UNAH UNAH Journals Portal

Author Guidelines

Table of Contents

1. General Information
2. Article Processing
3. Peer Review Process
4. Submission Cost
5. Type of Contribution
6. Before Submission
   • Review the Journal Policies
   • Conflict of Interest Statement
   • Language
7. Submissions

• • Research Article
  • Opinion Article
  • References

General Information

We thank each author for submitting their documents to our journal. This section provides a practical guide covering everything related to the submission of your contribution. Contributions must be submitted electronically through the journal’s OJS system. All documents submitted for publication will undergo double-blind peer review and evaluation processes to guarantee both readers and authors the academic and scientific rigor of the publication. Reviewers are required to maintain the confidential nature of all information contained in the manuscripts, even if they are not published.

Article Processing

Articles submitted through OJS are received. They are evaluated using plagiarism-detection software. The editorial committee decides on the relevance of each article (only original scientific articles and original scientific essays are accepted). The committee assigns the manuscripts to peer reviewers according to their discipline and field of knowledge.

Peer reviewers have a maximum of 3 weeks to complete the review; afterward, they submit the reviewed articles with one of the following decisions:

1. Accept without changes
2. Accept with minor revisions
3. Revise
4. Resubmit
5. Reject

The articles are returned to the author so that corrections may be made, for which they will have a maximum of 3 weeks. The articles are reviewed again to verify that the corrections have been incorporated. They then move on to layout design and typesetting.

Peer Review Process

Articles must be submitted electronically through CAMJOL’s OJS. All articles submitted for publication will undergo double-blind peer review and evaluation processes in order to guarantee both readers and authors the academic and scientific rigor of the publication. Reviewers are required to maintain the confidential nature of all information contained in the manuscripts, even if they are not published.

The final decision regarding the acceptance of articles submitted to the journal is made by the journal’s editorial committee.

Submission Costs

There is no charge for publishing an article. It is free of charge. Peer reviewers are not paid, since they are professors dedicated to teaching and research. The entire process of collecting, reviewing, and typesetting articles is carried out by national and international university professors.

Type of Contribution

1. Scientific articles
2. Review articles
3. Letters to the editor
4. Editorials

Before Submission

1. Review the journal policies: It is important for each author to thoroughly review the journal’s policies. These policies govern the conduct of the entire community of readers, researchers, reviewers, editors, and other members of the scientific community who regularly use the journal.
2. Conflict of interest statement: The corresponding authors, on behalf of all collaborators in the contribution, must disclose any financial or personal relationship with external individuals or organizations that may bias the work. Possible cases of conflict include: a) salary payments, b) consulting, c) stock ownership, d) fees, e) participation as paid experts, f) testimony given in exchange for payment, g) filing/requesting patents, and h) obtaining grants or other forms of funding. All authors must disclose their conflicts of interest to the corresponding author. Corresponding authors must use a form to submit their contribution (English --> / Spanish -->). This form allows the generation of a joint statement, which authors may then upload to OJS during the stage where authors must attach files. They will receive an email with a .docx document. This document is the conflict of interest statement. The .docx template file format must not be converted to another type of document. Authors’ signatures are not required in this process.
3. Language: Contributions may be submitted in either English or Spanish.

Submissions

Submitting a document to this journal is done entirely online through the OJS. Within the system, you will be guided step by step through the upload of your files. The system does not automatically convert your files into a PDF. Therefore, it is necessary to submit your manuscript as a single file to be used in the review process. A .docx document must be submitted so that reviewers can evaluate your contribution. This document should contain figures of sufficient quality for review. If you prefer, you may provide all or some of the source files (EPS, TIFF, jpeg, png, xlsx, ptx) in the initial submission. If you need instructions for visual media, you may use the following visual media guide.

A. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUBMITTING THE ARTICLE

1. For your convenience, we recommend that you use the following template for writing your contribution to the journal: Template.
2. The percentage weight of its components should be as follows:

• Introduction 5–10%
• Methods and materials 5–10%
• Results and Discussion 70%
• Conclusions 5–10%
• Bibliography 5%

1. Regarding figures, illustrations, tables, and charts:

• • They must be numbered consecutively from the first to the last. Assign each one a brief title, but not inside them. All figures, photographs, and illustrations must have a caption identifying them and indicating the source from which the information comes.
  • The format, letters, numbers, and symbols used in figures, illustrations, tables, and charts must be clear and consistent throughout the article.
  • Titles and detailed explanations must be included in the figure legends and not in the illustrations themselves.
  • If photographs of people are used, those people must not be identifiable; otherwise, written permission must be attached in order to use them. Figures must be numbered consecutively according to their first mention in the text.
  • Units of length, size, weight, volume, and all others must be expressed in metric units (meter, kilogram, liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures must be given in degrees Celsius and blood pressure in millimeters of mercury. In short, for all these elements, the International System of Units must be used as the reference.
  • For acronyms, abbreviations, and symbols, use only standardized forms. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. When an abbreviation or acronym is used for the first time in the text, it must be preceded by the full term, unless it is a common unit of measurement.
  • In the case of charts, figures, and tables prepared in Excel, the corresponding file must be submitted in Excel format. Illustrations must be submitted in digital format, with the highest possible resolution and in jpg format.

1. Citations within the text. Articles published in these journals must have scientific support backed by citations, in accordance with international Harvard standards.

B. ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE ARTICLE

Research Articles

Title:

It must be concise but informative. Its objective is to make the essential content of the article known to the reader. It should not be overloaded with unnecessary information. It must be short (not exceeding 15 words).

Authors:

The full name of each author, institutional affiliation, email address, and the address of the author responsible for correspondence must be included. Each author must provide their ORCID number within the document.

Abstract and keywords (in Spanish and English) must contain the following elements:

It must include a summary of the article’s content (between 150 and 350 words). It must indicate the objectives of the study, the basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, study variables, methods of observation and analysis), the most outstanding results (through the presentation of specific data), and the main conclusions. Emphasis should be placed on those aspects of the study or observations that are most novel or important.

After the abstract, authors must identify the article’s keywords (maximum of 5 words), which help facilitate indexing and will be published together with the abstract (in Spanish and English).

In the case of the abstract in English, it must be titled “ABSTRACT” and must be a comprehensive and faithful translation of the abstract in Spanish; the same applies to the keywords. It is expected that the writing follows correct English spelling conventions.

Introduction:

The purpose of this section is to place the reader in the context in which the research is conducted. Therefore, the following aspects must be clearly mentioned: the purpose or aim of the article. It is important to make clear what the usefulness of the research product is (what it is for, who it serves, where it can be used, etc.). The justification for the study must be stated in summary form.

This section of the article should not include data or conclusions from the work. The authors must clarify which parts of the article represent their own contributions and which correspond to contributions from other researchers.

This section may also be used to state the challenges involved in carrying out the research and briefly explain how they were overcome; however, this must be strictly technical and should in no case refer to personal or financial difficulties.

Method and materials:

This is the most important part of the article and must therefore be written clearly and coherently, ensuring that the thread connecting the activities carried out is maintained at all times, which in this case will be the objective of the research reflected in the paper. In general terms, it is the structured means through which we obtain knowledge or information resulting from research. That is, the method and materials section specifically describes the materials, equipment, and procedures used for the development of the research. It must also indicate the statistical methods used and how the data were analyzed.

Results:

Present the results in prose, supported by tables and charts, following a logical sequence. Do not repeat in the text the data from tables or illustrations; only highlight or summarize the most important observations. Remember that tables and charts must be numbered consecutively and must ALWAYS be referred to in the text. Results must be stated clearly, concretely, and understandably for the reader; and of course, they must arise from the research process described in the article.

Discussion:

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions derived from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other information already included in the introduction and results sections. Explain in this section the meaning of the results, the limitations of the study, and their implications for future research. If possible, compare the observations made with those of other relevant studies.

Conclusions:

These are propositions or ideas that result from the research conducted, and therefore they must be related to the objectives of the study. Avoid poorly supported or subjective statements and conclusions insufficiently backed by the data. In particular, authors must refrain from making statements about costs or economic benefits unless their article includes economic data and analyses. Recommendations may be included in this section when appropriate.

Acknowledgments (Optional):

This should be a very brief section in which thanks are given to people who collaborated with the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship. For example, thanks may be given to those who helped with technical assistance, writing the article, or general support provided by the department head. Financial support and material resources received should also be included in the acknowledgments. Thanks to God and family members belong to the private sphere and therefore do NOT belong in this section.

Nomenclature (Optional)

This section is not numbered. A nomenclature section may be written when mathematical symbols are present in the document. Superscripts and subscripts must be listed separately. The definition of the nomenclature should not appear in the text. The nomenclature, superscripts, and subscripts must be arranged symmetrically in two columns. At the end, the internal borders should be removed and the external borders kept. An example is as follows:

α — Diffusivity
ρ — Density
Ω — Omega
M — Mass
v — Volume
τ — Shear stress
T — Temperature
Cu — Copper
η — Efficiency

Abbreviations (Optional)

This section is not numbered. Define acronyms and abbreviations that are not standard in this section. Such acronyms and abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention there. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article. Always use the full title followed by the acronym (abbreviation) to be used, for example, reusable suborbital launch vehicle (RSLV), International Space Station (ISS).

Acknowledgments (Optional)

If acknowledgments are required, please place them in a separate section at the end of the article, before the references. Do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title, or in any other way. List here the organizations and/or people who provided help during the research (for example, sponsors, personnel providing language help, writing assistance, or proofreading of the article, etc.).

References:

This section is prepared in accordance with international xx standards. In this regard, it is necessary to differentiate between references and bibliography. References include all the sources that support the research carried out and that were used directly in preparing the article; bibliography, on the other hand, refers to sources that help the reader deepen their understanding of the topic. In conclusion, only references will be included in this article. Remember that every author cited throughout the article must be correctly cited in the references.

Review Article

Title:

The title of the manuscript must be written in Times New Roman font, size 28 pt, centered, and in bold. It is very important that the title contain a maximum of 15 words. In the name of the review article, it must be identified as a systematic review.

Authors

The authors’ names must be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt, centered, bold. Affiliation superscripts must be added. In the author’s affiliation, the following must be included: academic unit, university or company, city, state, country. All this must be in Times New Roman, 10 pt, left-aligned. Add the ORCID number.

Abstract

A summary of the review article’s content must be included (between 150 and 350 words). It must indicate the objectives of the study, the basic procedures used to carry out the review, the most relevant results and discussions, and the main conclusions. Emphasis should be placed on those aspects of the study or observations that are most novel or important. It must be written in English for inclusion in the article metadata.

Keywords

The authors must identify the article’s keywords (maximum of 5 words), which serve to facilitate indexing and will be published together with the abstract. They must be written in English for inclusion in the article metadata.

Introduction:

The purpose of this section is to place the reader in the context in which the research is carried out. Therefore, the following aspects must be clearly mentioned: the purpose or aim of the article. It is important to make clear what the justification for the review is in the context of knowledge. This section of the article should not include data or conclusions from the work.

The objectives of the work must be included in the last paragraphs of the introduction; it is not necessary to create a subsection for this part. The objectives must be clearly expressed, related to the topic chosen for the study, and measurable. An example formulation is as follows:

“The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the available evidence on…”
“The research carried out aims to answer the following question”

At the end of the introduction, the remaining content of the article should be briefly described in a paragraph according to the sections that follow (2–6).

Method:

The method used to carry out a literature review will be the PRISMA 2020 methodology, which makes it possible to systematize the search for information and provide a synthesis of the results. Specify the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the review, and how the studies were grouped for the synthesis. Likewise, the information sources must specify all databases, registers, websites, organizations, reference lists, and other search or consultation resources used to identify the studies. Specify the date on which each resource was last searched or consulted. The complete search strategy for all databases, registers, and websites must be defined, including any filters and limits used.

The methods used to decide whether a study met the review’s inclusion criteria must be defined, including how many review authors screened each record and each retrieved publication, whether they worked independently, and, where appropriate, details of the automation tools used in the process. List and define all outcomes for which data were sought. Specify whether all results compatible with each outcome domain were sought (for example, for all measurement scales, time points, analyses) and, if not, the methods used to decide which results should be collected. List and define all other variables for which data were sought. Describe all assumptions made about any missing or uncertain information.

The risk of bias must be assessed; for this, it will be necessary to specify the methods used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies, including details of the tools used, how many review authors assessed each study, whether they worked independently, and, where appropriate, details of the automation tools used in the process.

Likewise, it is necessary to define effect measures and synthesis methods. The effect measures (for example, risk ratio, mean difference) used in the synthesis or presentation of results must be specified. For the synthesis methods, the following must be described:

1. The process used to decide which studies were eligible for each synthesis (tabulating the characteristics of the intervention studies and comparing them with the groups planned for each synthesis).
2. Any methods required to prepare the data for presentation or synthesis, such as handling missing data in summary statistics or data conversions.
3. Describe the methods used to tabulate or visually present the results of the individual studies and their synthesis.
4. The methods used to synthesize the results and justify the choices made. If a meta-analysis was performed, describe the models, the methods used to identify the presence and extent of statistical heterogeneity, and the software used.
5. The methods used to explore possible causes of heterogeneity among study results (for example, subgroup analysis, meta-regression).
6. The sensitivity analyses conducted to assess the robustness of the synthesis results.

It is also necessary to describe the methods used to assess the risk of bias due to missing results in a synthesis (arising from publication bias). Additionally, the methods used to assess the certainty of the body of evidence for each outcome should be described.

Results:

In the results, the outcomes of the search and selection processes must be described, from the number of records identified in the search to the number of studies included in the review, ideally using a flow diagram (see Figure 1). Cite the studies that apparently met the inclusion criteria but were excluded, and explain why they were excluded. Each included study and its characteristics must be presented. It is necessary to present the risk of bias assessments for each included study. The results of the individual studies and the synthesis results must be presented. Another important detail is to present the assessments of publication bias and the certainty of evidence.

Discussion:

Within the discussion, a general interpretation of the results in the context of other evidence must be provided. It is necessary to discuss the limitations of the evidence and the processes included in the review. Likewise, provide arguments on the implications of the results for practical outcomes, policies, and future research.

Conclusions:

These are propositions or ideas resulting from the research conducted, and therefore they must be related to the objectives of the study. Avoid poorly supported or subjective statements and conclusions insufficiently backed by the data. In particular, authors must refrain from making statements about costs or economic benefits unless their article includes economic data and analyses. Recommendations may be included in this section when appropriate.

Other information

Acknowledgments:

If acknowledgments are required, please place them in a separate section at the end of the article, before the references. Do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title, or in any other way. List here the organizations and/or people who provided help during the research (for example, sponsors, personnel providing language help, writing assistance, or proofreading of the article, etc.).

References

References must be written in accordance with the following link. (Harvard guidelines) http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/portal/es/authors/harvard/2.htm 

Format must be Times New Roman, 10 pt, justified, with a 0.2" hanging indent.

Harvard style guide:

This is a complete guide for Harvard in-text citations and reference lists. This easy-to-use and comprehensive guide makes it easier to cite any source.

1. Reference List

A reference list is a complete list of all sources used when creating a work. This list includes information about the sources, such as the author, publication date, title of the source, and more. A Harvard reference list must:

1. Be on a separate page at the end of the document.
2. Be organized alphabetically by author, unless there is no author, in which case it is ordered by the title of the source, excluding articles such as “A,” “An,” or “The.”
3. If there are several works by the same author, they are ordered by date; if the works are from the same year, they are ordered alphabetically by title and assigned a letter (a, b, c, etc.) after the date.
4. Be double-spaced: there must be one full blank line of space between each line of text.

Contain full references for all in-text references used.

2. Basic Harvard citation: In Text

In-text references must be included after using a quote or paraphrase taken from another work. In-text references are references written within the main body of the text and refer to a quotation or paraphrase. They are much shorter than full references. The full reference for in-text citations appears in the reference list. In Harvard citation, in-text citations contain the surname of the author or authors, the year of publication, and the page number(s). Using the author James Mitchell as an example, this takes the form of:

Mitchell (2017, p. 189) states... or (Mitchell, 2017, p. 189)

(Note: “p.” refers to a single page, “pp.” refers to a range of pages).

Two or three authors:

When citing a source with two or three authors, the three surnames should be written as follows:

Mitchell, Smith, and Thomson (2017, p. 189), or (Mitchell, Coyne and Thomson, 2017, p. 189)

Four or more authors:

In this case, it is necessary to place the surname of the first author followed by “et al”:

Mitchell et al. (2017, p. 189) states... or (Mitchell et al., 2017, p. 189)

No author:

If possible, use the organization responsible for the publication instead of the author. If this is not possible, use the title in italics:

(Oxford Dictionary, 2017, pp. 189–201)

Multiple works by the same author in the same year:

If multiple references are made to the same author in the same year, a letter should be placed after the year (a, b, c, etc.). This assignment is made in the reference list and is done alphabetically according to the author’s surname and the title of the source:

(Mitchell, 2017a, p. 189) or Mitchell (2017b, p. 189) states...

Citing multiple works in one parenthesis:

A list of in-text citations should be written in the normal way as for a single-author citation, but separated by semicolons between different references:

(Mitchell, 2017, p. 189; Smith, 2000; Andrews, 1989, pp. 165–176)

Citing different editions of the same works in one parenthesis:

Include the name of the author or authors only once, followed by all corresponding dates separated by semicolons:

Mitchell (2010; 2017) states... or (Mitchell, 2010; 2017)

Citing a reference with no date:

If the citation has no date, “no date” should be used instead of the year:

(Mitchell, no date, p. 189)

Citing a secondary source:

In this case, first indicate the reference you used, followed by “cited in” and the original author:

Smith 2000 (cited in Mitchell, 2017, p. 189) or (Smith, 2000, cited in Mitchell, 2017, p. 189)

How to Cite Different Types of Sources

In-text citations remain fairly consistent across different types of sources, unless explicitly stated otherwise; it is assumed that in-text citation follows the rules mentioned above.

References in the reference list vary considerably among sources.

How to cite a book:

To reference a textbook, the following basic format is used: Author’s surname, initials. (Year of publication) Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.

See example:

Mitchell, J.A. and Thomson, M. (2017) A guide to citation. 3rd edn. London: London Publishings.

How to cite an edited book:

Edited books are collections of chapters written by different authors. Their reference format is very similar to that of a book, except that instead of the author’s name, the editor’s name is used followed by “(eds.)” to identify them as editors. The basic format is as follows:

Editor’s surname(s), initial(s). (eds.) (Year of publication). Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

William, S.T. (eds.) (2015) Referencing: a guide to citation rules. New York: My Publisher.

How to cite a chapter in an edited book:

To cite chapters, you must add the chapter author and chapter title to the reference. The basic format is as follows: Author’s surname, initials. (Year of publication). ‘Title of chapter’ in editor’s surname, editor’s initials (ed(s)). Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, page numbers.

Example:

Troy, B.N. (2015) ‘Harvard citation rules’ in Williams, S.T. (ed.) A guide to citation rules. New York: NY Publishers, pp. 34–89.

3.4 How to cite an e-book:

To cite an e-book, the following format should be used: Author’s surname(s), initials. (Year of publication). Title. Edition. Name of the e-book collection [online]. Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: day month year)

Example:

Mitchell, J.A., Thomson, M. and Coyne, R.P. (2017) Citation guide. Electronic book library [online]. Available at: https://www.guiadecitación.com (Accessed: 10 September 2016)

How to cite an article:

The basic format for a journal article is: Author’s surname, initials. (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of journal, volume (issue/season etc.), page numbers.

Example:

Mitchell, J.A. (2013) ‘How citation changed the research world’, The Mendeley, 62(9), pp. 70–81.

Note: If the citation is from an online journal article: Author’s surname, initials. (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of journal, volume (issue/season etc.) [online], page numbers. Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: day month year)

3.5 Citing a newspaper article

Citing a newspaper article is similar to citing a journal article, except that instead of the volume and issue, the edition and publication date are needed:

Author’s surname(s), initial(s). (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of newspaper (edition), day month, page number(s).

Note: the edition is used only when applicable.

Example:

Mitchell, J.A. (2017) ‘Changes to citation formats shake the research world’, The Mendeley Telegraph (Weekend edition), 6 July, pp. 9–12.

Note: If it is an online newspaper, the following should be used: Author’s surname(s), initial(s). (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of newspaper (edition), day month [online], page number(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: day month year)

3.6 Citing an online photograph:

The basic format is as follows:

Photographer’s surname, initial. (Year of publication) Title of photograph [online]. Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year)

Example:

Millais, J.E. (1851–1852) Ophelia [online]. Available at: www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia-n01506 (Accessed: 21 June 2014)

3.7 Citing websites:

The basic format for citing a website is as follows:

Author’s surname(s), initial(s). (Year of publication) Title of page/site [online]. Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year)

Example:

Mitchell, J.A. (2017) How and when to reference [online]. Available at: https://www.howandwhentoreference.com/ (Accessed: 27 May 2017)