Submissions

Author Guidelines

CIENCIAUAT EDITORIAL POLICIES

CienciaUAT is a multidisciplinary journal that publishes two issues per year (January-June and July-December). Its aim is to disseminate basic and applied scientific knowledge, focused mainly on Ibero American topics, which are grouped as follows:

Physics, Mathematics and Earth Sciences

Biology and Chemistry

Medicine and Health Sciences

Humanities and Behavioral Sciences

Social Sciences

Biotechnology and Agricultural Sciences

Engineering

The CienciaUAT Journal publishes original articles, scientific notes and critical literature reviews in Spanish whose authors are researchers from our educational institution and other national and international institutions and research centers. The journal is published in both print and online versions and supports an open access policy.

The journal is edited and financially supported by the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas.

The journal combines the highly scientific quality of the papers received with the quality of the editorial process, formatting and full color presentation of the published material.

The CienciaUAT Journal is indexed in: Latindex, Ebsco, Copernicus, Cab Abstracts, Periódica, MIAR, Actualidad Iberoamericana, Fundación Dialnet, NAL, DOAJ, REDIB, Open Science Directory, Google scholar, Copac, World Cat, Academia.edu, ERIH PLUS, Western Theological Seminary, SHERPA/ROMEO, ¿Dónde lo publico?, The Knowledge Network, Scribd, SciELO-México, SciELO, WEB of Science, Redalyc, iresie, Conahcyt and LILACS.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR PUBLICATION

Manuscripts submitted to the Editorial Committee of the journal for evaluation should be original, unpublished and not under consideration for publication simultaneously in another journal or editorial agency. Manuscripts should have scientific quality and use clear and accurate language, defining technical terms as necessary to make it accessible to readers from other academic fields and levels. In addition manuscripts must include the following sections in Spanish and English: title, abstract, key words, tables and figures captions. The author is responsible for writing each of the sections in an appropriate manner.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Manuscripts should be submitted through the CienciaUAT platform, which can be found at the following address: http://www.revistaciencia.uat.edu.mx/index.php/CienciaUAT/information/authors

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

Authors are required to register first at the journal’s portal in order to obtain a username and a password which are used to log in and upload their manuscript to the platform. They will also be used to continue the editorial process, review the status of their manuscripts (from the area editor), and send and receive correspondence (to and from reviewers). Manuscripts will not be received by any other print or electronic means.

All submitted manuscripts are subject to an editorial process which develops in stages. Authors are expected to fully comply with the revisions required during the review process, highlighting in red color the changes made to the most updated version of the manuscript (authors are expected to use the same Word document received in each of the stages). In the case of the comments and suggestions made by the Editor and the external reviewers, authors are also required to submit a separate sheet in which they provide a detailed explanation about how they dealt with each of the comments and  suggestions on the revised version. In the first stage, manuscripts will be subject to a preliminary review by members of the Editorial Department of the journal, to ensure that they meet the thematic and format requirements, and to determine the levels of similarity (through Turnitin software). Once all the general considerations for publication are met, the manuscript will be assigned the area editor, who will decide on its relevance (some manuscripts may require a second round of review). If approved by the area editor, the manuscript will then be reviewed by at least two external expert reviewers who will determine whether it is accepted or rejected based on an academic and scientific analysis. In the event of disagreement between the reviewers’ decisions, the manuscript is sent out to a third reviewer, whose decision will define publication.  Authors will have a pre-determined time period to meet the comments and suggestions as required by the reviewers’. Failure to make the required corrections within the specified time frame will result in manuscript rejection.  All manuscripts undergo a double blind review process, in which the authors do not know the reviewers and vice versa. The result of the review process is irreversible.

In the case of those manuscripts that are accepted with minor revisions, their authors will have a two week period to make the required corrections, which will need to be highlighted in red color. As mentioned above, authors will need to submit a separate form in which they provide a detailed response to each of the reviewers’ comments or suggestions. Failure to respond to this requirement will result in the rejection of the manuscript. Similarly, all accepted manuscripts undergo a process of editorial and format revision to adjust them to the required publication format. During the proofing stage, authors will have four calendar days to check and correct their proofs. If the authors do not respond within the time frame, the article will be published following the Editor’s judgment. Nonetheless, if the authors need an extension to respond to the requirements in any of the different stages of the process, they will have to make a formal request to the journal’s Editor.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

The number of authors of the manuscript should be in accordance to the quality and the quantity of the work carried out and presented. An unjustified number of authors may cause the rejection of the manuscript. Each submission should include an author’s data sheet on a separate file with the following information: full name of each of the authors (initials must be avoided; both last names should be hyphenated); institution of affiliation in the following order: University, school or institute, full postal address, e-mail address of the author for correspondence, phone number-including area code- where the author can be reached, CONACyT CVU, ORCID iD, and SNI level as appropriate.

The manuscript should be written in 12-point Times New Roman, spaced at 1.5, formatted into Letter page size (21.59 cm x 27.94 cm), page numbered, in MS Word, with 2.5 cm margins on every side. Rows should be numbered continuously to facilitate the evaluation process.

The manuscript must be written in impersonal form. Acknowledgments must be included in the final part of the text and only for cases of monetary support.

Manuscripts in the form of scientific manuscripts must have a maximum of 25 pages (including figures, tables, and appendices). Scientific notes must have a maximum of 15 pages; the revised versions must have a maximum of 20 pages (including figures, tables, and appendices).

In case the manuscript includes figures, tables, images or pictures, these must be referenced in the text and should preferably be in color and placed towards the end of the manuscript, each in a separate sheet.

The text describing the figures must be drafted independently and not as part of the image. Figures should be additionally sent in a separate file in jpg format (300 dpi or higher to ensure printing quality). In case of using maps, these should specify geographical coordinates indicating the area or place of study, adhering to the following format: 98°12’15’’ W o 45°23’10’’ N. When it comes to a polygon, the upper left and lower right coordinates should be indicated. The altitude above the sea level should be cited in meters.

Tables referenced in the text should be included at the end of the document in MS Word format and should not be included as images. Information in tables and figures should not be repeated in the text, except those that are necessary for the discussion of results.

STRUCTURE OF ARTICLES

Sections in both Spanish and English

The title should clearly describe the contents of the paper within a length of 150 characters in Spanish. The abstract must not exceed 300 words, including a brief introduction, the objective or purpose, the methods used, main findings and a conclusion. A list of three to five keywords should be included.

Sections in Spanish

In addition to the aforementioned components, authors should also provide a shorter version of the manuscript title.

Besides the abstract, the sections of introduction, materials and methods, findings and discussion (can be either merged or independently organized), conclusions, acknowledgements (where necessary) and references should be included.

In the Introduction section (3 pages maximum in length), the importance of the study must be presented with an updated review of the scientific literature and the objective or purpose of the study must also be indicated.

The Materials and Methods section needs to provide sufficient information in a way that the study can be replicated under similar conditions. The experimental design, statistical method, techniques of analysis used and data sources need to be clearly indicated. Brand names, year and origin (city and country) of the research devices used for the study need to be clearly indicated.

In the case of health related studies, a reference needs to be made to the Ethics committee that approved the research protocol. Furthermore, in the case of those studies whose research subjects are humans, copies of the signed research consent forms need to be provided. In all the cases, studies in which humans are involved must adhere to the ethical guidelines for human experimentation as stated in the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki.

In the case of the studies that make use of animals for experimentation, all the appropriate measures implemented to minimize pain and uneasiness need to be clearly indicated. In addition, a declaration identifying the ethics committee that approved that research methodology needs to be provided in the methods section. Similarly, when animals are used in clinical trials, the informed consent from their owners or customers needs to be gained and explicitly declared in the document.

The experiments and clinical trials should be conducted following the guidelines established by the National Health Institute (NHI) of the USA, particularly those related to the care and use of animals in experimentation procedures. Alternatively, the guidelines for ethical practice developed by the European Community Council dated November 24, 1986 (86/609/eec) can also be followed in accordance with national and local laws and regulations. The editors of the journal reserve the right to reject those works that appear to have failed to secure an adequate informed consent from the involved parties or to apply appropriate procedures.

The findings of the research should be supported with up-to-date literature and should demonstrate that the generated knowledge is new or innovative. Therefore, at least 40% of the references used should be not older than 5 years.

The conclusion section should highlight the main contributions of the study in a clear and concrete manner, avoiding the repetition of discussion of previous findings.

STRUCTURE OF UPDATED LITERATURE REVIEWS

Sections in both Spanish and English

The title should clearly describe the contents of the work within a length of 150 characters. The abstract must not exceed 200 words, clearly describing the topic being reviewed, its relevance and scope through a brief introduction, objective or purpose, methods used, main findings and a conclusion. A list of three to five keywords should be included.

Sections in Spanish

In addition to the aforementioned components, authors should also provide a shorter version of the manuscript title.

The text of the manuscript must contain a clear, broad review of the literature that facilitates a deep understanding of the topic described. In the Introduction section, the importance of the study must be presented with an updated review of the scientific literature. The objective or purpose of the study must also be indicated. Given that it is an updated literature review, it is expected that more than 40 % of the references included are articles published within the last five years.  The content must be divided into sections, depending on the subject matter addressed. It is recommended that a section of Conclusions be included before the list of References.

Declaration of non-conflicts of interests

Authors must submit a formal statement, in which they declare that no conflicts of interests are involved in their study that can influence the findings presented, as well as the discussion and conclusions drawn.

A conflict of interest can be associated with the financial relationships that can exert influence in the development of the research project and can represent a threat to the interpretation and publication of the findings of the study. A conflict of interest can also arise when the author (s) has affinity, a personal or work relationship or an adverse feeling towards enterprises, institutions or groups that can be positively or negatively affected by the outcomes of the published research.

The decision to accept or reject a manuscript will be based on the academic and scientific analysis of the material. Such analysis will be conducted by external reviewers and will not be influenced by the authors’ statement of potential conflict of interests.

The CienciaUAT Journal is committed to providing a fair review process by requesting the participating editors and external referees to state whether potential conflicts of interests exist in such process, including any potential antagonism with the research topic addressed in the manuscript under review. In addition, the Journal follows a double-blind review process, which ensures that the reviewers do not know the authors and the authors do not know the reviewers.

Measurement units

The units of any scientific or lab data and their abbreviation should adhere to the international system previously described at http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units.html. Dots should NOT be used in the abbreviations (e.g. kg, cm, ºC, or m).

References

All publications cited in the text of the article must appear in the references section and vice versa. Authors must verify that the names of the authors and dates are exactly the same in the text and the list of references. Authors must also make sure that all the elements of bibliographic references are included. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to verify the correct spelling of authors’ names cited in articles or literature reviews.

Citations or references inserted in the corresponding places in the text must be placed in parenthesis, contain the surname of the author and include the year of publication. For example: (Martínez, 2015). In the case of two authors: (Martínez y Gómez, 2014). To indicate more than two authors: Martínez y col. (2014).In case of more than one reference, they should be separated with semi (Martínez  y Gómez, 2014; Martínez  y col., 2014). If there are two references of the same authors, small letters in alphabetical order are used to avoid confusion (Martínez y Gómez, 2014a; 2014b).

Textual citations (entirely copied text) that contain 40 or fewer words will be placed in quotation marks and will include, in addition to the author’(s) name and year of publication, the page number(s). For example, (Martínez, 2015: 126); Martínez (2015), found that “The placebo effect disappeared when...” (p. 126).

In case of using a secondary source (which should be done with moderation, only when the project is not available or it is in another language), it should be stated as follows: taken from the two-year period report (2008-2009) Observatorio Iberoamericano de Economía Social y Cooperativa (OIBESCOOP) quoted in Chaves-Ávila y Pérez-de-Ural (2012) and Chaves-Ávila y col. (2013), defining that “…xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”. In the list of references the secondary source will be found.

When using corporate authors such as institutes or ministries or organizations among others, acronyms must be spelled out the first time they are cited in the text. Example: according to reports provided by the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS, 2015)…., Only the acronym will be cited subsequently.

Legal material texts are cited as follows: The Mexican constitution (2013), in its 27 article, establishes that “The property of land and water comprised within the national territory boundaries originally corresponds to the Nation”…

Interview notes, letters or email messages must be cited as follows: (L., Fuentes-García, crab processor, Personal communication, June 12, 2015).

No references or notes should be included as footnotes. No theses, manuals, book notes or any other hard to find material should be cited.

References

A list of all the references used in the text must be provided at the end of the manuscript in alphabetical order following the APA format, with the following specifications:

Research articles:

González, R. (2016). Presentación: La perspectiva y el debate acerca de una economía cooperativa, solidaria y autogestionaria como centro de una economía social. Revista de la Academia. (21): 5-29.

 Violán, C., Foguet-Boreu, Q., Roso-Llorach, A., Rodriguez-Blanco, T., Pons-Vigués, M., Pujol-Ribera, E. y Valderas, J. M. (2016). Patrones de multimorbilidad en adultos jóvenes en Cataluna: un análisis de clústeres. Atención Primaria. 48(7): 479-492.

Vio, M. y Cabrera, M. C. (2016). Perspectivas/La trama social de la economía popular en el Conurbano bonaerense. Algunas precisiones conceptuales. Revista + E. 5(5): 60-67.

Del-Campo, M., Arancibia, S., Nova, E., Salazar, F., González, A., Moltedo, B., … y Becker, M. I. (2014). Hemocianinas, una herramienta inmunológica de la biomedicina actual. Revista médica de Chile. 139(2): 236-246.

Books:

Brown, J. E. (2014). Nutrición en las diferentes etapas de la vida. (Quinta edición). México: Ed. McGraw-Hill Interamericana. 600 Pp.

Polit, D. and Hungler, B. (2013). Investigación científica en ciencias de la salud. México: McGraw-Hill Interamericana. 725 Pp.

Trinidad, A., Carrero, V. y Soriano, R. (2014). Teoría Fundamentada Grounded Theory. El desarrollo de teoría desde la generalización conceptual. Madrid: Cuadernos Metodológicos. 192 Pp.

Newspaper articles:

Reuters (2018). “Trump acusa al FBI de politizar investigaciones”, el Milenio. 2 de febrero de 2018, D15.

Book chapters:

Salazar, A., Carcavilla, L., and Diéz-Herrero, A. (2014). Geomorphological heritage and conservation in Spain. In F. Gutiérrez and M. Gutiérrez (Eds.), Landscapes and landforms of Spain (pp. 307-318). Madrid: Springer, Netherlands.

Interviews:

Nacif, B. (2018). Presidente de la Comisión de Prerrogativas del Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE), Ciudad de México, México.

Digital book chapters:

Smith, K. (2013). Behaviorism. In B. T. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [En línea]. Disponible en: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/behaviorism/edu/. Fecha de consulta: 12 de octubre de 2014.

Electronic journal articles (Available only on the Internet):

González-Enríquez, C. (2012). La emigración desde España, una migración de retorno, en Revista ARI. [En línea]. Disponible en: http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/zonas_es/ari4-2012. Fecha de consulta: 6 de agosto de 2015.

Websites, pages and digital books:

OMS, Organización Mundial de la Salud (2014). Informe sobre la situación mundial de la prevención de la violencia Ginebra, Suiza, en WHO publications. [En línea]. Disponible en: http://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/informe_sobre_la_situacion_mundial_ de_la_prevencion_de_la_violencia.pdf. Fecha de consulta: 5 de febrero de 2017.

Publication ethics

Authors must provide a written declaration to the CienciaUAT Journal in which they state that their manuscript is original and has not been previously published. The declaration should also state that the contents of the manuscript are the product of their direct intellectual contribution and that co-authors have given their consent for their work to be published. Authors must be aware that their manuscript should not be under consideration in another publication once it has been submitted to CienciaUAT or after it has been accepted for publication.

The members of the Editorial Board follow the Ethical Publication Committee (EPCO) principle. Plagiarism is not tolerated in this Journal. Therefore, all manuscripts undergo a review process aimed at detecting evidence of plagiarism (copying text or results from other sources without acknowledging them) as well as evidence of self-plagiarism (duplication of a substantial part of a previously published work by the authors without making the appropriate references to it and making them appear as original results). If the manuscript is found to be a case of plagiarism, it will be rejected immediately and its authors’ future works will not be considered for evaluation in any of the subsequent issues in this Journal.

For more information, please consult the journal portal at : http://www.revistaciencia.uat.edu.mx

Copyright

Authors will provide a written statement in which they transfer the copyrights to the CienciaUAT journal so that their article and materials can be published, edited, fixed, communicated and transmitted publically in any means or format, including all physical and/or electronic formats. The authors’ transfer of copyright also includes the journal’s right to distribute and disseminate the manuscript in the number of copies deemed necessary for scientific, cultural, dissemination and nonprofit purposes exclusively.

Open access policy

Based on its open access policy, the full content of the CienciaUAT Journal can be downloaded free of charge in digital form at its website. Additionally, the journal is indexed in databases and directories which facilitate the location of its scientific content, promoting its consultation and download electronically. Also, articles published in the CienciaUAT Journal are made available to authors so they can use them in different ways, including posting them at their personal websites or at an open-access repository, distributing hard or electronic copies of them and reusing part or the full contents of their articles in future works provided credit has been given.