FOR AUTHORS

FOR ARBITRATORS (reviewers)

FOR EDITORS

Based on the Code of Conduct formulated by the committee on publication ethics (COPE, 2008), the Chakiñan journal expresses its statement of ethics and negligence, which constitutes its ethical Code for editors, reviewers, and authors, in turn, it establishes the following aspects for each of the mentioned roles:

1. FOR AUTHORS:

Originality: Original and unpublished research will be accepted. The Chakiñan journal uses the TURNITIN software to detect levels of similarity in the received manuscripts, so that all manuscripts will be reviewed with this method, accepting a maximum of 10% of similarities.

Multiple or repetitive publications: Authors should not publish the same article, or the same results, in more than one journal, while the editorial process lasts.

Sources: Authors should provide the correct list of sources utilized in their manuscript.

Authorship: It is declared considering that all the authors have contributed significantly to the research work, and the order of the authors is established based on the level of contribution in the conceptualization, elaboration, interpretation, and drafting of the manuscript.

In the event of changing an author or including new authors, once the manuscript arbitration process has begun, the Editorial Team of the Chakiñan journal will proceed according to the COPE ethical code. Intellectual property rights rest with the authors.

For the preparation of a paper, the authors must demonstrate their adherence to the Ethics of Social Science research, developed in the 1970s, as an extension of a debate that began in the field of bioethics in Western Europe and the United States during the Second World War.

In this regard, codes with ethical guidelines have been developed by different scientific groups in order to guide the behavior of researchers and their relationship with the subjects investigated, funding agencies, their profession, the society along with the consequences of their decisions during and after a field work and the publication of results.

According to international standards, the authors who submit their work to Chakiñan must comply the following principles: an informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality in order to avoid harming participants and demonstrate special attention when conducting studies with populations.

An informed consent of investigated subjects: Every social research causes tension when inviting people to collaborate in a process that is not directly prepared to benefit them along with a design they have not participated.

One way to solve this tension is to respect the autonomy of individuals, that is to say, their ability to make decisions. Therefore, according to professional Codes of Ethic of Sociologists from United States and the United Kingdom, researchers must request the consent of the subjects investigated to participate in a study (Committee on Professional Ethics, 1999; British Sociological Association, 2007).

To respect the autonomy of individuals, this consent must be informed, that is, the participants must receive information about the research goals, the type of participation requested, the origin of project funding and the possible application of the study results. Also, they must be asked for an authorization to use the information and finally, the right to interrupt their participation at any time must be guaranteed.

Anonymity of research participants: Anonymity refers to the right of a person not to have his or her identity revealed. To achieve anonymity, researchers must protect the location, place and the identity of individuals, groups, and institutions, both in published results and in the way empirical material is collected and archived.

To do this, the information must be anonymously collected or in other words, it must be registered and archived in such a way that the individuals and organizations who participated cannot be recognized by people outside the investigation, that is, the information should be presented so that the informants would be able to recognize themselves, whereas the readers should not be able to recognize them.

Policies regarding vulnerable groups and persons: guideline number 13 "Research Involving Vulnerable Persons" of the Ethical Guidelines of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences and the World Health Organization (https://cioms.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PAUTAS_ETICAS_INTERNACIONALES.pdf), defines that:

"Vulnerable persons are those who are absolutely or relatively unable to protect their own interests. Specifically, they may lack the power, intelligence, education, resources, strength or other attributes necessary to protect their interests" (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences and the World Health Organization, 2002, p. 48).

In this sense, Chakiñán's editorial policy identifies with general ethical principle 19 of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki  (https://www.wma.net/es/policies-post/declaracion-de-helsinki-de-la-amm-principios-eticos-para-las-investigaciones-medicas-en-seres-humanos/), which states that:

19. Some groups and individuals undergoing research are particularly vulnerable and may be more likely to suffer additional abuse or harm. All vulnerable groups and individuals should receive specific protection.

In this regard, the authors should take into account that the concept of avoiding harm is one of the most important principles in research practice, present in the ethical codes and guidelines of different disciplines, so it is essential to protect the participants. Humanization in research aims to build a specific good in society, and therefore research should be conducted together with the community, in unity with the population groups to be studied, and not based on the wishes of the researcher.

Authors should be aware that any social research may place the persons under investigation in a situation of risk or may harm them, even involuntarily, therefore, research with populations in situations of vulnerability, social exclusion or addictions requires special care in research practices.

Special attention must be paid in the case of research with minors: children and adolescents, in which the study of their behavior, feelings and private spaces is addressed, which must be authorized by their parents, guardians or legal representatives.

The principle of no harm or harm reduction implies assuming a professional commitment that incorporates the humanization of research practice based on ethical principles such as respect and recognition of the other, as well as avoiding behaviors and attitudes based on paternalism, ethnocentrism, colonial or sexist perspective, so the Chakiñan Editorial Team disapproves those publications that introduce false statements that damage the reputation of individuals, groups or organizations; will ensure that texts are reviewed for potential defamation prior to publication and will address allegations of defamation in any of its publications.

Confidential nature of the information received: confidentiality is defined as the quality of being confidential, which refers to "what is done or said in confidence or with reciprocal security between two or more people". Therefore, it is associated with the concept of privacy.

Ensuring confidentiality means that what has been discussed, analyzed or shared, will not be repeated or at least, not without permission. Even though the researchers are obliged to report their findings, they should not reveal information that allow to identify the participants in order to protect their identity through different processes to anonymize them.

Conflict of interest and disclosure:  The authors must declare that there is no conflict of interest (COI), which may have influenced the presented results. For this, authors must pursue the guideline included in the submission preparation checklist that appears in the make a submission section, on the website of this journal.

The authors must communicate in a written form whether there is any personal or financial relationship between the authors of the manuscript and people or public or private entities, from which a possible conflict of interest (COI) could derive. This antecedent must be highly valued because the disrespect thereof could improperly influence the appreciation of a manuscript.

A potential conflict of interest (COI) may arise from different types of past or present relationships, such as: being employed by the organization referred to in the manuscript. Consulting services in which the author(s) intervened and through which the data were obtained. Ownership of shares, remuneration, a testimony of a paid expert, applications/registrations for patents and scholarships or other financing and others, that could provoke an unintended bias in the research work of the signatories of the manuscript.

Authors must declare conflicts of interests (COI) at two different times and in different parts related to the manuscript submission process:

1. A summary of the conflict of interest (COI). If there is no conflict of interest, "DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST must be reported: The authors assert that they have no conflicts of interest". If there is a conflict of interest, it must be declared. In case of acceptance of the manuscript, this declaration will be published in conjunction with the paper.

2. Mark in the "Submission Preparation Checklist", the item named; "In the manuscript, there is no Conflict of Interest (COI), or if it exists, the COI has been duly declared." Potential Conflicts of Interests must be declared on both sides.

The non-declaration of Conflicts of Interests (COI) may lead to the immediate rejection of a manuscript. If an undisclosed conflict of interest (COI) comes to light after publication, the Chakiñan Journal will take action in accordance with the COPE guidelines and will issue a public notification to the community.

Errors in published papers: Manuscripts accepted for publication will be sent to the authors after the layout process. In this way, they will be able to review them and issue their criteria (page proof.) However, if the authors detect errors or any inaccuracy after the manuscript has been published, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal must be immediately informed, providing the necessary information, so that the appropriate corrections can be made.

Accountability: The information contained in the presented research works will be the total responsibility of the authors.

2. FOR ARBITRATORS (reviewers):

Arbitration process: The process employed for the evaluation of the manuscripts submitted to the Chakiñan journal, is by following the type of double-blind peer review, where the revisers do not know the identity of the authors of the manuscripts and vice versa. Consequently, it is only the editors, who mediate in the interactions between reviewers and authors.

The arbitrators are professionals selected on the basis of prestige and scientific results achieved in the area of knowledge addressed by the manuscript they are assigned to evaluate. They are committed to carrying out an objective review, with scientific, critical, honest and unbiased judgment, in order to provide the editors with accurate information on the quality of the proposed manuscript and to make constructive indications to the authors, which favor appropriate corrections.

They must deliver the corresponding revision formats by indicating the reasons why a manuscript is accepted, rejected, or to warn, in case they detect or suspect cases of duplication, conflict of interest, ethical issues, or false data. 

The Editorial Board will always be impartial regarding the decisions adopted by each of the arbitrators so that if a manuscript is accepted by one arbitrator and rejected by another, it will be forwarded to a third arbitrator, whose final decision will be indisputable to resolve the situation.

Respect for time: The arbitrators agree to conduct the requested review within the maximum deadlines established by the editorial team of the journal.

Confidentiality: The research works assigned for review will not have identification data about the authors and institutions to which they belong. Besides, they must be treated with complete confidentiality, so they cannot be discussed with other people before the publication process.

Disclosure: All information related to the peer review process may not be utilized for personal purposes or shared with other people not included in the editorial process.

Reviewers’ Conflict of Interest (COI): The arbitrators have to inform the Editor whether they suspect that in the manuscript they are evaluating, there are conflicts of interest; if so, the COI must be declared.

Additionally, a review allocation should not be accepted if the reviewer has a potential competing interest, including the following:

• Previous or current collaborations with the author(s) of the manuscript.
• The arbitrator is a direct competitor.
• To have a known background of antipathy for the author(s) of the manuscript.
• To have a personal affinity relationship with an author who does not allow the reviewer to evaluate the manuscript objectively.
• To take financial advantage of the research work.

The evaluation of the manuscript should solely be accepted if the reviewer does not have any conflict of interest with it. In case of conflicts, the reviewer must inform the editors or the staff of the journal that their participation should be declined if he/she considers that they cannot offer an impartial review. When submitting the reviewer’s opinion, he/she must indicate whether or not they have conflicting interests.

3. FOR EDITORS:

Chakiñan assumes as a principle, editorial, scientific and professional independence, not accepting public subsidies or permanent sponsorship from public or private institutions, always trying to meet independent scientific criteria, not endogamous, and without commitments by political, business, financial interests, nor by pressure groups or specific scientific circles.

Our editorial processes do not discriminate against authors, editors or reviewers because of their personal characteristics or identity. We are committed to integrating diversity in its multiple dimensions, betting on inclusion and promoting equity at every stage of our editorial process.

The Editorial Team does not accept inappropriate or abusive behavior or correspondence towards our team of editors, authors and reviewers, as well as other people involved in the publication process. If anyone engages in such behavior, we have the duty and the right to take action to protect the individuals involved, which may result, for example, in the withdrawal of a manuscript, or the challenging of clearly incorrect or abusive blind peer review comments, regardless of appropriate legal action.

Decisions: Once all the steps of the editorial process have been carried out, the Editorial Team selects for publication, without discrimination or favoritism, the manuscripts with the best contribution, and the evaluation made by the arbitrators.

In this process, the Editorial Team of the Chakiñan journal will be inflexible with corrupt practices, such as plagiarism, the unreliable data in the received manuscript, the duplicity in sending papers already published, and fraud in any of its forms. If necessary, appropriate consultations will be made to the members of the Editorial Board.

Confidentiality: The members of the Editorial Team of Chakiñan journal, undertake not to disclose the information related to the manuscripts forwarded for evaluation, to other people than authors, reviewers, and editors. They also pledge to the confidentiality of the manuscripts, authors, and arbitrators. Only in this way, the integrity of the entire process will be guaranteed.

Conflict of interest and disclosure: The editorial team undertakes not to use in their investigations the content of the manuscripts sent to the journal for evaluation, without the written consent of the author(s), likewise, any conflict of interest between authors and publishers will be avoided.

Editors' Conflict of Interest (COI): The Editor-in-chief and the Executive Editors must declare their conflicts of interests. If necessary, they will disqualify themselves from participating in their corresponding part of the editorial process of a manuscript. If conflicts of interests are detected (COI) by any member of the Editorial Team, they must be immidiately reported to the rest of the members.

The most common reasons for publishers to excuse themselves from participating in the editorial process of a manuscript might be as follows:

• To collaborate with an author recently.
• To have published with an author during the last five years.
• To have had subsidies with an author lately.
• To have a personal relationship with an author, that can detract from the objective realization of the editorial process related to a manuscript.

Respect for time: The editorial team is committed to fulfilling the deadlines for reviews and publication of accepted papers. Depending on the income stream and the editorial process, authors will be notified when a manuscript is accepted for publication, by indicating the number and date it will be published. The entire process between the reception of research work and the notification of results will not be longer than six months.

Errors in published manuscripts: The Editorial team will be predisposed to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.

Chakiñan's editors consider international agreed processes and guidelines to solve specific problems in relation to scientific publishing practices. The instructions provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) are taken into account.

Authors, researchers and reviewers are cordially invited to learn about COPE's international guidelines: https://publicationethics.org/node/19631 related to ethics in publication, particularly those described in order to avoid shortcomings that might result from ignorance.

The actions of the Editorial Team of the Chakiñan journal, in the face of suspicions of improper conduct in relation to the submission of a manuscript or publication of a paper, will be governed by what is established by COPE, summarized in the Set of Flowcharts that illustrate the procedure for the following cases:

1. Suspicions of plagiarism in a manuscript received.
2. Suspicions of plagiarism in a published manuscript.
3. Suspicions of duplicity in a received manuscript.
4. Suspicions of duplicity in a published article.
5. The reviewer suspects an undisclosed conflict of interest in the received manuscript.
6. The reader suspects conflict of interest in a published manuscript.
7. Suspicions of ethical issues in the received manuscript.
8. Suspicion of fake data in the received manuscript.
9. Suspicion of untrue data in a published article.
10. Request to add additional authors before publication.
11. Request to add additional author after publication.
12. Request to eliminate an author before publication.
13. Request to eliminate an author after publication.

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