History and Mission

Synesis, a distinguished journal under the auspices of the Center for Theology and Humanities at the Catholic University of Petrópolis, is published since 2009. It is dedicated to fostering scholarly excellence through the dissemination of original research and articles across a broad spectrum of humanities.

Reflecting the center's diverse academic disciplines, Synesis embraces a wide array of subjects, including philosophy, theology, history, literature, education, and music. The journal aims to serve as a vibrant forum for interdisciplinary dialogue, encouraging contributions that explore the intersections of these fields, address contemporary issues from a humanistic perspective, and contribute to the enrichment of human knowledge and understanding. Synesis is committed to publishing insightful articles that reflect rigorous research, innovative methodologies, and a deep engagement with the humanities, aiming to inspire scholars, practitioners, and students alike.

Our mission is to serve as a platform for scholarly discourse and to promote critical thinking in the humanities. We aim to publish articles that contribute to the advancement of knowledge and understanding in the humanities field and to disseminate research that explores the complexities of human experience and the world around us.

We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarship and intellectual rigor, and to fostering a diverse and inclusive community of scholars. Our ultimate goal is to contribute to the advancement of the humanities, both locally and globally, and to promote a deeper understanding of the human experience in all its complexity.

According to the official results of CAPES's Qualis Periodicals 2017-2020, Synesis received an A3 grade, reflecting our commitment to excellence and our ongoing efforts to provide a valuable resource for scholars and researchers in the humanities.

From 2017 on, Synesis will only publish unpublished articles by authors with doctoral or doctoral degrees, who submit their contributions electronically and accept the journal's guidelines regarding the evaluation of contributions by two double-blind peer-reviewers, as explained in the section "Peer Review Process". Articles from other authors will only be evaluated if they are co-authored by Ph.

From 2023 on, Synesis will publish four issues per volume, thus expanding the opportunities for dissemination of qualified articles in the journal.

Aims and Scope

The primary objective of Synesis, a humanities journal, is to publish high-quality articles resulting from research and investigations in the field of social sciences, with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches that contribute to a deeper understanding of complex social phenomena.

The scope of the journal is broad and encompasses a wide range of topics within the social sciences, including philosophy, sociology, psychology, economics, and other related fields. The journal is committed to promoting international outreach and impact, and it welcomes articles from scholars around the world.

Synesis aims to publish articles that present new and qualified knowledge, based on rigorous analyses and appropriate research methods. Manuscripts should describe the methods used and justify their appropriateness to the research questions posed in the article.

The journal has a double-blind peer review process, ensuring the quality and reliability of the research presented. It also has clear guidelines for authors, an effective online submission system, and strict policies for detecting plagiarism and the use of LLMs, ensuring the consistency and professionalism of its articles.

As of 2017, the journal only publishes articles that are written by at least one author with a Ph.D. Ph.D. students can submit their articles by signing with their advisors. Any exception to the rule is submitted to the Synesis Editorial Board to be evaluated based on the authors' justifications.

Synesis is committed to contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the social sciences, both locally and globally, and to promoting interdisciplinary approaches to research. Its international outreach and impact are reflected in its indexing in several international databases.

Starting from 2023, the journal will publish quarterly issues, further enhancing its potential for global impact and dissemination of high-quality articles. Synesis is a vital resource for scholars and researchers in the humanities, contributing to the advancement of scholarship and the dissemination of knowledge in the social sciences.

Fees and publication costs

All articles published in our journals are completely and full open access, i.e. immediately available free of charge to read, study, download, share on social networks.

The articles are published under the terms of a Creative Commons license, identified on the publication page of the article, and attributed immediately on the date of publication. 

Synesis will not charge for receiving, evaluating or publishing documents (articles, translations, etc.) submitted by the author himself/herself into our system. 

If authors have difficulties in adapting their manuscripts to the journal's standards or in submitting and following the editorial process, they may choose, at their own risk, third-party services to assist them.

In such cases, Synesis is not responsible for any fees or charges made by third-party services, nor does it guarantee the approval of articles submitted by third-parties.

 

Third-party services and submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the article.

The statements must disclose this type of editorial assistance, identify any entities that paid for this assistance, and confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via a third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

When the requirements of transparency regarding the use of third-party services are not met, Synesis reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by third parties and not by the authors themselves.

 

Peer review process

Synesis adopts the policy of double-blind peer-review for the approval of contributions to be periodically published. This policy involves, in general terms, the observation of the following points

1. contributions must be submitted electronically through the Synesis website in five steps (stages), described in the "Guidelines for authors".

2. After submitting the contribution, the author(s) should follow the evaluation process on the journal's website, which may take from 30 (thirty) to 60 (sixty) days.

3. The evaluation process begins when the managing editor, after a preliminary analysis of the document sent by the author(s), indicates an editor responsible for the process of evaluating the submission together with the evaluators/ referees and the author(s).

4. The responsible editor, after analyzing the adequacy to the journal's guidelines and norms, submits the contribution to two (2) evaluators/ peer reviewers, initiating the first round of evaluation.

5. The evaluators/panelists may be members of the Editorial Board of Synesis or external guests, who contribute to the evaluation process and ensure the scientific quality of the publications;

6. 6. After the result of the first round of evaluation, the author will be informed of the decision of the evaluators/panelists and, in case of conditional approval, he/she must provide, within 7 (seven) days, the adaptation of his/her contribution to the observations of the evaluators/panelists.

7. The editor is responsible for deciding whether or not a second round of review is necessary for conditionally approved contributions.

During the entire evaluation process, the confidentiality and anonymity of both authors and referees are guaranteed. To ensure confidentiality and anonymity, authors, editors, and referees should observe the following precautions in relation to documents submitted electronically on the journal's website:

1. The authors of the document must exclude all references that may lead to the identification of the authorship of their contribution;

2. In Microsoft Office documents, the author identification must be removed from the document properties (in the menu File > Properties), starting in File, in the main menu, and clicking in the sequence: File > Save as... > Tools (or Options on a Mac) > Security Options... > Remove personal information from the file when saving > OK > Save.

3. In PDFs, the authors' names should also be removed from the "Document Properties" under "File" in the main Adobe Acrobat menu.

The final acceptance of contributions for publication depends on the previous favorable recommendation of the referees, the necessary adjustments by the authors and the final approval by the Board of Synesis.

In addition to the above policy, the editors use software to detect unauthorized copying or reproduction of content (e.g. CopySpider).

 

Open Acess Policy

This journal offers immediate open access to its content, following the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public provides greater worldwide democratization of knowledge.