Code of Ethics

Revista Sarance is committed to the highest ethical standards in academic publishing and aligns with the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), published in 1997.

The following details the commitments assumed by the different actors in the editorial process:

1. Authors' Responsibilities

1.1. Prerequisites for submission. Before submitting work to Revista Sarance, authors must confirm that they have read the editorial guidelines, that they know the evaluation and article selection process adopted by the journal, and that their manuscript conforms to the journal's publication standards.

1.2. Originality and plagiarism. Only original and unpublished works are accepted, that is, they must not have been previously published partially or totally in any other medium, whether digital or printed, in Spanish or in another language. Authors must not reproduce content previously disseminated, either partially or totally, without making a clear reference. Revista Sarance will use Turnitin as an anti-plagiarism tool to detect irregularities.

1.3. Exclusivity. It is not considered an ethical practice and it is not acceptable for authors to simultaneously submit the same manuscript to other journals or publishing houses.

1.4. Avoiding fragmentation. The fragmented publication of the same research in multiple installments that share hypotheses, methodologies, or studied population-object is discouraged.

1.5. Proper use of sources. It is essential that authors adequately acknowledge all sources used. The following are considered bad practices: a) literal plagiarism of a work, whether in its entirety or partially; b) improper use of others' materials such as tables, images, tools, processes, equipment, etc.; c) paraphrasing without attribution or indexing of the original source; d) excessive reuse of the author's previous works; e) reusing one's own work to publish it as a new one.

1.6. Copyright and intellectual property. When elements such as graphics, images, maps, photographs, audiovisual material, charts, infographics, or other external materials are included, authors must have the necessary licenses for their reproduction and use, and cite sources correctly.

1.7. Authorship criteria. The following will be recognized as authors: a) those who have contributed significantly to the design and conception of the research, to the analysis and interpretation of data, to the collection and acquisition of information; b) those who have written the article or part of it, or have written a draft necessary for the final elaboration of the article. Authors will be mentioned hierarchically according to their level of responsibility and involvement in the submitted manuscript. Those who have participated in the research but do not meet the mentioned criteria will be considered minor collaborations and must be presented in the acknowledgments.

Fictitious authorships—including names of people who did not participate in the research or in the elaboration of the article—, ghost authorships—authorship by professional writers who perform the work—, or honorary authorships—the inclusion of a name with the intention that it would improve the publication possibilities of a text—are not accepted.

1.8. Data availability and integrity. If editors or reviewers consider it pertinent, authors must facilitate access to the data used and the analyses performed, especially when these are necessary to validate the results of the presented study. Falsification or manipulation of results constitutes a serious ethical infraction. Authors are encouraged to maintain records of original data and share them when required.

1.9. Ethical supervision. Any study involving human beings or animals must conform to recognized ethical standards and have the pertinent approvals from ethics committees. Informed consent from participants and confidential handling of their data must also be guaranteed.

1.10. Conflicts of interest. Authors must declare any personal, financial, or institutional conflict of interest that could influence the interpretation of results or the publication process.

1.11. Error correction. If an author detects a relevant error after publication of their article, they must notify immediately so that the editorial team can make the corresponding corrections.

1.12. Academic responsibility. Authors must ensure that their work includes a critical and diverse review of available knowledge on the addressed topic; and that updated literature has been used. Authors accept responsibility for what is written in the presented work.

2. Reviewers' Obligations

2.1. Contribution to editorial quality. Peer review is key to strengthening article content and guaranteeing its academic rigor; it helps editors make decisions about proposed articles, as well as helping the author improve the submitted work, so evaluators are requested to be specific regarding their observations and comments. A critical, honest, constructive, and impartial judgment is expected from reviewers regarding both the scientific quality and the literary quality of the writing in the field of their knowledge and skills.

2.2. Punctuality and responsibility. Reviewers must commit to sending evaluations within agreed deadlines. If a reviewer cannot meet the stipulated deadline or considers that the topic exceeds their field of specialty, they must communicate this promptly to the editorial team.

2.3. Confidentiality. The journal uses a blind peer review process, meaning neither authors know the identity of their evaluators nor evaluators know the identity of the authors. Every manuscript received must be treated as a confidential document. It must not be shared or discussed with third parties without authorization.

2.4. Impartiality. In case of personal, institutional, or economic conflict of interest, the reviewer must abstain from participating in the process.

2.5. Conflicts of interest. Reviewers must declare any relationship or circumstance that may compromise their objectivity.

2.6. Detection of irregularities. If the reviewer suspects plagiarism, undeclared duplication, or other ethical fault, they must communicate it to the editorial team for analysis. The evaluator will avoid investigating the ethical violation further on their own, unless the journal requests additional information or advice.

3. Editorial Team Duties

3.1. Transparent process. The Editorial Committee commits to managing all received manuscripts fairly and objectively, ensuring rigorous and confidential processes from reception to publication. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on academic merit, without discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, or political opinion of the authors. Revista Sarance does not consider it ethical to publish works that contain content that may be violent toward minority or vulnerable groups, or content that violates other works, researchers, or populations directly or indirectly. The editorial committee will always take these principles into account.

3.2. Management of conflicts of interest. Editors must abstain from participating in editorial decisions when a conflict of interest exists. Likewise, unauthorized use of information contained in received manuscripts is prohibited.

3.3. Clear editorial structure. The journal has a clearly defined editorial infrastructure, standardized procedures, and trained personnel to guarantee efficient and ethical functioning of the publication process.

3.4. Clear and transparent communication. Editors will inform authors about the status of their article, about acceptance or rejection of their works, and will respond promptly to any inquiry.

3.5. Respect for timelines. Rigorous compliance with evaluation, decision, and publication deadlines for accepted articles will be sought (maximum 30 days for acceptance/rejection from manuscript reception in OJS and maximum 120 days from the start of the blind peer scientific review process).

3.6. Dissemination and visibility. The journal will actively promote content circulation through open access platforms, academic repositories, and specialized indexes. Additionally, the journal will organize the presentation and launch of published issues.

3.7. Post-publication corrections. The journal has mechanisms for publishing errata, corrections, retractions, or comments after the editorial process, including letters to the editor or recognized external platforms.

4. Procedure for Complaints and Appeals

4.1. Observations or non-conformities presented by authors must be duly justified and substantiated, and will be addressed under criteria of transparency, confidentiality, and mutual respect.

4.2. Complaints may refer to the editorial process, published content, staff behavior, or any other relevant aspect. A timely and reasoned response will be given to each case.

4.3. At no time will the aptitude of the reviewer be questioned. Complaints will be directed to the editor, with the respective argumentation and evidence to consider the case. If necessary, support will be requested from the Editorial Committee or one of its members who is an expert on the topic of the article in question.

4.4. If it is proven that a published article incurs plagiarism or other ethical fault, it will be immediately withdrawn from the platform and repositories where it is hosted.

5. Access and Rights Policy

5.1. Revista Sarance adopts the open access model: neither authors nor readers will assume costs for publishing or consulting the contents.

5.2. Articles are published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, which allows their free use with adequate recognition, without commercial purposes and respecting the license conditions.

5.3. Revista Sarance is an Open Access journal available without temporal restrictions.

5.4. The journal encourages self-archiving of final versions and post-print files in institutional or personal repositories, to expand the impact of produced knowledge, without commercial purposes.

5.5. Revista Sarance articles are available in reliable repositories that guarantee their indexing such as: Latindex, LatinRev, Road, CrossRef, MIAR.

5.6. The journal contains no advertising and accepts no type of advertising.