Ethic policies

Code of Ethics

Simbiosis Educativa adheres to the standards of good editorial conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and its Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing

Other standards are detailed below:

Ethical practices for authors

Papers submitted to the journal must be original and unpublished.
It is not allowed to submit an article simultaneously to several journals.
Credit is given to all persons who have contributed to the research.
Explicitly declare that there are no conflicts of interest that may have influenced the results obtained.
Authors indicate any funding from agencies or projects from which their research article arises.
The article complies with established publication standards.
The reviewers' corrections and suggestions will be complied with in the established times.

Ethical practices for reviewers

Perform a transparent, constructive, and unbiased review to ensure the academic quality of the research article.
Reviewers must promptly notify the editors-in-chief if, for any reason, they are unable to evaluate the article, whether because it falls outside their field of expertise or they are unable to meet the established deadlines for submitting the evaluation report.
Reviewers must always maintain confidentiality regarding the authorship of the article to be reviewed.
Reviewers submit their evaluation reports using the review template provided. The report includes their arguments and reasons that support their decision.

The commitment of the editors

The articles are evaluated based on their academic merit, without discrimination of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, or political opinion of the authors
Throughout the process, confidentiality is maintained concerning the articles, their authors, and reviewers.
They are ultimately responsible for the compliance of time for revisions and publication of accepted papers.
They guarantee the selection of the most qualified reviewers to issue an academic, critical, and expert evaluation of the work, with the least possible biases.

Misconduct Protocols

Authors: Manuscripts submitted to the journal must not commit the following offenses:

Simultaneous Submission to Another Journal: Authors cannot simultaneously participate in multiple calls. They must not submit articles that are already published in another journal or that are actively undergoing another publication process.
Plagiarism: A plagiarism percentage higher than 20%.
Duplication: The texts must not show similarity with other articles in their content, methodologies, or conclusions, even if there is no plagiarism.

If these offenses are confirmed, the editorial committee will reject the article, regardless of the stage of the editorial process. If the article has already been published, the editorial committee will remove it from the OJS platform and announce its website.

Reviewers: Peer review will be conducted objectively. It is inappropriate to make personal judgments about the authors of the contributions. Reviewers are required to provide sufficient arguments for their evaluations. Reviewers must deliver a complete critical report with appropriate references, according to Simbiosis Educativa's review format and public guidelines for reviewers. Especially if it is proposed that the work be rejected, reviewers must inform the editors if substantial parts of the work have already been published or are under review for another publication.

Plagiarism detection policy

Simbiosis Educativa uses the Crossref plagiarism detection system to guarantee the originality of the articles. iThenticate platform is also used to crosscheck plagiarism. Those articles that do not comply with the plagiarism detection policy will be rejected.

Conflicts of Interest:

A conflict of interest may arise when an author, reviewer, or editor has connections with activities that could influence their judgment or evaluation. In such cases, it should be reported to establish appropriate changes or adjustments. This protocol ensures the quality of the review or evaluation process.

Authors: All authors must explicitly declare that no conflicts of interest could have influenced the results obtained or the interpretations proposed. Authors guarantee the accuracy of the data, ensuring that empirical data have not been altered to verify the hypothesis. They must also indicate any funding from agencies and/or projects from which the research article originates. If there is a potential conflict of interest, all authors must disclose it in writing.

Reviewers: In the case of a conflict of interest, reviewers commit to informing the journal immediately, at any point in the process. A conflict of interest may arise when an author, reviewer, or editor has connections with activities that could influence their judgment or evaluation. In such cases, appropriate changes or adjustments will be established to ensure that the review or evaluation of the manuscripts is conducted according to the standards. If there is a potential conflict of interest, all reviewers must disclose it in writing.

Editors: In the case of a conflict of interest, editors commit to informing the journal immediately, at any point in the process. If there is a potential conflict of interest, editors must disclose it in writing. Editors also commit to not using the contents of the submitted articles for their research without the author's written consent.

Procedure for Possible Complaints and Appeals:

The director, the responsible editor, and the section heads of the journal, along with the editorial committee, will seek the constant improvement of all editorial processes and ensure the maintenance of the journal's academic profile, scope, and subject matter. In the event of possible complaints, which must be communicated to the responsible editor, a prompt response will be provided, confirming the content of the complaint with the complainant and communicating and analyzing it with the director and section heads to determine its validity and possible solutions if the complaint is justified.

Authorship

Regarding the authorship of the manuscript, the authors guarantee the inclusion of those who have made a significant scientific and intellectual contribution to the conceptualization and planning of the work, the interpretation of the results, and the writing of the manuscript. At the same time, the authors have been ranked according to their level of responsibility and involvement.