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Good practice guidelines

United Academic Journals (UA Journals)

Campus Virtuales

ISSN: 2255-1514

 

 

Good editorial practice guidelines for scientific journals and monograph series of the editorial ‘United Academic Journals (UA Journals)’

 

These Good publication practice guidelines are intended to serve as a code of conduct for all stakeholders in the academic management and publication of research results in scientific journals and monograph series of ‘UA Journals’: editorial teams, authors and manuscript reviewers.

 

1. Editorial Teams

 

The Assistant Editors of ‘UA Journals’ journals and Editorial Committees of ‘UA Journals’ monograph series (hereafter termed Editorial Teams), together with the offices of the Director and the Secretary, are responsible for the content that is published, and must therefore ensure its scientific quality, avoid misconduct in the publication of research results, and ensure that submitted manuscripts are published within a reasonable period. The management of monographs not to be published in an existing series will be handled by the office of the Director of ‘UA Journals’ Press, who will be advised by experts drawn from the different scientific-technical areas of ‘UA Journals’ in preparing a preliminary recommendation and in designating reviewers for new proposals, in accordance with procedures set down in these Guidelines.

In light of these responsibilities, the following principles should be observed:

 

1.1. Impartiality

 

The Editorial Teams must handle all submitted manuscripts in an impartial manner, and must respect the intellectual independence of all authors, who must be given the right of reply if they receive a negative review. 

Manuscripts that report negative research results should not be excluded from consideration.

 

1.2. Confidentiality

 

Members of the Editorial Teams are required to ensure the confidentiality of all manuscripts received and of their content until they have been accepted for publication. Only then may the title and authors of the article be communicated.

In addition, no member of an Editorial Team may use data, lines of reasoning or interpretations in unpublished manuscripts for his or her own research, except with the authors’ express written consent.

 

1.3. Manuscript review

 

The Editorial Teams must ensure that all published research articles have been evaluated by at least two subject specialists, and that the review process has been fair and impartial.

The method of peer review most appropriate for the scientific community that the journal or series is targeted to must be made public: double blind (in which both authors and reviewers are anonymous), single blind (in which reviewers are anonymous) or open (in which neither authors nor reviewers are anonymous). When one of the two reviews is negative, a third review will be requested.

The Editorial Teams must give due consideration to refusals by any author to be reviewed by certain specialists (when peer review is not anonymous) if the justification provided appears reasonable. The Editorial Teams are under no obligation to forego review by these specialists if Team members believe that their views are fundamental for the accurate evaluation of the manuscript.

Persons who submit a manuscript for review may suggest the names of up the three specialists as peer reviewers. The Editorial Teams reserve the right to decide whether to accept or decline these suggestions, and is not required to communicate their decision to the authors.

The Editorial Teams must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are original and unpublished, and that during the peer review process due precautions are taken to verify originality and to detect plagiarism, self-plagiarism and redundant publication defined as the complete copy, partial copy or altered copy of work published by the same author in such a way as to make the work appear different. Editorial Teams must also take appropriate measures to detect data falsification or manipulation. In addition, contents that have undergone peer review must be clearly identified.

The Editorial Teams must recognize the value of and acknowledge the input of all those involved in the review of manuscripts submitted to the journal or series. In addition Team members should encourage academic authorities to acknowledge peer review activities as part of the scientific process, and should decline to use reviewers who submit reports that are of poor quality, erroneous or disrespectful, or that are delivered after the agreed deadline.

 

1.4. Manuscript acceptance or rejection

 

Responsibility for accepting or rejecting manuscripts for publication rests with the Editorial Teams, which should base their decision on the reports received about the manuscript. The reviewers should base their decision on the quality of the manuscript in terms of its relevance, novelty and clarity of writing and reporting.

The Editorial Teams may reject a submitted manuscript without external review if the members believe it to be unsuitable for the journal because it does not reach an acceptable level of quality, is outside the scientific aims and scope of the journal or series, or contains evidence of scientific fraud.

 

1.5. Journal article retraction and expression of concern

 

The Editorial Team reserves the right to retract published articles which are subsequently determined to be unreliable due to unintentional error or scientific fraud or misconduct: data fabrication, manipulation or appropriation, text plagiarism, self-plagiarism and redundant or duplicate publication, omission of references to sources consulted, use of content without permission or without justification, etc. The decision to retract is based on the need to correct the scientific record of publication and thereby ensure its integrity.

In case of a conflict regarding duplicate publication caused by the simultaneous publication of the same article in two different journals, the date the manuscript was received by each journal will be used to decide which of the two versions should be retracted.

If an error affects only part of a published article, it can be subsequently corrected by publishing a note from the editor, a correction or an erratum notice.

If any conflict arises, the journal will ask the author or authors to provide an explanation and relevant evidence for clarification, and will reach a decision based on this information.

The journal must publish the retraction notice in both its print and electronic editions, and the notice must mention the reasons for the retraction, in order to differentiate between misconduct and unintentional error. The journal will notify the responsible authorities at the authors’ institution of the retraction. The decision to retract an article should be reached as soon as possible in order to prevent the misleading article from being cited by other researchers.

Retracted articles will remain available in the electronic edition of the journal, and will be identified clearly and unambiguously as retracted in order to distinguish retractions from other corrections or commentaries. In the print edition, retractions will be reported as promptly as possible as an editorial or note from the editor with the same wording as in the electronic edition.

Prior to final retraction, the journal may issue an expression of concern in which the necessary information is provided with the same wording as used for a retraction. The expression of concern will be used for as brief a period as possible and will be withdrawn or superseded, if appropriate, by formal retraction of the article.

 

1.6. Monograph retraction and expression of concern

 

The reasons and procedures for retracting monographs are the same as specified above in paragraphs one to four of section 1.5.

‘UA Journals’ Press will issue the pertinent notifications and communications, and reserves the right to initiate legal action within its current institutional remit and to delete the title from its official catalogue of publications.

 

1.7. Application of the Regulations for ‘UA Journals’ Publications

 

The person who serves as Editor in Chief of the journal or series is responsible for ensuring that the Regulations for ‘UA Journals’ Publications are implemented appropriately, and that all members of the Team are familiar with them. The functions of the Editorial Team are as follows: to promote and represent the journal or series in different bodies and organizations; to suggest and advocate potential improvements; to obtain the collaboration of experts in different subject areas; to perform initial review of submitted manuscripts; to write editorials, reviews, commentaries, news items, book reviews, etc. for the journal, and to attend Editorial Team meetings.

 

1.8. Guidelines for authors

 

The instructions for manuscript preparation for each journal or series (text length, figure preparation, reference formats, etc.) must be publicly available.

 

1.9. Conflict of interest

 

Among other situations, conflict of interest arises when an author of a manuscript submitted to a journal or series is a member of the Editorial Team, has a direct personal or professional relationship, or is closely related with previous or current research carried out by a member of the Editorial Team. Specifically, members of the Editorial Team should recuse themselves from participation in handling the manuscript when they are involved in any of the situations or similar situations described below, in relation with an author of the manuscript:

  • Family relationship
  • Manifest personal friendship or animosity
  • Belonging to the same research group
  • Serving presently or having served as PhD degree advisor or co-advisor within the previous 10 years
  • Obtaining a PhD degree with an author as advisor or co-advisor within the previous 10 years
  • Collaborating presently or within the previous 5 years in publications or patents
  • Collaborating in other economic or scientific-technological activities
  • Having a contractual relationship or sharing national or international research funding from public or private entities or any other type of entity within the previous 3 years

The Editorial Team must also refrain from choosing reviewers who are or who may be involved in any of these situations. When single-blind reviewing is used (i.e. only the reviewer is anonymous), the reasons for recusal stated above must be clearly highlighted on the evaluation form, so that reviewers are aware of the situation and have the option to opt out.

 

2. Authorship in ‘UA Journals’ journals and monographs

 

The authors of works submitted for publication in ‘UA Journals’ journals or series are primarily responsible for the content, and are thus obligated to follow ethical guidelines intended to ensure, among other considerations, that the work is original and that authorship has been attributed appropriately. Inappropriate behavior may lead to the retraction of published material in accordance with the procedures described above in sections 1.5 and 1.6 of these guidelines.

Aside from its ethical implications, inappropriate behavior may result in infringement of the intellectual property rights of the ‘UA Journals’ and/or third parties. Accordingly, ‘UA Journals’ Press reserves the right to initiate legal action within its current institutional remit.

 

2.1. Publication guidelines

 

Manuscripts submitted for publication must be based on original, unpublished research. They must include the data obtained and used, as well as an objective discussion of the results. They must supply enough information to allow any specialist to reproduce the research and confirm or refute the interpretations defended in the manuscript.

All authors must appropriately reference the sources of all ideas or phrases taken verbatim from previously published articles, in accordance with the instructions and guidelines of the journal or series.

When illustrations are used as part of the research, the methods used to create or obtain them must be explained appropriately whenever this information is needed to understand the images. If any graphic material (e.g., figures, photographs, maps, etc.) has been entirely or partially reproduced from other publications, the authors must cite the source and obtain permission, if needed, to reproduce the material.

The unnecessary subdivision of articles should be avoided. If the research report is very long, is can be published in two or more parts; each part should deal with a particular aspect of the overall study. Different articles relating to the same research should be published in the same journal to facilitate readers’ interpretation of the work.

 

2.2. Originality and plagiarism

 

All authors must ensure that the data and results reported in the manuscript are original and have not been copied, fabricated, falsified or manipulated.

Plagiarism in all forms, self-plagiarism, multiple or redundant publication, and data fabrication or manipulation constitute serious ethical failings and are considered scientific fraud.

Authors must not submit to a ‘UA Journals’ journal or series any manuscript that is simultaneously under consideration by another publisher and must not submit their manuscript to another publisher until they are notified that it has been rejected or have voluntarily withdrawn it from consideration. However, an article that builds upon an item published previously as a short report, brief communication or conference abstract may be published as long as it appropriately cites the earlier source it is based on, and as long as the new manuscript represents a substantial modification of the previous publication.

Secondary publication is also acceptable if the later manuscript is targeted to completely different readers – for example, if the article is to be published in different languages or if one version is intended for specialists whereas the other version is intended for the general public. These circumstances must be specified and the original publication and must be cited appropriately.

 

2.3. Authorship of manuscripts

 

If the manuscript has more than one author, the author responsible for the work must ensure appropriate recognition of all persons who contributed significantly to the conception, planning, design and performance of the study, to obtaining the data, and to the interpretation and discussion of the results. All persons named as authors share responsibility for the work reported in the manuscript. Likewise, the person responsible for the work must ensure that all persons named as authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its possible publication.

The person responsible for the work must ensure that no person responsible for the manuscript and who meets the criteria noted above for scientific authorship has been omitted from the list of authors. This will avoid ghost authorship and gift authorship, which constitute scientific misconduct.

In addition, an acknowledgment must be included in the article to note the contributions of other collaborators who are not authors and are not responsible for the final version of the manuscript.

If the Editorial Team or the authors so request, a brief description of the individual contributions of each member of the group of coauthors may appear in the published version of the work.

 

2.4. Sources of information and funding

 

All publications that have influenced the research should be acknowledged in the manuscript; accordingly, all original sources upon which information in the manuscript is based should be identified and cited in the reference list. However, references that are not relevant to the research or that refer to similar examples should not be included, and overreliance on references to research that forms part of the common body of scientific knowledge should be avoided.

Authors should not use information obtained privately through conversations, correspondence or informal discussions with colleagues, unless they have obtained explicit written permission from the source of the information, and the information was provided in the context of a scientific consultation.

The published work must indicate, clearly and concisely, all sources of funding awarded for the study, and must note the public or private entity that provided the funding, and the code number assigned to each source of funding, if appropriate. This information will appear in the published work.

 

2.5. Significant errors in published works

 

When authors discover a serious error in their work, they must report this to the person responsible for the journal or series as soon as possible in order to modify the work, withdraw it, retract it, or publish a correction or erratum notice.

If the Editorial Team detects the potential error, the authors must then demonstrate that their work is free from error.

The process to be used to resolve conflicts that may arise is described above in sections 1.5 and 1.6.

 

2.6. Conflict of interest

 

If any commercial, financial or personal relationship exists that might influence the results and conclusions of the work, a declaration explaining these circumstances must be provided at the time of submission. This information will be included in the published version of the work.

 

3. Reviewers of ‘UA Journals’ journals and monographs

 

External experts who participate in manuscript review play an essential role in the process that guarantees the quality of published material. They assist the Editorial Teams of journals and series in making their decisions, help to improve the submitted works, and provide a warranty of scientific merit.

 

3.1. Confidentiality

 

Peer reviewers must consider all manuscripts as confidential documents both during and after the peer review process, until after they are published.

Under no circumstances should the reviewer divulge or use any information, details, lines of reasoning or interpretations in the material to be reviewed for his or her own benefit or that of any other persons, or with the intent to harm any third parties. Only under exceptional circumstances may the reviewer obtain advice from other specialists in the subject of the manuscript, and the reviewer must inform the Editor of the journal or series of this measure.

 

3.2. Objectivity

 

Experts who evaluate manuscripts must judge the quality of the whole report objectively, i.e., they must consider the background information used to formulate the hypothesis of the study, the theoretical and experimental data and their interpretation. Attention must also be given to the presentation and writing/reporting of the text.

They must be specific with their criticisms and provide their comments in an objective, constructive manner. They must justify their judgments with reasoning, avoid hostility and respect the authors’ intellectual independence.

Peer reviewers must notify the person who requested the review of any substantial similarities between the manuscript under review and any other published work or manuscript they are aware of and that is undergoing review for another publication. In addition, reviewers must draw attention to any text or data that have been plagiarized from different authors or self-plagiarized or duplicated from other works by the authors of the manuscript under review. Reviewers must also alert the person who requested the review if they suspect or are aware of any text or data that have been falsified, fabricated or manipulated.

 

3.3. Timely response

 

Peer reviewers must act promptly and provide their report by the agreed deadline, and must notify the Editor’s office of possible delays.

In addition, they must notify the Editor’s office as soon as possible if they do not feel qualified to evaluate the manuscript or if they are unable to complete their review by the agreed deadline.

 

3.4. Acknowledgment of sources of information

 

Peer reviewers must verify that previously published studies relevant to the topic have been cited. To do so they must review the literature cited in the manuscript with a view to suggesting the removal of superfluous or redundant references, or the addition of references that were not cited.

 

3.5. Conflict of interest

 

Peer reviewers must decline to review when they suspect or are aware that they may be influenced by any of the situations potentially able to affect their judgment of the work, as described above in section 1.9 of these guidelines.

Conflict of interest may also arise when the manuscript is closely related with work the reviewer is currently performing or has previously published. In such cases, and if in doubt, the reviewer should decline to review the manuscript and return it to the Editorial Team, with an explanation of the reasons for his or her decision.

 

4. Policy on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Tools 

 

‘UA Journals’ recognizes both the opportunities and challenges of using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT and other large-scale language models (LLMs), in the field of scientific publishing. To promote transparency and academic integrity, the following guidelines are established, inspired by the recommendations of STM and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

4.1. Manuscript Preparation

 

When GenAI tools are used for tasks such as text generation, data generation, graphics generation, study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, authors must declare this in the submission process. In addition:

- This information must be detailed in the "Methodology" section of the manuscript, clearly explaining how the tool was used.

- An explicit mention of the tool and its version must be included in the "Acknowledgments" section.

Recommended example of a declaration:

> During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [tool name, version] for the purpose of [describe use]. The authors reviewed and edited the generated output and assume full responsibility for the content of this publication.

The use of GenAI solely for minor linguistic editing (e.g., correction of grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting) does not require declaration.

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, validity, and integrity of the content of their manuscript, including any material generated with the help of GenAI, and must ensure, through careful review, that it complies with UA Journals' editorial ethics policies, including those related to:

- Plagiarism  

- Fabrication or manipulation of data or images  

- Intellectual property rights

UA Journals reserves the right to request additional information regarding the use of AI tools and to make editorial decisions in accordance with its review process and editorial terms.

 

4.2. Authorship

 

GenAI tools and other large-scale language models cannot be listed as authors, as they do not meet the authorship requirements established by UA Journals (such as taking responsibility for the content, making significant intellectual contributions, and approving the final version of the manuscript).

 

4.3. Use of GenAI by Reviewers

 

Reviewers should not use GenAI tools to prepare their review reports. This practice may violate principles of confidentiality, privacy rights, and intellectual property rights. Under no circumstances should full or partial manuscripts, figures, tables, or any other information related to the editorial process be uploaded to generative AI platforms.

Limited use to improve the writing of the review report (such as grammatical or style corrections) is permitted but must be expressly declared when submitting the report.

If inappropriate use of GenAI is detected in peer review, the report will be discarded.

 

4.4. Use of GenAI in Editorial Decision-Making

 

Academic editors (editors-in-chief, editorial board members, or guest editors) are responsible for preserving the integrity of the editorial process. Therefore, they should not use GenAI tools during editorial review or decision-making on manuscripts.

Under no circumstances is it permitted to upload manuscripts (partially or in full), figures, tables, or communications related to the editorial review process to GenAI platforms, as this constitutes a violation of the UA Journals confidentiality policy.

 

5. Research Involving Human Subjects

 

‘UA Journals’ recognizes the importance of ensuring the protection of human rights and the well-being of participants in scientific research. In this regard, authors are required to follow the principles established by the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki, revised in 2013, and national and international ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects, human materials, human tissues, or human data.

 

5.1. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Statement

 

When reporting research involving human subjects, human materials, human tissues, or human data, authors must declare that the research was conducted in accordance with the standards of the 1975 Helsinki Declaration, as revised in 2013. According to point 23 of that declaration, approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee must be obtained before conducting the research to confirm that the study complies with national and international guidelines.

- At a minimum, a statement containing the project identification code, the approval date, and the name of the ethics committee or IRB must be included in a section within the article titled "Institutional Ethics Committee Statement".

Example of an Institutional Ethics Committee Statement:

> The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of XXX (Project Identification Code) on [approval date].

 

5.2. Informed Consent Statement

 

Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants, human data, or human tissues must include a statement of informed consent for research participation.

- Verbal consent to participate in a study may be acceptable in some circumstances (e.g., in ethnographic studies). Authors should explain the rationale for using this type of consent in a section within the article titled "Informed Consent Statement".

- For manuscripts that include identifiable patient or participant information (personal details, images, or videos related to an individual), written consent for publication of those details must be obtained before submission to a UA Journals journal. A blank version of the form used to obtain permission (without the patient/participant's name or signature) must be provided.

Informed consent statement examples:

> Informed consent to participate was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

> Informed consent to participate is not required by local law [provide local law].

> Verbal consent was obtained from participants. Verbal consent was obtained in lieu of written consent due to [reason].

> Informed consent for publication was obtained from all identifiable human participants.

For the purposes of publication in UA Journals, the consent form must include unlimited permission for publication in all formats (print, electronic, online) and for sublicensed and reprinted versions (including translations and derivative works) under an open access license.

 

5.3. Studies with Vulnerable Groups

 

If a study involves vulnerable groups, the manuscript will undergo additional review by the editorial office. Upon request, the author must provide documentation, including blank consent forms and any documents related to the discussion with the ethics committee or other relevant bodies.

In addition, when studies describe groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, disease, etc., the reason for such categorization must be clearly explained in the article.

 

5.4. Confidentiality and Privacy Protection

 

To respect the privacy of patients/participants, identifiable private details should not be included unless the identifiable materials are relevant to the research (e.g., photographs of participants displaying a particular symptom). Patients'/participants' initials or personal identifiers should not appear in any images. Patient/participant details should be anonymized as much as possible.

The editorial office reserves the right to request further documentation if necessary. The submitted manuscript will be carefully reviewed by the editorial office, and if requested, authors must provide documentary evidence (signed consent forms and any ethics-related documents) to meet these requirements.

 

6. Content Preservation and Conservation Policy

 

In order to guarantee permanent access to the scientific content published in this journal, published by UA Journals, the following digital preservation and conservation policy is established:

 

6.1. Secure and Redundant Storage

 

All articles, full issues, and supplementary materials are stored on secure servers with automatic backup systems. A periodic backup copy is maintained on external servers to ensure recovery in the event of data loss.

 

6.2. Long-Term Preservation

 

The journal is committed to retaining all published content indefinitely. To this end, digital preservation strategies based on international standards are adopted, such as the use of open and non-proprietary formats (e.g., PDF/A for documents) and content migration in the event of technological obsolescence.

 

6.3. Version Control and Traceability

 

Each published article receives a unique identifier (DOI) that guarantees its traceability, authenticity, and permanence. Corrected or updated versions, in the case of errors or retractions, are identified and preserved in accordance with international editorial practices.

 

6.4. Storage in Reliable External Systems

 

In addition to local storage, the journal stores content in digital repositories, ensuring the persistence and decentralized access to content.

 

6.5. Standardized Metadata and Accessibility

 

The correct description of all content is guaranteed through standardized metadata (DOI, ORCID, etc.), which facilitates retrieval, interoperability, and visibility in databases, academic search engines, and archiving systems.

 

6.6. Institutional Commitment

 

The journal's editorial board is responsible for the implementation and review of this policy, in coordination with the technical team and the library or digital archive services of the publishing institution.

 

7. Política de igualdad de género

 

Esta revista de la editorial ‘UA Journals’ manifiesta su compromiso con la igualdad de género en todas las fases del proceso editorial y científico, promoviendo una producción académica más equitativa, inclusiva y sensible a las diferencias sexo-género. Para ello, se establecen las siguientes directrices:

 

7.1. Inclusive and Non-Sexist Language

 

The journal strongly encourages authors to use inclusive, non-sexist, and respectful language in all submitted articles. Authors are encouraged to avoid expressions that perpetuate gender stereotypes or exclude certain groups. Instructions for authors will include specific guidelines to ensure this practice is adopted.

 

7.2. Inclusion of Sex/Gender Analysis in Research

 

Authors are encouraged to incorporate, where appropriate, a sex and/or gender analysis in the research design, methodological proposal, presentation of results, discussion, and limitations of the study.

Likewise, the conclusions of the articles are encouraged to consider possible differences related to these variables, promoting a more critical and contextualized view of the phenomena investigated.

 

7.3. Institutional Commitment

 

The journal's editorial team is committed to periodically reviewing this policy, promoting gender equality training among its staff, and ensuring its effective application in all editorial processes.

  

 

Sources used:

 

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