htm

1. For more examples, see: 7th edition – Common Reference Examples – APA Style or the complete bibliographic standard: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020).

Endnotes

Additional information or explanatory notes must appear at the end of the text, numbered according to their order of appearance in the body of the text. Footnotes are not allowed.

Supplementary Documents

When submitting the manuscript, authors must attach the Open Science Compliance Statement, the Ethics Committee approval, if applicable, and any other supplementary documents necessary for evaluation.

Other Guidelines

• The theoretical framework adopted should be presented concisely, yet allow readers unfamiliar with it to understand how its main concepts were used and to evaluate the relationships established from them;
• The research objectives and questions guiding the study must be explicitly stated and justified in the text;
• The methodology used to conduct the study (for empirical studies, both data collection and data analysis) must be presented in detail and justified;
• In studies involving human participants, the ethical aspects governing this type of research must have been observed, and the way in which this occurred must be described;
• Contributions to the field must be clearly stated;
• The final version must include the authors’ names with full affiliation, email, ORCID, funding information, DOI of the Research Data, and/or repository URL;
• If requested by the reviewers, the final revision must be performed, and the verification, containing the reviewer’s name, submitted. RBPEC provides the names of reviewers and translators. They are not affiliated with the journal, and contact is made directly between the parties involved, without any financial advantage or compensation for the journal.