About the Journal
About the Journal
Focus and Scope
Caracol, rated A3 in the Qualis CAPES classification for the field of Linguistics and Literature in the 2021–2024 evaluation cycle, is a scholarly journal published twice a year by the Spanish Language and Spanish and Spanish-American Literatures Section of the Department of Modern Languages, Faculty of Philosophy, Languages, and Human Sciences, University of São Paulo (FFLCH-USP).
The journal aims to publish original scholarly works, in Portuguese or Spanish, related to the four disciplines that comprise the Section: Spanish Literature, Spanish-American Literature, Spanish Language, and Translation. It publishes research articles, essays, book reviews, interviews, and, occasionally, documents or rare texts relevant to scholarly debate in its field.
Caracol seeks to foster dialogue among researchers from Brazilian and international institutions, contributing to the national and international circulation of scholarly work and to the dissemination of academic knowledge to a wider audience.
The journal is supported by an Editorial Board composed of internationally recognized scholars.
Publishing Institution, History, and Institutional Support
Caracol is published by the University of São Paulo (USP) through the Faculty of Philosophy, Languages, and Human Sciences (FFLCH), the Department of Modern Languages, and the Spanish Language and Spanish and Spanish-American Literatures Section.
Established in 2010, the journal was published simultaneously in print and digital formats from issue 1 through issue 7. From issue 8 onward, it has been published exclusively in digital format.
Caracol receives institutional support from the Graduate Program in Spanish Language and Spanish and Spanish-American Literatures. Its hosting and technical infrastructure are provided by the University of São Paulo Journals Portal, maintained by the USP Agency for Libraries and Digital Collections (ABCD-USP).
The journal uses Open Journal Systems (OJS) as its editorial management and electronic publishing platform.
Publication Frequency
Caracol is published twice a year, with two issues released annually.
Access and Publication Policies
Open Access Policy
Caracol is an open access journal. All its content is available free of charge and immediately upon publication, with no embargo period and no registration or payment required for access.
Users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to the full texts, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, and use them for any other lawful purpose, provided that the terms of the Creative Commons license indicated for each publication are observed.
All journal content has been published on an open access basis since 2010.
Copyright and Licensing
Authors retain copyright in their published works and grant Caracol the non-exclusive right of first publication.
Content currently published by the journal is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits the sharing and adaptation of content for any purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and the original publication, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.
Previously published content remains subject to the license indicated on its respective webpage and in its files, with no retroactive change to the applicable licensing terms.
The complete terms concerning copyright, licensing, and the distribution of published works are available in the Author Guidelines.
Submission and Publication Fees
Caracol does not charge authors any submission, peer-review, editorial processing, or publication fees, including Article Processing Charges (APCs).
The journal also does not charge page fees, color image fees, typesetting fees, or fees for any other stage of the editorial process.
Because no fees are charged, a fee-waiver or discount policy does not apply.
Self-Archiving Policy
Authors retain copyright in works published in Caracol and may make the published version (Version of Record) available on personal or institutional websites and in repositories, provided that the original publication is clearly identified and that the full bibliographic reference, the work’s DOI, and a link to the article page on the journal website are included.
Any such deposit must comply with the Creative Commons license assigned to the work and does not alter the rights granted to the journal for first publication.
Caracol’s self-archiving policy is registered in Diadorim, the Directory of Editorial Policies of Brazilian Scholarly Journals.
Editorial Process and Integrity
Editorial Process and Peer Review
Works submitted to Caracol first undergo a preliminary review by the Editorial Committee, which assesses their alignment with the journal’s focus and scope, compliance with the Author Guidelines, and fulfillment of the formal submission requirements.
After this stage, manuscripts are screened with iThenticate through Crossref Similarity Check to identify textual similarities and possible concerns regarding the originality of the content. The reports generated by the tool are reviewed by the Editorial Committee and do not replace the scholarly assessment conducted by peer reviewers.
Works approved at these stages are sent to two ad hoc reviewers who are independent of the Editorial Committee. The journal follows a double-anonymous peer-review process in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are kept confidential.
Reviewers assess scholarly quality, originality, theoretical and methodological soundness, the relevance of the contribution, and compliance with the journal’s editorial standards. On the basis of the reports received, the Editorial Committee communicates one of the following decisions to the authors: acceptance; acceptance subject to revisions; a request for a new round of review; or rejection.
If the reviewers’ reports diverge, the work may be sent to a third reviewer. The final decision on publication rests with the Editorial Committee.
Works submitted to thematic dossiers or special issues follow the same preliminary editorial review, similarity screening, and external double-anonymous peer-review process applied to the journal’s other sections. Oversight of the process and the final publication decision remain the responsibility of Caracol’s Editorial Committee.
Authors are notified when their submissions are received. After the submission period closes, the Editorial Committee has up to four months to communicate the decision resulting from the peer-review process.
The average time from submission to publication is approximately 12 months, including preliminary editorial review, similarity screening, peer review, revision by the authors, editorial production, and publication of the issue.
Publication Ethics and Editorial Integrity
Ethical Guidelines
Caracol is committed to integrity, transparency, and good practice at every stage of the editorial process. The journal follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when assessing and addressing matters related to ethics and integrity in scholarly publishing.
Submitted works must be original and may not be under consideration by another journal at the same time. Authors are responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, and integrity of the information presented, as well as for the proper identification and citation of all sources used.
Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conception, development, analysis, or writing of the work and who accept responsibility for the published content. Relevant contributions that do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged, where applicable.
Authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team must disclose any personal, academic, institutional, or financial conflicts of interest that may influence, or may be perceived to influence, the assessment and publication of the work. The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily result in rejection of the manuscript, but it must be disclosed so that appropriate editorial measures can be taken.
Editors and reviewers must preserve the confidentiality of manuscripts, review reports, and information obtained during the review process. Submitted materials may not be used for personal benefit or shared with third parties before publication.
Research involving human participants, interviews, questionnaires, private documents, or other situations requiring ethical safeguards must comply with applicable laws and regulations. Where relevant, authors must report approval by an ethics committee, the participants’ consent, and the measures adopted to protect their privacy and data.
When a work is based on research data, authors must state, where applicable, the source of the data, the conditions governing access, and the repository in which the data have been deposited. Ethical, legal, or confidentiality restrictions that prevent data sharing must be explained in the manuscript.
Suspected plagiarism, data fabrication or manipulation, redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, or other forms of misconduct will be assessed by the Editorial Committee in accordance with the nature of the case and COPE guidance. Authors may be asked to provide explanations, documents, or additional information.
When errors or concerns are identified in previously published works, the journal may publish corrections, errata, expressions of concern, or retractions, depending on the nature and seriousness of the matter. These notices will be linked to the original content and presented transparently.
Complaints or appeals concerning the editorial process may be submitted to the Editorial Committee at revista.caracol@usp.br. Where necessary to ensure an impartial assessment, the request will be reviewed by members who were not directly involved in the contested decision.
Plagiarism and Similarity-Checking Policy
Caracol adopts measures to identify and prevent plagiarism, redundant publication, and other practices that compromise the originality and integrity of submitted works.
Before being sent to reviewers, all manuscripts are screened with iThenticate through Crossref Similarity Check. The tool generates textual similarity reports, which are assessed by the Editorial Committee in light of the characteristics, sources, and context of each work.
The presence of textual matches or a particular similarity percentage does not, by itself, establish plagiarism. The Editorial Committee evaluates the results by considering the nature of the identified matches, the appropriate use of quotations and references, and any indication of redundant publication or misappropriation.
When possible irregularities are identified, authors may be asked to provide explanations or supporting documents or to correct the manuscript. Cases will be assessed in accordance with the journal’s Ethical Guidelines and the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, the work may be rejected.
If an irregularity is identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate editorial action, including the publication of a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Caracol follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and JAMA Network regarding the responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence tools in scholarly publishing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, may not be listed as authors or co-authors of works submitted to the journal.
Authorship entails accountability for the content presented, the ability to disclose conflicts of interest, participation in editorial decisions, and responsibility for copyright and licensing matters. These responsibilities cannot be assigned to artificial intelligence tools.
Authors who use AI tools in manuscript preparation, the production or editing of images and graphic elements, data collection or analysis, translation, language editing, or any other stage of the work must transparently disclose the tool used, its version where available, the purpose of its use, and the stage of the research or writing process in which it was employed.
This information must be provided in the methodology section, the acknowledgments, or another appropriate section, depending on the nature of the work and the use made of the tool. Tools used solely for spelling corrections or minor formal adjustments that do not affect the manuscript’s intellectual content do not need to be disclosed.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and proper attribution of all information presented, including when parts of the work have been produced or modified with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools. The use of such tools does not remove the obligation to verify sources, citations, data, and generated information.
Generative artificial intelligence tools must not be used or cited as sources of information or bibliographic references. Authors must consult, verify, and cite the original sources supporting the information presented in the work.
Reviewers and members of the editorial team must not upload manuscripts, review reports, personal data, or other confidential information to publicly accessible generative AI tools. They must also not use such tools to draft peer-review reports or editorial decisions.
Any limited use of automated tools for language or formal corrections must preserve the confidentiality of the materials, be disclosed where relevant, and remain fully subject to human oversight and responsibility.
Scholarly assessment and decisions on publication are the responsibility of peer reviewers and the Editorial Committee.
Infrastructure, Preservation, and Visibility
Digital Preservation, Identifiers, and Interoperability
The long-term digital preservation of Caracol’s content is provided through CLOCKSS and the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), digital preservation services used by the University of São Paulo Journals Portal.
The journal has a dedicated CLOCKSS manifest identifying the content intended for archiving and long-term preservation. The use of these services helps ensure continued access to the journal’s publications, including if the original platform becomes unavailable.
Works published by the journal are assigned persistent digital identifiers, or Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), registered through Crossref.
Caracol uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), which enables its metadata to be harvested and exchanged by databases, directories, repositories, and other scholarly information systems.
Indexing and Evaluation
Caracol holds an A3 rating in the Qualis CAPES classification for the field of Linguistics and Literature in the 2021–2024 evaluation cycle.
The journal is indexed or registered in the following services:
