Review procedure
The editorial process is divided into three stages: initial submission screening, peer review, and professional editing.
1. Initial Screening
Upon receipt of a manuscript, the Editorial Committee verifies its compliance with the Journal's Author Guidelines. Manuscripts may be rejected at the initial screening stage for several reasons, including a lack of alignment with the subject areas covered by the Journal, insufficient originality (verified using Turnitin), failure to comply with the manuscript preparation and submission guidelines, or insufficient research relevance and scope. Manuscripts that meet these criteria proceed to peer review.
Ethics. Investigación & Praxis en Ciencias Sociales adheres to the recommendations and Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). To this end, the Journal incorporates a set of ethical considerations into its editorial policies. Once a manuscript has been deemed suitable following editorial screening, it proceeds to peer review.
2. Peer Review
The Journal follows a double-blind peer review model, preserving the anonymity of both authors and reviewers to ensure impartiality. Manuscripts accepted for peer review are sent to at least two external reviewers with appropriate academic and research expertise in the relevant field. If the reviews are negative or a reviewer fails to respond within fifteen days, a third reviewer is appointed. Possible decisions are: Accepted, Accepted with Minor Revisions, Revisions and Resubmission for Further Evaluation, or Rejected. The average review period may take up to six months, although it may be shorter if the assigned reviewers respond promptly.
Manuscript Assignment. The Editorial Assistant sends the manuscripts to the reviewers together with the corresponding evaluation form and establishes a deadline for submitting their assessments.
Review Outcomes. Once both review reports have been received, one of the following situations may arise:
- Accepted without Revisions. Both reviewers recommend publication of the manuscript without changes. In this case, the manuscript is submitted to the Editorial Team for final approval.
- Accepted Subject to Revisions. The reviewers' assessments are positive, but one or both reviewers recommend changes. The manuscript is returned to the corresponding author, together with the reviewers' recommendations, for revision and correction.
- Rejection by Both Reviewers. Both reviewers recommend that the manuscript not be published. In this case, the Editorial Assistant informs the corresponding author that the manuscript has been rejected and provides the reviewers' reports.
- Conflicting Reviews. One reviewer recommends publication, while the other recommends rejection. In this case, the Editorial Team appoints a third reviewer, whose assessment will be final.
Final Approval. Manuscripts accepted by the reviewers and revised by the authors are considered by the Editorial Committee for publication. The corresponding author is notified of the decision.
Double-Blind Review System. Every manuscript undergoes anonymous evaluation by at least two reviewers under the double-blind peer review process. This mechanism ensures the anonymity of both authors and reviewers, who do not communicate directly with one another; all communication takes place through the editor. Any disputes arising during the review process are resolved by the Editorial Committee.
3. Editorial Decision
After receiving the reviewers' reports, the Editor and the Editorial Committee communicate the editorial decision to the corresponding author, providing reasoned and evidence-based explanations. If the manuscript is accepted subject to revisions, the Editor returns it to the author together with the reviewers' recommendations. The requested revisions must be implemented and the revised manuscript submitted to the Editorial Committee within a maximum of fifteen days, accompanied by a response letter addressing each reviewer's comments and suggestions.
Final Editing and Publication. Once a manuscript has been approved for publication, the process of copyediting, typesetting, and publication on the editorial management platform begins. This process may take up to one month. Due to the various stages of evaluation and editing, immediate publication of manuscripts cannot be guaranteed.
Authors' Responsibilities. Authors must actively participate in the editing process whenever requested by the Editor. Failure to respond to requests for clarification or to resolve questions arising during editing may delay publication or may even result in the decision not to publish the article.
To facilitate this process, authors are expected to write with the utmost rigor, check spelling and grammar, use short and consistent paragraphs, apply punctuation correctly, and follow the required editorial standards and conventions. The Editorial Committee reserves the right to modify manuscript titles and make any editorial changes it considers appropriate to ensure that texts are published in their clearest, most coherent, and most readable form.
