Publication Ethics (COPE)

Publication Ethics

Ambiente Construído is committed to following ethical conduct at all stages of the publication process. Therefore, authors, editors, the editorial committee, and reviewers all have the duty to maintain ethical best practices.

We always uphold the good practices recommended by DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment).

The journal considers it unethical to submit an article to more than one journal simultaneously, as well as to publish the same article in more than one journal. Therefore, authors must comply with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Any questions should be sent to the email address ambienteconstruido@ufrgs.br.

Publication Ethics and Editorial Best Practices Statement

Ambiente Construído is committed to promoting scientific integrity, publication ethics, and the adoption of best editorial practices, in accordance with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal also follows the international guidelines of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and, when applicable to the type of study submitted, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT), recognizing these frameworks as international best editorial practices regardless of the field of knowledge. Accordingly, the journal adopts policies that ensure the quality, transparency, and reliability of scholarly communication, providing guidance to authors, editors, reviewers, and all other participants in the editorial process.

Complaints and Appeals

Ambiente Construído provides an official e-mail address for receiving, evaluating, and resolving complaints, appeals, and inquiries related to the editorial process, editorial decisions, or the ethical conduct of participants. All submissions are handled fairly, confidentially, and impartially.

Suspected ethical misconduct

Publication in another journal, nonexistent data, authorship without effective participation, plagiarism or self‑plagiarism, ethical issues related to research, and the appropriation of ideas or data by reviewers, among others, are considered cases of suspected ethical misconduct. Accordingly:

  • Cases of suspicion will be handled according to COPE guidelines;
  • Anyone may report suspected ethical misconduct to the Editorial Committee;
  • Submit only original and unpublished manuscripts;
  • Ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data and information presented;
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest;
  • Identify all sources of research funding;
  • Cooperate throughout the editorial process and respond promptly to editorial requests;
  • All reports will be forwarded to the Editorial Committee, and a response will be provided to the complainant.

Responsabilities of the author
Responsabilities of the authors:

  • Not to have submitted the article to another journal;
  • The article must not be published in another journal;
  • Submit only original and unpublished manuscripts;
  • Ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data and information presented;
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest;
  • Identify all sources of research funding;
  • Cooperate throughout the editorial process and respond promptly to editorial requests;
  • To inform, at the moment of submission, the CAAE number referring to the approval of the research by the Research Ethics Committee, or the registration number in Plataforma Brazil, in the case of articles derived from research whose data collection is regulated by Resolution 510 of 04/07/2016 of the National Health Council;
  • All authors of the article must have effectively contributed to the development of the work, whether in the conception, execution, or interpretation of the article. Acknowledgment of secondary contributions may be made in the Acknowledgments section at the end of the article;
  • To omit, at the moment of submission, all data that identify authorship, origin, acknowledgments, funding information, or any other reference that could reveal the authorship of the work;
  • To inform the editorial team of any error or incorrect information in their article so that an erratum or retraction may be issued;
  • To ensure that all sources used in the production of the article have been properly cited, guaranteeing the originality of the text and the absence of plagiarism or self‑plagiarism.

Responsabilities of the editorial committee
Responsabililities of the editorial committee:

  • The editor is responsible for the initial evaluation, indicating whether the article should proceed to peer review or not, by verifying the relevance of the topic and compliance with the journal’s editorial guidelines. If accepted at this stage, the editor checks whether any identifying information about the authors remains in the text or file, ensuring a double‑blind review, and also checks for originality to prevent the publication of articles that violate academic ethics;
  • To exclude articles that contain plagiarism, or that offend political or ideological positions, religious beliefs, gender, or ethnic origin;
  • Making editorial decisions based exclusively on the scientific merit, originality, and relevance of submitted manuscripts;
  • Ensuring a fair, impartial, and independent peer-review process;
  • Maintaining the confidentiality of the editorial process and all information related to submitted manuscripts;
  • Acting upon allegations or evidence of research or publication misconduct in accordance with internationally recognized ethical guidelines, particularly the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE);
  • To maintain the ethical standards of the submission and publication process.

Responsabilities of the reviewers
Responsabilities of the reviewers:

  • Provide objective, impartial, and confidential peer reviews;
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their evaluation;
  • Report suspected plagiarism, ethical concerns, or other irregularities identified during the review process;
  • Comply with the deadlines established by the journal;
  • Not to disclose information provided by the editor or the author;
  • To provide a review that is respectful and contributes to the development of the work.

Allegations of Research Misconduct

Allegations of research or publication misconduct, including plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, data manipulation, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, or any other unethical practice, will be investigated by the editorial team. Whenever necessary, the journal will follow the recommendations of COPE in conducting investigations and determining appropriate actions.

Conflict of Interest Policy

All individuals involved in the editorial process — authors, editors, reviewers, or any other person participating — must disclose any conflict of interest.

Editors may not make decisions on manuscripts that present conflicts of interest with their own activities, such as those submitted by authors from their department or research collaborators.

Any type of conflict of interest must be communicated by reviewers before evaluating the manuscript.

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal conflicts of interest that could influence the evaluation, interpretation, or publication of manuscripts. Identified conflicts will be assessed and managed in a transparent manner.

Ethics Committee

involving human participants, animals, or sensitive information must include approval from the appropriate Research Ethics Committee, whenever applicable, and comply with applicable legislation as well as national and international ethical standards. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of such information.

Copyright

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of submitted manuscripts and for obtaining any permissions required for the use of copyrighted materials.

Authors publishing in Ambiente Construído agree that:

a) authors retain copyright and grant Ambiente Construído the right of first publication under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits access, reading, printing, distribution, remixing, adaptation, and the creation of derivative works, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors;

b) authors are permitted to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work, such as depositing it in institutional repositories, provided that the original publication in Ambiente Construído is acknowledged;

c) readers may read, download, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of articles without prior permission from either the authors or the editors, in accordance with the terms of the CC BY 4.0 License.

Post-publication Discussions

publish letters to the editor, comments, replies, or other academic contributions related to published articles, provided they meet the journal's scientific, ethical, and editorial standards.

Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern

When significant errors or issues that may compromise the integrity of a published article are identified, Ambiente Construído may publish corrections, errata, editorial expressions of concern, or retractions, depending on the nature and severity of the case, following internationally recognized recommendations for preserving the integrity of the scholarly record.

Scholarly Record Integrity

The journal adopts procedures to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly literature, including the use of similarity detection tools to identify plagiarism and self-plagiarism, the assessment of potential citation manipulation, the investigation of data fabrication or falsification, and the identification of other forms of research misconduct. Confirmed cases will be handled through transparent editorial procedures and may result in manuscript rejection, article retraction, publication of editorial notices, or notification of the authors' institutions, whenever appropriate.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Ambiente Construído does not use Artificial Intelligence in any of its manuscript evaluation or editing processes. Authors’ use of Artificial Intelligence must be described in the research methodology (including how the AI tool was used and which tool was used), and its use must be supported by principles of ethical research and research integrity. Artificial intelligence does not assume responsibility for authorship; only authors assume responsibility for the text and for any AI-based research materials. Concealing the use of artificial intelligence tools in research constitutes an ethical violation. Content generated by AI tools must be cited and referenced, and authors are responsible for verifying its accuracy.