Scientific articles

Rules for submission

General conditions:

Before submitting manuscripts for evaluation, authors must be aware of, and confirm that:

  • The concepts, opinions and ideas published in the papers are the sole and entire responsibility of their author(s).
  • Manuscripts submitted to RCO are unpublished. Papers published in the proceedings of scientific meetings such as congresses, seminars, symposia, etc. are considered unpublished.
  • Manuscripts are not being evaluated in any other publication vehicle throughout the evaluation process.
  • Maximum number of authors per article: 4. Duly justified exceptional cases may be analyzed by the RCO Executive Committee.
  • Authors must remain anonymous in all documents submitted.

Preparing for submission:

  • Articles and documents will only be submitted using the electronic form available on the journal's website (http://revistas.usp.br/rco).
  • Authors must fill in their details correctly in the submission system. This information is essential for publication.
  • Non-compliant or incomplete submissions will be returned to the authors.
  • Direct, concrete, objective style. Avoid using acronyms, including variable names in the text and tables. The name of the variable should be self-explanatory, direct and immediate.
  • Readers should easily understand what is being discussed.

The submission of a manuscript includes:

1) A letter to the editor.
2) Full details (telephone numbers and address), institutional affiliation and ORCID iD registration number, registered on the website.
3) The main manuscript, in editable format, must contain an abstract in Portuguese and English, as well as the 'Table of practical implications' (see Instructions for manuscript).
4) Supplementary documents, if necessary.

What is the "Practical Implications Framework"?
The RCO is strongly committed to disseminating scientific knowledge to companies, markets and governments. Therefore, authors must make it very clear how their results contribute to current practices. Whether in an aspect of regulation, business conduct, decision-making processes, how it affects practice and can be used to transform it. The "Implications Framework" is a 50-word statement on how the 'results' of the research in question interact with companies, markets and governments. How these results can help companies, markets and governments deal with some event or phenomenon addressed by the research results. The focus of the framework is not the theory, or the method, but the contribution to society, put in a way that speaks directly to practitioners.

What should be sent as supplementary documents?
Data collection instruments, such as the complete questionnaire applied, translations and adaptation of foreign instruments adopted, extracts from catalogued interview excerpts, a complete list of articles reviewed in a systematic literature review and not referenced in the text, graphs and tables of auxiliary tests, among others. The journal offers editorial space to communicate results objectively in the main text. Authors should use supplementary material to explain the methodological and analysis procedures to the editor and reviewers. Some of this material may be asked to be disclosed if the article is approved.

The manuscript should be submitted in a file containing the text of the article, or the document itself, with the characteristics described below. The first page should contain:

  • Title of the article (in Portuguese and English);
  • Abstract;
  • Between three and five keywords;
  • Resumo (summary in Portuguese with the same content as the abstract);
  • Keywords (in Portuguese and English);
  • A table of practical implications.

From the second page onwards, the body of the article or document must be included. In order to guarantee the anonymity of the evaluation process, the author(s) should not identify themselves in the body of the article or document.

There are no strict format requirements, but all articles must contain the essential elements needed to communicate the argument of the manuscript. Articles are usually structured using the sections Introduction, Theoretical Framework, Methodology, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion.

In the Introduction, the authors are expected to present, not necessarily in the following order:

  • The aim of the article;
  • The gap identified in the literature that is being filled by the article;
  • Justifications for the importance of the gap;
  • Explanations of how the article fills the gap;
  • A brief description of the methodological aspects;
  • A summary of the results and their innovative theoretical implications.

The theoretical framework can be structured differently depending on whether the study uses a quantitative or qualitative strategy. For quantitative studies, the theoretical framework could include, not necessarily in that order:

  • A synthesis of previous studies directly related to the research phenomenon, highlighting gaps in knowledge;
  • A presentation of the theory(ies) underpinning the study, with emphasis on defining its main concepts and the expected causal relationships between them;
  • The development of hypotheses.

Texts with qualitative approaches can naturally move away from a model - development of hypothesis, data and tests - to a division into topics appropriate for discussing the evidence worked on by the author.

It is important to emphasize that the theoretical section should expand knowledge about the phenomenon, and not repeat the presentation of theories already published in other articles.

The methodology section should present enough detailed information to allow the study to be reproduced. Emphasis should be placed on describing how the study was carried out, and we strongly suggest avoiding the use of taxonomies that do not allow the reader to understand what was actually done.

Combining the results and discussion sections is often appropriate, so that the authors are expected to explore the significance of the results obtained, and not just present them in a watertight manner. Contrast with the literature is important, but we recommend avoiding extensive use of citations and discussion of already published articles. It is essential to discuss the limitations of the study, the threats to the robustness of the results and any procedures that have been adopted to limit the impact of such threats.

The conclusion section should emphasize the significance of the results and not repeat their presentation. It is expected that the authors will discuss the theoretical implications of the results obtained, in the sense of highlighting how the authors expect future research to be impacted by the results obtained in the article, and what research opportunities open up from the results found. The conclusion section must include a discussion of the practical implications of the results obtained from the study.

Adjustments required after the Desk Review stage

After the first evaluation stage, submissions that continue in the evaluation process will be asked to adapt the manuscript to the format required by the OCR. Thus:

  • Manuscript must contain between 4,000 and 6,000 words, not including the bibliographical references listed. The aim is to communicate the results of the study. The use of a more direct, but not superficial, style should be preferred. A balanced use of appositives, short sentences, an identified subject and clearly constructed expressions are essential.
  • APA citations and references, including the DOI of each publication.
  • Font: Times New Roman, size 12.
  • Single line spacing.
  • Justified alignment.
  • Margins: top and left - 3 cm, bottom and right - 2 cm.
  • Few acronyms (only 2 throughout the text and no acronyms in tables).

Citations should be made in the body of the text using the author-date system, including page numbers (where applicable), in accordance with the standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). The full references (including DOI) of the works cited should be presented in alphabetical order at the end of the text, in accordance with APA standards. Illustrations such as figures, charts and tables must be editable and prepared in accordance with APA standards, along with captions, credits and source. If illustrations have been imported from other programs, such as Excel and Power Point, please also send the source file.

Reference and explanatory notes should be avoided. When these notes are strictly necessary, they should be numbered sequentially in the body of the text and inserted at the end of the text. Acronyms throughout the text should also be avoided. The author should assess the need to use acronyms; if they are rarely used, they may not be necessary. A maximum of two will be allowed. The use of acronyms in tables is not permitted.