UNAH Journals Portal

Author Guidelines

Submission of Manuscripts

The Journal Población y Desarrollo - Argonautas y Caminantes (Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers) accepts original, unpublished articles related to the fields of population, demography, development and related areas.

Until 2026, the manuscripts were submitted via the journal's institutional email address. Starting with the 2027 call for papers, all submissions must be made through the Scientific Journals Portal of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), where the entire editorial process will be managed.

The call for manuscripts is published anually during the first academic period of the UNAH. Typically, submissions are received between february and march; however, the journal continues to accept submissions until June 30 of each year for the corresponding volume.

Authors will receive an aknowledgement of receipt once the manuscript has been uploaded to the system.

Publication Topics

The journal welcomes academic contributions related to the themes of population, demography and development, as well as works related to the research priorities of the National Autonomous University of Honduras. Original articles. review articles, academic essays and book reviews that contribute to the scientific, critical, and interdisciplinary analysis of population dynamics and development processes are accepted.

Publications may address topics such as population and living conditions; population, basic needs and demography transition; science, culture and education; health, State and society; security and violence; environment, biodiversity and development; climate change and vulnerability; and food and nutrition security.

Document structure: Original Article

Original articles should be approximately 7,000 to 10,000 words in length. The title must be clear and precise and should not exceed 15 words; an English version of the title must also be provided.

The manuscript must present an abstract of up to 250 words and its corresponding English translation. The abstract should summarize the objective of the study, the methodology used, the main results and the most relevant conclusions. In addition, between four and six keywords must be included, preferably selected from the UNESCO Thesaurus. These must be different from the words used in the title, but maintain a clear thematic relationship with the content of the article. Their English translation must also be included (keywords).

The body of the article may be organized into the following sections: introduction, theoretical framework, state of the art, methodology, discussion of results, and conclusions. The introduction should outline the research problem, the contribution of the study to the relevant literature, the research objective or question, the general methodological decisions, the relevant academic debates and the article's structure.

The state of the art should provide a critical review of the most relevant previous studies, identify the main debates, advances and limitations in the existing literature and clearly indicate the knowledge gap that the article seeks to address.

The methodology section should clearly describe the approach, design, sources of information, data collection and analysis techniques, as well as the ethical criteria applied, when applicable. The discussion of results should present, analyze and interpret the findings in an organized manner, in relation to the theoretical framework, the state of the art, and the context of the research problem.

The conclusions should explicitly state the main theoretical and methodological contributions and, where relevant, their implications for public policy formulation. Finally, the manuscript must include a references section, formatted according to APA style, 7th edition.

Dissemination Information

The volumes of the journal are available for free online consultation through the official websites of the Master’s Program in Demography and Development, the Scientific Journals Portal of the National Autonomous University of Honduras and the academic platforms where the journal is registered, hosted or indexed.

Editorial process and peer review

Preliminary editorial review

Once a manuscript has been received, the Editorial Committee conducts an initial review to verify:

• Thematic relevance to the journal's focus.
• Compliance with editorial guidelines.
• Overall academic quality of the work.
• Originality and potential contribution to scientific knowledge.
• Compliance with ethical principles of publication.

The results of this first evaluation are communicated to the authors within a maximum of twenty (20) calendar days from the receipt of the manuscript.

As a result of this preliminary review, the Editorial Committee may issue one of the following decisions:

• Accept the manuscript in its original version and forward it for external double-blind peer review.
• Return the manuscript to the author for revisions and improvement before continuing the editorial process. In these cases, the Editorial Committee will provide detailed observations and recommendations. Manuscripts received before June 30 may be resubmitted once the suggested improvements have been incorporated. Manuscripts received on June 30 will have a maximum period of fifteen (15) calendar days to address the observations made by the Editorial Committee.

External double-blind peer review

Manuscripts that pass the preliminary editorial review are submitted to a double-blind peer review process by external academic reviewers.

Under this system:

• The reviewers do not know the identity of the authors.
• The authors do not know the identity of the reviewers.
• The Editorial Committee guarantees the confidentiality of all information throughout the process.

Each manuscript is sent to two external reviewers who are specialists in the relevant field, selected on the basis of their academic background, research experience, and absence of conflicts of interest.  The journal seeks to ensure that the majority of the reviewers belong to institutions other than the National Autonomous University of Honduras, with the aim of strengthening academic independence and diversity of perspectives.

The authors will be notified when their manuscript has been sent for external review.

The estimated time for external reviewers to submit their evaluation reports is up to sixty (60) calendar days from the date they accept the review invitation. In cases of justified delays or if new reviewers need to be appointed, this timeframe may be extended. When there is a substantial discrepancy between the reviews reports received, the Editorial Committee may request an evaluation from a third expert reviewer.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluations are conducted using a standardized form used by both the Editorial Committee and the external reviewers.

The criteria considered include:

• Thematic relevance and scientific contribution.
• Quality of the abstract and keywords.
• Strength of the theoretical framework and the state of the art.
• Methodological rigor.
• Quality of the results and discussion.
• Clarity of the conclusions and contributions.
• Quality of the academic writing.
• Normalization and currency of bibliographic references.
• Compliance with editorial guidelines.

Each criterion is rated using a standardized scale and generates a reasoned editorial recommendation.

It is available at the following link: Evaluation Matrix-RPDAC

Editorial decisions

Based on the reviews reports received, the Editorial Committee adopts one of the following decisions:

• Accept without revisions.
• Accept with minor revisions.
• Return for major revisions and re-evaluation.

The editorial decision will be communicated to the authors within ten (10) calendar days of receiving the reviews.

When revisions are requested, the authors must submit a new version of the manuscript accompanied by a detailed response to the comments made.

The standard deadlines for submitting revisions are:

• Minor revisions: up to fifteen (15) calendar days.
• Major revisions: up to thirty (30) calendar days.

Manuscripts submitted before the submission deadline may be granted longer periods to complete revisions. Manuscripts received close to the submission deadline of the call for papers must address the comments within the deadlines established by the journal to ensure the timely publication of the corresponding volume.

Once the revised version has been received, the Editorial Committee will verify that the comments have been addressed and, when necessary, will resubmit the manuscript for external review.

Stylistic editing, layout and publication

The accepted manuscripts are forwarded to the University Press of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), where the following stages take place:

• Stylistic editing and philological review.
• Final editorial review.
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• Preparation of galley proofs.
• Review and approval of proofs by the authors.
• Electronic publication. In accordance with the University's budget provisions, the University Press may print the journal volume and distribute it free of charge.

During the style editing and philological review, the University Press may provide comments and suggestions aimed at improving the clarity, coherence, conceptual precision, grammatical accuracy and formal presentation of the manuscript. These modifications will be sent to the authors for review and approval prior to final layout

Proofs will be sent to the authors to verify the correct incorporation of the editorial comments and to detect any possible typographical or formatting errors prior to final publication.

The journal Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers publishes one volume annually on December 5.

The journal strives to ensure that the average time between initial submission of the manuscript and the final editorial decision does not exceed six (6) months, although this timeframe may vary depending on the number of review rounds required, the availability of external reviewers and the response times of the authors.

Summary table off dates and deadlines for the editorial process

Editorial ethics and good practices policy

Población y Desarrollo - Argonautas y Caminantes (Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers) publishes original research work with a strong commitment to academic integrity, editorial ethics and good practices in scientific communication. The journal aligns its editorial processes with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics, COPE, particularly regarding originality, peer review, conflicts of interest, corrections, retractions and the handling of potential misconduct.  It also adheres to the standards established in the Research Ethics Manual of the UNAH.

Originality and plagiarism detection

The journal requires that submitted manuscripts be original, unpublished and not currently under simultaneous review by another journal. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, falsification or manipulation of data, misappropriation of ideas, texts, images, or results belonging to third parties, as well as any form of academic misconduct, are considered unacceptable practices.

As part of the editorial process, manuscripts are reviewed using iThenticate® from Turnitin, a specialized tool to identify textual similarities and assist in the detection of possible cases of plagiarism or redundant publication. The similarity report result does not in itself constitute an automatic editorial decision; it will be reviewed by the editorial team, taking into account the nature of the similarities, the proper use of citations, references, paraphrasing and the academic relevance of the overlapping content. iThenticate is presented as a tool for reviewing high-stakes documents prior to publication and detect potential originality issues.

When significant similarities are identified, the journal will proceed as follows:

• If the manuscript contains evident plagiarism, substantial appropriation of text or duplicate publication without proper attribution, it will be rejected and the author or corresponding author will be formally notified.
• If minor similarities, citation errors, insufficient paraphrasing or incomplete references are detected, the editorial team may request corrections before continuing with the review process.
• If potential misconduct is identified after publication, the Editorial Committee will review the case in accordance with COPE guidelines and may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, as necessary.

DEIA Policy: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Interculturality, and Accessibility

The journal assumes an editorial commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, interculturality, and accessibility across all processes of scientific management, evaluation, and publication. The journal promotes the participation of authors, reviewers, and readers without discrimination on the grounds of gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic origin, nationality, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, political position, institutional affiliation, territory, or any other personal or social condition.

In accordance with this commitment, the journal recommends that authors use clear, respectful, non-sexist, and non-discriminatory academic language. Expressions that reproduce stereotypes, exclusions, or forms of symbolic subordination toward women, Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ populations, migrants, or other historically vulnerable groups should be avoided. When required by the research topic, authors are encouraged to use the terms and designations recognized by the communities, groups, or participating subjects themselves, respecting their identity, agency, and dignity.

The journal recognizes that inclusive language may take different forms depending on the disciplinary field, the object of study, and the standards of clarity proper to academic writing. Therefore, it does not impose a single formula, but it does promote writing that adequately makes people visible and avoids sexist, pejorative, or discriminatory expressions. The editorial team may suggest stylistic adjustments when it identifies language that is contrary to these principles.

Likewise, the journal will seek to progressively strengthen the accessibility of its digital content through good editorial practices, such as clarity in textual structure, the appropriate use of headings and subheadings, the proper identification of tables, figures, and images, and the inclusion of descriptions or alternative text whenever possible. These actions seek to facilitate the consultation, reading, and circulation of scientific knowledge among diverse audiences.

Preprint Policy

The Journal Población y Desarrollo - Argonautas y Caminantes (Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers) accepts manuscripts that have previously been deposited as preprints on recognized academic servers or repositories, provided that they have not been formally published in a scientific journal and are not currently under simultaneous review by another publication.

Submitting a manuscript as a preprint will not be considered prior publication. However, authors must disclose this condition at the time of submission and include the link, DOI or other persistent identifier for the preprint. The version submitted to the journal must correspond to the submitted manuscript or clearly explain the differences between the two versions.

When a manuscript previously disseminated as a preprint is accepted and published by the journal, authors must update the preprint record, when the platform allows it, by including the reference link to the published article in its final version.

The existence of a preprint may partially limit anonymity in double-blind review processes, since the authorship could be publicly available. However, the journal will maintain the confidentiality of the editorial process and will ask reviewers to evaluate the manuscript based on its academic quality, relevance, originality, and methodological rigor.

Use of artificial intelligence in academic writing

The journal recognizes that generative artificial intelligence tools can be used to support tasks such as linguistic review, grammatical correction, translation, organizing ideas or improving writing style. However, their use does not replace intellectual authorship, critical analysis, or the academic responsibility of the authors.

Any substantive use of artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of a manuscript must be explicitly disclosed. The use of AI to fabricate data, create nonexistent citations or references, manipulate results, replace the researcher's own analysis or generate content without critical review by the authors will not be accepted. AI tools may not be listed as authors of the manuscript.

As long as there is no regulatory framework recognizing these tools as capable of authorship or of assuming academic, ethic and legal responsibility and that establishes clear responsibilities for their developers or providers regarding the content they generate, full responsibility for all content included in the manuscript shall remain with the authors. Therefore, authors submitting manuscripts to the journal must verify the accuracy, originality, relevance, and academic validity of any content created or assisted by AI.

As part of the editorial process, the journal uses the features available in iThenticate/Turnitin to identify signs of writing generated or modified by artificial intelligence. However, these results will be considered solely as support for the editorial review and not as automatic proof of misconduct. The final decision will be made by the editorial team, based on the evaluation of the manuscript, the authors' disclosure and the ethical criteria of the journal.

In accordance with the technical limitations of the AI writing report from iThenticate/Turnitin, results below 20% do not display a percentage or specific highlights, given the higher risk of false positives in that range. Therefore, the journal recognizes the limitations of this tool and that any AI-related findings must be analyzed using editorial judgment and human review. Turnitin also states that the AI report is independent of the similarity index and should not be used as the sole basis for taking adverse actions.

Confidentiality of identity for security reasons

In exceptional cases, and upon a duly justified request from the author, the journal may consider withholding the author's identity from the public when the disclosure of their name, affiliation, or other personal information could pose a reasonable risk of persecution, retaliation, criminalization, harassment, adverse employment consequences or a violation of rights, particularly in contexts of authoritarianism, political conflicts, violence, censorship or restrictions on academic freedom. This request will be evaluated by the Editorial Committee on a case-by-case basis and will not exempt the author from complying with the criteria of originality, academic responsibility, disclosure of conflicts of interest, sources of funding and other ethical requirements for publication. In such cases, the journal will safeguard the author's identity in its internal editorial files and may publish the work under anonymous authorship, an academic pseudonym or other appropriate editorial designation, transparently indicating that the identity has been protected for safety reasons.

Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern

The journal is committed to preserving the integrity of the published academic record.  When significant errors are identified that do not invalidate the results of a published work, a correction or errata will be issued. When there are well-founded doubts regarding the reliability, originality or ethical integrity of a published article, the journal may issue an expression of concern while the case is under review. If plagiarism, redundant publication, data manipulation, serious ethical misconduct or unreliable results are confirmed, the article may be retracted.

Conflicts of interest

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose any academic, institutional, financial, personal or professional conflicts of interest that could influence the evaluation, acceptance or publication of a manuscript. The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply rejection of the work, but it must be disclosed to ensure the impartiality and transparency of the editorial process.

Copyright notice

© Población y Desarrollo - Argonautas y Caminantes (Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers) Journal authors who publish in this journal agree to the following conditions:

In accordance with copyright legislation, Población y Desarrollo - Argonautas y Caminantes (Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers) Journal recognizes and respects the moral rights of authors, as well as their ownership of economic rights, which will be transferred to the journal for open access dissemination in print and digital formats. As the journal is included in multiple indexes, databases, and reference systems, articles published by the Journal will be visible and downloadable from these websites as well, with the authorship of the articles, the publication date, and the corresponding journal volume indicated in all cases.

Open access policy

The scientific manuscripts published by the Journal are made available under an Open Access regime (free of charge) in digital format. The Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license applies, under the following terms:

Share, copy, distribute and publicly communicate the work, provided that the original author is cited and acknowledged.

Creating derivative works or using the work for commercial purposes is not permitted, for this reason, the journal does not charge fees (APCs), for the review and publication of scientific manuscripts it receives.

Digital preservation policy

Población y Desarrollo - Argonautas y Caminantes (Population and Development - Argonauts and Walkers) archives a digital version of each annual issue in the Document Repository Management System of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, UNAH, Tz’ibal Naah, available in the Special Libraries Community / “Social Sciences Collection” Subcommunity; with a link at: https://tzibalnaah.unah.edu.hn

This ensures continuous and permanent access to the content published by the journal.

Peer reviewers in 2025

•    Dr. Bertilda Elizabeth Urbina Díaz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Eduardo Torre Cantalapiedra, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (El Colef)
•    Dr. Elena Apilánez Piniella, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo
•    MSc. Gustavo Adolfo Torres Bonilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    MSc. Irina Bandé Donaire, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    MSc. Jorge Alberto Plata Zelaya, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE)
•    Dr. Julián Govea Basch, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Argentina
•    Dr. Lorenzo Inocente Herrera León, Universidad de La Habana
•    MSc. Luca Pennisi, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Manuel Antonio Flores Fonseca, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Marcio Alexander Castillo Díaz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Margarita Oseguera Urrutia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    MSc. Martha Lilian Cálix Rodríguez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    MSc. Miguel Alonzo Macías Martínez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Miguel Landa Blanco, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Pablo David Yup de León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Raúl Ernesto López Peralta, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    Dr. Sixta Yessenia Martínez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
•    MSc. Thelma Aracely Sauceda Flores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)