Research Advances and Methodological Notes

Review Process for Original and Unpublished Manuscripts

All submissions undergo rigorous scrutiny, review, and evaluation. This process consists of five stages:

All manuscripts are checked using the specialized anti-plagiarism software iThenticate.

1. All manuscripts are checked using the specialized anti-plagiarism software iThenticate.

2. All manuscripts are reviewed by our editorial office to ensure they comply with the journal’s author guidelines and are impeccably written.

The following is evaluated:

  • Each submission must be accompanied by a free-form letter in which the author(s) explicitly state that the manuscript is original, unpublished, and not currently under review, adjudication, or editorial processing elsewhere. The letter must be signed by the author(s) (the signature must be handwritten). Additionally, contact information and the ORCID of each author and co-author must be included.
  • The manuscript file must be in .docx (Word) format and must be completely anonymized. If there are self-citations, these must not be included in the “References” section and, in the main text, must be cited as: “(XXXX year page).” If the manuscript passes all reviews, the self-citations will be included in the final version.
  • For the “Research Advances and Methodological Notes” section: title and subtitle in the original language and their translation into English or Spanish, as applicable.
  • Strict word limit for the manuscript. This is 3,000 words: this includes the entire manuscript.
  • Strict adherence to the citation system. Espacialidades uses the Chicago style (author-date).

3. Manuscripts that comply with the journal’s author guidelines and are impeccably written are sent to the Editorial Committee (composed of experts, academics, and researchers from outside the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) to evaluate their relevance, quality, and scientific rigor.

The following are evaluated:

  • The suitability of the manuscript in accordance with the call for submissions.
  • The solid, logical, and coherent development of the argumentation, instruments, and method across the different sections (title, subtitle, summary of the large-scale project, presentation of the current state of research, problem statement, justification, objectives, background, hypothesis, method, results, discussion, and conclusion; as well as any other sections required by the topic addressed). Espacialidades selects for double-blind peer review only those texts that demonstrate adherence to the strictest criteria regarding writing quality and scientific rigor.

4. Manuscripts that pass the first three stages are sent for double-blind peer review. Espacialidades works with experts, academics, and researchers from outside the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two specialists with proven expertise.

The following are evaluated:

  • The relevance and significance of the problem within the specific field or branch of knowledge.
  • Originality and novelty in the approach, findings, discussion, and conclusions.
  • The soundness of the referential, theoretical, conceptual, and methodological frameworks.
  • Quality of the arguments and clarity of the writing.
  • The soundness of the sources.
  • Any other aspects that the reviewer considers relevant.

5. Manuscripts that reach the double-blind peer review stage receive one of the following four decisions:

  • Accepted without changes.
  • Accepted with suggestions.
  • Accepted subject to revisions.
  • Rejected. Not publishable.

6. Metadata Policy. The metadata included in each published item is used to feed search engines and is included in the DOI (https://www.doi.org/) protocol. This includes:

  • Title of the product in Spanish and English
  • Full first and last names of authors and co-authors in order of appearance
  • ORCID identifiers of authors and co-authors in order of appearance and citation
  • Affiliation
  • Location of the institution of origin
  • Acronym of the institution of origin
  • Abstract in English
  • Publication date
  • Final page number of the item within the published issue
  • DOI of the item
  • Product URL
  • Journal title
  • Publisher
  • ISSN
  • DOI request date

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Results

Espacialidades receives and processes peer reviews:

  1. If the manuscript receives two “Accepted as is” reviews, it proceeds to the editing, typesetting, and publication stages.
  2. If the manuscript receives two “Accepted with suggestions” reviews or one of these and another “Accepted without changes,” it is returned to the author(s) for their consideration and, in any case, to incorporate the suggestions. The manuscript must be returned to Espacialidades for verification of the final version, after which it proceeds to the editing, typesetting, and publication stages.
  3. If the manuscript receives two “Accepted subject to changes” reviews, or one of these and another “Accepted with suggestions,” or even one “Accepted without changes,” it is returned to the author(s) so they may incorporate all changes and, if applicable, evaluate the suggestions. The “Accepted with revisions” decision means that each and every change is mandatory in order to proceed with the process. The author(s) is/are free to reject the changes and withdraw their manuscript from the process. Manuscripts with all required changes incorporated and, if applicable, with the suggestions addressed will be returned to Espacialidades for review of the final version and to proceed with style editing, layout, and publication.
  4. Manuscripts that receive two “Rejected. Not publishable” reviews are definitively rejected.
  5. In the first three cases, if there is a “Rejected. Not publishable” decision, the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer.

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Guidelines for Authors

For the “Research Advances and Methodological Notes” section, manuscripts selected for evaluation are the result of scientific research, as well as other original contributions significant to the journal’s profile, field of knowledge, and disciplinary branches.

Espacialidades limits publications by members of the Autonomous Metropolitan University community. For each issue, no more than 30% of the content will come from contributors at the Autonomous Metropolitan University. Seventy percent of the published articles and reviews come from researchers outside the Autonomous Metropolitan University.

Espacialidades accepts for review only original and unpublished manuscripts. Submissions must strictly comply with the following requirements:

1. The file must be submitted in .docx (Word) format.

2. Manuscripts for the “Research Advances and Methodological Notes” section must include the following sections: title, subtitle, summary of the broader project, presentation of the current stage of the research, problem statement, justification, objectives, background, hypothesis, method, results, discussion, conclusion, and references; as well as any other sections required by the topic addressed.

3. Manuscripts for the “Research Advances and Methodological Notes” section must not exceed 3,000 (three thousand) words: this includes the entire manuscript.

4. The title, subtitle, abstract, and keywords must be translated into English and/or Spanish, as applicable. The translation must be accurate and legible. If the manuscript is in Spanish, the translations are into English; if the manuscript is in English, the translations are into Spanish; if the manuscript is in Portuguese, the translations are into English and Spanish.

5. The abstract and its translation must be between 150 (one hundred fifty) and 200 (two hundred) words in length. The translation must be accurate and legible.

6. The author must include 3 (three) to 5 (five) keywords in the original language and in their translations, as applicable.

7. The abstract and its translation(s) must respect the general structure of the main body of the text, its expository sequence, and terminology. It must contain, where applicable, an explicit statement of: problem statement, objectives, background, hypothesis, method, results, discussion, and conclusion; as well as any other elements required by the topic addressed.

8. Regarding the main text of manuscripts for the “Methodological Advances and Research Notes” section, it is recommended to divide it into, at a minimum (and if applicable to the subject of the research):

  • Introduction.
  • Definition or statement of the problem, subjects, or objects of study.
  • Justification.
  • State of the art, state of the issue, or epistemic situation of the subject of study.
  • Theoretical-conceptual-referential framework.
  • Contextual or situational framework specific to the problem or subject of study.
  • Explicit statement of a hypothesis.
  • Method and methodological development.
  • Presentation of analytical, quantitative, qualitative, or mixed instruments and approaches.
  • Presentation and discussion of results, and evaluation of the arguments.
  • Conclusions.
  • Bibliographic and periodical references, and any others required by the topic addressed.
  • These sections may be adapted to the nature of the issue addressed. Sections may include numbered subheadings.

9. The document must follow the following format:

  • Font: Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point.
  • Double spacing (2.0).
  • Margins: 3 cm on the left, right, top, and bottom.
  • Alignment of the entire document: Left.
  • Page numbers at the bottom of the page, centered and in 12-point font.
  • Direct quotations longer than 5 lines must be in a separate paragraph with narrower margins, without quotation marks, and in 10-point font.
  • Footnotes are in 10-point font and left-aligned.
  • Captions, diagrams, and tables are aligned with their respective elements and in 10-point font.

10. The citation format must be Chicago (author-date). If the author uses a reference manager, they must ensure that the “References” section and each citation in the body of the work are converted to “Static Text.”

11. If the manuscript includes tables, graphs, or images, these must be submitted as a duplicate in .jpeg format with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

12. Manuscripts must be completely anonymized.

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Citation System

All manuscripts submitted for review must use the Chicago-style citation system (author-date). We suggest consulting the Brief Guide to Citations and Bibliographic References in the Chicago Manual of Style.