Políticas editoriales

Quality Policy, Ethical Policy, and Best Practices

  1. Authors must submit original, unpublished texts that have not been presented as communications or papers at any conference and are not under review for publication by other publishers. Exceptions include translations of works that are difficult to access.

  2. Before submission, authors must carefully review spelling, grammar, and style and ensure that bibliographic references and typographic aspects are consistent throughout the text, especially in collective works.

  3. As a general rule, our reference for text editing and correction will be the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). However, in some cases, this criterion may not be the most appropriate, such as for legal and scientific texts. In such justified situations and in agreement with UCOPress, other criteria may be adopted, provided they are applied consistently throughout the book.

  4. Once the manuscript is received, it will be reviewed for compliance with the publisher’s guidelines. Works submitted to UCOPress may be rejected in an initial evaluation conducted by the Editorial Board for formal reasons, such as spelling errors, lexical imprecision, unnecessary Anglicisms, poor punctuation, disconnected syntax, lack of clarity, inconsistencies, etc.

  5. The decision on submitted manuscripts will be communicated immediately after the Editorial Board’s decision, based on the received reports.

  6. The production timeline will be reduced to six months from the signing of the publishing contract, subject to prior approval by the Editorial Board.

  7. Efforts will be made to increase information dissemination and international outreach through available digital media.

  8. UCOPress will ensure its participation in national and international book fairs.

  9. A progressive internationalization of the catalog of authors and titles will be pursued.

  10. Orders will be shipped to distributors and booksellers within a maximum of three days.

  11. The impact and visibility of publications in national and international databases will be increased and managed.

  12. Properly documented complaints and suggestions will be addressed within fifteen days.

  13. Publishing standards will be followed according to international requirements (ISO 690 standards).

  14. Environmental responsibility will be upheld in accordance with national and international environmental standards, incorporating sustainability criteria throughout the publishing process. In particular, the digitalization of the proofreading process significantly reduces paper waste generated by UCOPress, indirectly lowering the carbon footprint associated with this aspect.

Peer Review Process

UCOPress subjects all its publications to a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure their scientific quality. After approval by the Editorial Board, the work will be sent to two expert reviewers (referees) in the subject matter. The reviewers are external and independent of the publisher, selected by the Editorial Board and/or the Collection Director to assess the suitability of publication and, if necessary, suggest appropriate revisions. The double-blind review method ensures anonymity for both authors and reviewers, with a member of the publisher serving as the intermediary. If needed, a third reviewer will be consulted.

Review Outcomes

The Editorial Board, based on the reviewers’ reports, will approve or reject the manuscripts and determine the appropriate collection for publication. The possible review outcomes are:

a. Acceptance
b. Acceptance with minor revisions
c. Major revisions required
d. Rejection

The Editorial Board’s decision, along with the final evaluation report, will be sent to the author via the platform and/or email.

Authorship Conditions

The publishing contract outlines the authorship conditions, stating that the author retains intellectual property rights. The author must guarantee the originality of the work and ensure that no prior or future commitments or encumbrances will infringe upon UCOPress’s rights. Additionally, the author guarantees that no personal, intellectual property, or third-party rights are violated, which could result in liability for the publisher. The author must provide a statement of responsibility confirming they have all necessary permissions for the use of illustrations, photos, quotations, and other incorporated content.

Publishing Agreement

The publishing agreement signed with the authors and/or editors of works accepted for publication establishes a seven-year period during which the exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution, public communication, and transformation are transferred. These rights may be exercised worldwide, directly or through third parties, in all languages and in any editorial format or publishing modality.

As a general rule, UCOPress Editorial Universidad de Córdoba authorizes the deposit of original manuscript versions of publications included in this collection in open-access institutional repositories (in the case of the University of Córdoba, Helvia), provided the work has received public funding. In all other cases, a two-year (24-month) embargo period is established before such deposit may be made. After this period, authors may request authorization from the editorial board to deposit an electronic file of their work in open-access institutional repositories.

Ethical Responsibilities

UCOPress guarantees the confidentiality of the review process at all times, including the anonymity of reviewers and authors, the evaluated content, the reasoned reports issued by reviewers, and any other communication from the Editorial Board when applicable.

Anti-Plagiarism Policy

UCOPress strongly condemns plagiarism and will not publish works that are not original or have been previously published. A strict originality policy is maintained, and all submitted texts will undergo a similarity analysis using Turnitin software.