Ethics Statement and Misconduct in Publishing

1. About the Journal

The Journal of  Paraguayan Studies (RESPY), with print ISSN: 0251-2483 and digital ISSN: 2520-9914, is an indexed, open access, scientific, peer-reviewed publication that employs a "double-blind" peer review system. It is published semiannually: in June (publication period for the first semester) and December (publication period for the second semester) of each year. It was first published in 1973 and is currently under the auspices of the Center for Anthropological Studies at the Catholic University "Our Lady of the Assumption" (CEADUC). The Journal of Paraguayan Studies only accepts "original scientific articles" covering topics such as philosophy, sociology, history, education, politics, economics, anthropology, art, and related subjects. It is intended for researchers, educators, and students in the social sciences whose focus of study is Paraguay.

Object and Thematic Coverage: The objective of the Journal of Paraguayan Studies is to disseminate scientific knowledge through original research findings that contribute to the development of the social and humanistic areas of Paraguay. This includes works resulting from scientific research and theoretical reflections that, due to their relevance, deserve publication, thus contributing to showcasing intellectual production related to Paraguay and its humanistic and social issues (Thematic Areas: Humanities and Applied Social Sciences).

The journal is aligned with the institutional research policies of the University.


2. Peer Review Process: The editorial process begins after the article submission.

The submitted manuscript to Journal of Paraguayan Studies undergoes three stages of evaluation:

  1. Editorial Review: Conducted by the editor to assess compliance with minimum criteria of quality and relevance (Response time: one month).

  2. Originality Check: The article undergoes plagiarism detection software. The journal accepts up to 15% of matches, requiring 85% originality. In any case, the author will receive a report (Response time: 15 days).

  3. Peer Review: Double-blind independent evaluation by a reviewer not affiliated with the Center for Anthropological Studies (Response time: two months).

View the evaluation matrix that will be sent to reviewers 1 and 2.

In case of controversy in any of the three phases, the decision is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief with the support of the Editorial Board.


3. Ownership and Information Handling:

The Center for Anthropological Studies of the Catholic University "Our Lady of the Assumption" (CEADUC), Asunción, Paraguay, is responsible for the ownership and handling of the information in this Journal.


4. Governing Body:

The governing body of the Journal consists primarily of the Center for Anthropological Studies of the Catholic University "Our Lady of the Assumption" (CEADUC) and secondarily, the Editorial Board led by the Editor-in-Chief.

5. Editorial Team and Contact Information:

The editorial team is divided into the JOURNAL DIRECTORATE, TECHNICAL TEAM, SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL, and EDITORIAL BOARD.

  • JOURNAL DIRECTORATE: Responsible for publication, directing the activities of the Technical Team, the Editorial Board, and the Scientific Council. Official and legal representation of the publication.

  • TECHNICAL TEAM: Operational heads of the publication. Direct link between the Journal Directorate and other councils as well as authors or article proposers.

  • SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL: Representative of the Journal of Paraguayan Studies internationally. Advises on the scientific quality of the publication.

  • EDITORIAL BOARD: Ensures the content aligns with the institutional and specific policies of the Journal of Paraguayan Studies in academic, scientific, and disciplinary terms.

For More Information:

6. Copyright and Licenses:

The information and opinions in the articles are the sole responsibility of the authors and are not attributable to the University, CEADUC, the Editor, or the Editorial Board of the journal. In the case of publication, the author retains the rights to their research work. This publication is under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. The journal accepts submissions from preprint servers.


7. Cost to the authors:

There are no costs to authors for the submission or publication of articles.


8. Process for Identifying and Addressing Misconduct Complaints in Research:

The journal discourages any misconduct in the publication process.

In the event of misconduct allegations in research related to a published article, the journal will follow the guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). In such cases, the journal will act based on the flowcharts available on its website.

The Editor-in-Chief will identify the documents involved in the publication misconduct to proceed with the appropriate investigation.

Subsequently, the Editorial Board of the journal will conduct a more in-depth study, contacting the respective authors and providing them with an opportunity to respond to the complaint, allegation, or dispute. If misconduct is confirmed, the Editorial Board will address the situation following COPE recommendations.

The journal will distinguish cases of human error from deliberate intent to deceive. The Editorial Board will consider the option of retracting the publication in cases of misconduct, issuing a note in case of inconclusive evidence of misconduct, or requesting correction of the affected section.

Additionally, to promote good academic practices and prevent plagiarism in its articles, Estudios Paraguayos has employed the services of Plagium Premium since 2018. All submissions, before the double-blind peer-review process, will undergo mandatory checks using this plagiarism detection tool.

Estudios Paraguayos accepts the Declaration of San Francisco (DORA), promoting good practices and open access to academic production.


9. Publication Ethics Journal Policies on Authorship and Contribution:

All individuals designated as authors must be qualified for authorship, and those qualifying as authors must be listed as such. Each author must have contributed sufficiently to the work to take public responsibility for its content.

Authors must meet the criteria of: 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or data acquisition, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or critically revising its important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published.

Obtaining funding, collecting data, or general supervision of the research group does not justify authorship.

The journal will receive complaints and appeals via email at epedicion@gmail.com. The journal will follow COPE flowcharts for handling complaints and appeals.

Policies on Conflicts of Interest: The Editorial Board and Editor-in-Chief will abstain in case of conflicts of interest regarding an author, some authors, or the content of their manuscript to be evaluated. The Editorial Board and Editor-in-Chief will avoid any conflicts of interest between authors, reviewers, and themselves. The Editorial Board and Editor-in-Chief must refrain from making decisions when: there is a direct relationship between authorship and a reviewer; there is recent and significant professional collaboration between reviewers and authors; the editor or reviewer is a collaborator on the submitted article; the editor or reviewer believes their assessment cannot be objective, either due to personal reasons or economic interests.

Journal Policies on Data Sharing and Reproducibility: Although the journal does not require data sharing, confidential access to the primary data necessary to reproduce the article for result verification can be requested at any time. The journal encourages authors to cite publicly available research data in their reference lists. References to datasets should include a persistent identifier. We encourage research data to be available under open licenses for unrestricted reuse.

Ethical Oversight Policy of Estudios Paraguayos: Ethical oversight of the journal is the responsibility of the Editorial Committee. The journal adheres to COPE's best practice policies, and misconduct management follows its flowcharts.

Journal Policy on Intellectual Property: The editorial group will resolve intellectual property issues and possible violations according to specific laws and conventions. Best practices for editors include the following actions: adoption of plagiarism detection systems (for this journal, we use Plagium Premium software for all submitted articles); support for authors whose copyright has been violated or who have been victims of plagiarism.

Journal Options for Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections: Post-publication discussions and corrections will be processed via email at epedicion@gmail.com and can be submitted by any of the authors, preferably the corresponding author.


10. Compensation and Fees:

Estudios Paraguayos does not provide fees or compensation to authors, reviewers, and members of its Scientific and Honorary Board. The work is voluntary, acknowledging the involved parties for their contributions. This does not imply issuing certificates of publication or editorial performance to the concerned parties.


11. Publication Schedule:

The publication will be based on a semi-annual release in June and December.


12. Access:

All articles are available in full text for readers at no cost or subscription.


13. Archive:

Estudios Paraguayos uses the LOCKSS digital preservation system from Stanford University via PKP PN.

Estudios Paraguayos declares and commits to safeguarding the generated scientific content. All issues from 1973 to the present have been digitized. The editions are compressed on Academia.edu and, in high quality, on Google Drive. Copies can be downloaded and read freely and at no cost.

With these actions, Estudios Paraguayos recognizes the importance and interest in preserving the content of our publication for future generations of readers and complies with the following procedures: a) identifies definitive electronic documents for publication; b) once published, backups are made of each volume of the software (Open Journal System) and all its content; c) storage on external hard drives of the complete publication of the journal, with content updated annually.


14. Revenue Sources:

The journal is non-profit and does not charge for submitting or publishing articles. Estudios Paraguayos depends on the Anthropological Studies Center of the Catholic University. It is an initiative funded by funds designated by the Vice Presidency of Finance Administration of the Catholic University "Our Lady of the Assumption."


15. Advertising:

The journal does not use advertising on the website.


16. Direct Marketing:

The journal does not use direct marketing.

Estudios Paraguayos uses social networks: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the dissemination of information related to the journal.


17. Miscellaneous:

READ CAREFULLY, ALSO, THE SECTIONS ON THE EVALUATION PROCESS AND EDITORIAL PUBLICATION STANDARDS.

 


This text was elaborated using the Declaration of Ethics and Misconduct in Publication Practices from the Journal Medicina Clínica y Social (Med. Clín. Soc.), ISSN 2521-2281 (online) as a model and adapted to the realities of Estudios Paraguayos. Due to its excellent and pioneering editorial management, this JOURNAL sets the path towards best practices in management for other editorial initiatives in Paraguay."