Manuscript Format and Preparation
Works submitted to the Scientific Journal of UCSA must comply with the following instructions, in line with the journal's style and nature.
Presentation of Articles
- Author(s): provide the full first and last name of each author, including their email address and ORCID ID.
- Author contributions: An example may be as follows: MA and FB participated in the conception and design of the work, data collection and result gathering, data analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting, critical review of the manuscript, and approval of its final version. MA participated in data analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting, critical review of the manuscript, and approval of its final version.
- Complete institutional affiliation: full name of the center, department, and/or institution to which the authors belong, along with city and country.
- Corresponding author: identify the corresponding author and their email address.
- Funding source: for research reports with funding, the research project data to which the article belongs must be mentioned: project number, year, and funding source.
- Conflicts of interest: indicate whether the authors have any potential conflicts of interest to declare.
- Submission date: include the date the manuscript was submitted.
Sections
The journal publishes in the following sections: Original Articles, Review Articles, Letters to the Editor, Short Communications, Editorial, Current Topics, Update Articles, Case Reports, and Retraction. The detailed requirements for each section are shown at the time of submission.
Original Articles
The manuscript must be arranged in the following order: title, authors' names, department or laboratory where the work was carried out, name and address of the institution, abstract, keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgments (if any), and references. Sponsors must be mentioned as a footnote on the first page.
Abstract and keywords: The second page will include an abstract. It must not exceed 250 words and must be written in the past tense as a single paragraph. It should indicate: the title of the work; the introduction or background; study design; the purposes of the study or research; materials and methods (population, interventions, statistical analyses); the most important results; and the main conclusions. Subheadings for these sections should not be written. Emphasis should be placed on new and important aspects of the study or observations. Following the abstract, three to five keywords are included to allow indexers to classify the article. The abstract must also be included in English with its respective keywords.
Introduction: The purpose of the article will be stated. The logical rationale for the study or observation will be summarized. Only strictly relevant references are mentioned, without an extensive review of the topic. Data or conclusions from the work being presented should not be included.
Materials and methods: The way in which the observed subjects or experimental participants were selected must be clearly described. Methods, apparatus, equipment, and procedures are indicated, with sufficient detail for other researchers to reproduce the results. References for accredited methods, including statistical ones, must also be provided. The statistical methods used are described in detail so that a reader familiar with the topic, with access to the original data, can verify the reported results. Whenever possible, results are quantified and presented with appropriate indicators of error or measurement uncertainty (e.g., confidence intervals). It is recommended not to rely exclusively on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of "p" values, which do not convey important quantitative information. If applicable, details of the randomization process for subjects must be provided. Specify the software used.
Results: Results are presented following a logical sequence through text, tables, and figures. Data from tables or illustrations should not be repeated in the text; only important observations are highlighted or summarized. Tables, figures, and photos will be mentioned in the text. Tables will conform to the publication's format, and the editorial team may modify them if they present technical difficulties. The number of graphics to be presented (generally no more than five) should be submitted in a separate file with a title and an explanatory footnote describing what was obtained, without including bibliographic citations.
Discussion: This section highlights new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions derived from them. Data or other information already presented in the introduction and results sections should not be detailed again. This section explains the significance of the results and their limitations, including implications for future research. Additionally, observations are related to other relevant studies. The connection between the conclusions and the study's objectives is established. Avoid making general statements and drawing conclusions that are not fully supported by the data. When proposing new hypotheses, when justified, they should be clearly identified as such. When appropriate, recommendations may be included.
Presentation of Originals
Articles may be submitted in Spanish or English, in Word processor format. The length of the articles will be between 2,000 and 5,000 words. This length includes notes, appendices, references, bibliography, and graphic elements.
When presenting the original, the following must be considered: a short title of up to eight words; an abstract of 250 words; three to five keywords in the indicated languages. Regardless of the language in which the article is written, the title, abstract, and keywords must be included in both Spanish and English.
Works must comply with the following requirements:
- Body font: Times New Roman, size 12, justified text.
- Titles and subtitles: must be justified in Arial font, size 12, in uppercase and bold, leaving a single space between them and the text. Do not use bullet points or numbering generated by the word processor.
- Line spacing: 1.5. Margins: 2 cm on all sides.
- If abbreviations are used, they should only be explained the first time they appear in the text.
- Tables and graphics must be incorporated into the text, as close as possible to where they are mentioned. Avoid placing them as an appendix. They must include the necessary textual references, where applicable.
- If figures contain text and symbols, these should be as legible as possible. The digital format of figures, photographs, and original drawings must be JPG, GIF, or TIFF (4961 x 3295 pixels or 2041 x 1356 pixels).
- Notes mentioned in the body of the work must be included as footnotes, with ordinary numbering, in Arial font size 8.
- The bibliography must be arranged alphabetically by author's last name, at the end of the article. If there is more than one work by the same author, they are listed chronologically from oldest to newest.
- In-text citations and the bibliography must follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style (www.apastyle.org). The reference list should only include works cited in the text.
Examples of In-Text Citations and Bibliographic References
In-text citations:
- Direct quotation: in quotation marks (up to three lines), indicating the page number from which it was taken (Muñoz, 1993, p. 21). If it exceeds three lines, quotation marks are omitted and it is set as an independent text with a wider margin than the rest of the text. The source reference follows the quotation.
- Non-textual idea: (Muñoz, 1993), (Muñoz & Pérez, 1993)
Bibliographic references:
- Full book: Van Manen, M. (2003). Investigación educativa y experiencia vivida. Barcelona: Idea Books.
- Book chapter: MacLaren, P. (2010). Pedagogía crítica revolucionaria en épocas oscuras. In P. Aparicio (Ed.), El poder de educar y de educarnos. Transformar la práctica docente desde una perspectiva crítica (pp. 5-55). Játiva: Ediciones del Crec.
- Journal article: Hargreaves, A. (2000). Profesionales y padres: ¿Enemigos personales o aliados públicos? Perspectivas, Vol. XX N.º 2, 201-213.
- Institutional book or report: Chile, Comisión Nacional para la Modernización de la Educación (1994). Informe para su Excelencia el Presidente de la República, don Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. Santiago: Autor.
- Article or chapter in electronic format: Polly, J. A. (1992). Surfing the Internet: An introduction (2nd ed.). Available at: Gopher: vega.lib.ncsu.edu, Directory: library/reference/guides, File: Surfing.txt.
Manuscript Submission
Receipt of Articles
Manuscript submission deadlines close on December 20, March 30, and July 30 of each year.
Acceptance of Works
Acceptance or rejection of articles requires an evaluation process that includes:
1. First review
The initial evaluation is handled by the Editorial Committee, which determines the importance, relevance, and depth of the work, verifies whether the manuscript aligns with the journal's editorial line, whether it meets established standards, and whether it fulfills the general publication criteria.
2. Peer review
In a second stage, works that pass the initial review undergo external evaluation by academic peers with recognized expertise in the corresponding field. This process is conducted under a double-blind review model, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity for both authors and reviewers, in order to guarantee the scientific quality and originality of the contributions. Reviewers evaluate manuscripts according to a standardized evaluation form, which considers criteria of originality, scientific impact, methodology, and quality of results.
If the opinions are contradictory, the manuscript will be submitted for consideration by the Editorial Committee, or a third evaluation will be requested.
Decision on works
At the end of the evaluation process, reviewers and the Editorial Committee may issue one of the following decisions:
- Rejection: with an explanation of the reason in the report to the UCSA Journal editor.
- Acceptance without modifications.
- Acceptance with modifications: the author must make the changes suggested in the review for final acceptance.
3. Final decision
The editorial decision is communicated to the author in writing within an approximate period of two to three months from receipt of the original. In cases of conditional acceptance, the new electronic version must be submitted within the established deadline, which may not exceed 30 days.
Copyright Notice
Authors who publish in this journal retain the copyright of their works.
By submitting and accepting publication, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to carry out the first publication of the article in any format or medium.
Works are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This license allows others to copy, distribute, adapt, and reuse the content, even for commercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given to the authors and the original source of publication.
