About the Journal

About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Latin America. Journal of Latin American Studies is a biannual magazine published by the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which incorporates a thematic, theoretical and methodological diversity that will result in production of knowledge about Latin America and the Caribbean to better understand local process and regional issues.

Peer Review Process

PEER EVALUATION PROCESS

Editorial verdict:

Every received work is subjected, on the first place, to an editorial verdict, which consists on checking that the article matches the thematic of the journal and meets the defined guidelines described in the presentation of manuscripts. If the article does not follow these, it won’t be accepted. Likewise, it is verified and investigated that the article hasn’t been published.

The journal’s editorial department will provide an acknowledgment in a term no longer than a fortnight after receiving the article for its preliminary evaluation by the Editorial Board.

 

Academic verdict:

Once established that the article addresses the thematic and the formal requirements, it will be subjected to a process of evaluation by academic peers, under the mode of peer review. Academic Board will name two members of the journal’s list of evaluators formed by national and international experts outside the Editorial Board. In the event of having a disagreement between the two results, the text will be sent to a third.

 

Verdicts can be:

“Approved to publish without modification,” “Approved with suggestions,” “Approved with modifications” and “Not accepted.” In the evaluation the anonymity of the authors and evaluators is protected. The result of the verdict is final.

If the result of the evaluation is “Approved with suggestions” or “Approved with modifications,” the author will deliver the corrected version of the text as requested by the evaluators in a term no longer than 30 days from the date the editorial department notifies him/her.

Academic Board are in charge of checking the changes made in the case of the conditioned articles. Once approved, the Editorial Department will start the publishing process for the article.

The publishing coordination of the journal assumes the right to style edit and to make the editorial changes it considers necessary to improve the work.

The length of the verdict process is determined by the number of articles on the waiting list. It will take around eight months between the date of submission and its possible publication.

The journal’s publishing coordination will inform the authors about the progress of the work in the evaluation and edition process.

Acording to the journal´s gudelines, the academic or scientiific value of the article, and the opinion of the evaluators, the Internatiobal Scientific Committee will decide if the article is published.

 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content under the principle that, by making research available to the public for free, it encourages a greater exchange of global knowledge.

Principles of Ethics and Statement of Negligence

Latinoamérica’s code of ethics is based on the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Authors’ responsibilities:

  • They will guarantee that their work is product of original research, whose contents were obtained in an ethical manner.
  • The author or authors are responsible for the veracity of the information and sources used in their research. If they have used the work and words of others, they must cite them properly. Plagiarism, in all of its forms, is a non-ethical editorial practice and it is unacceptable.
  • They will also guarantee that their work has not been previously published or is currently being considered for publication.
  • An article will be considered previously published in any of the following situations:

1)When the whole text has been published.

2) When extensive passages of previously published material are a part of the text sent to the journal.

3) When the work submitted to the journal has been published in extenso in other compilations.

4) These criteria apply to prior electronic or print publications in any language.

 

  • The author agrees to respect the authorship of the information used and to not plagiarize. We define plagiarism as the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to that person.
  • The publications that have influenced the nature of the work presented must be cited. The information collected in a private manner, such as conversations, correspondence or discussions with third parties, must not be used without the written consent of the source.
  • The authorship must be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution and interpretation of the study. The author or authors must ensure that all the coauthors are included in the article, and that all of them have seen and approved the final version of the document and agreed to its submission for publication.
  • They will reveal in the article any conflict of financing, funds, or any other interest that could influence the results or interpretation of the research.
  • All sources of financial support must be revealed.
  • The authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permits for the publication of oral testimonies or graphics.
  • It is the author’s responsibility to obtain written authorization for any material protected under Copyright Law that is part of the article.
  • When an author discovers an error or significant inaccuracy in the published text, they must immediately notify the editor or editors responsible for the journal, and must cooperate with them in order to retract or correct it.
  • The author or authors are obligated to withdraw their article if plagiarism or falsehoods were to be detected in the information (including personal) contained in the article.

 

Attributions and Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

  • To define and make public the editorial norms for the publication of articles in the journal.
  • To select the texts that correspond to the journal’s editorial line and meet the necessary academic requirements of a scientific article pertaining to Latin American Studies.
  • To define the evaluation criteria of the articles and make them known to the review committee. At the same time, they will guarantee the adherence to the review process, making sure that the selected articles are reviewed by one or more specialists in the field and that the anonymity of authors and reviewers is maintained.
  • They will have the final decision on which articles are published. The rejection or acceptance of an article for its publication will be based only on the importance, originality, clarity and relevance of the work presented to the journal.

 

Attributions and Responsibilities of the International Scientific Committee

  • To receive the information derived from the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Editorial Board, and with that information:

-          Issue recommendations on the evaluation criteria.

-          Issue recommendations on the designation of reviewers.

-          Will always be willing to intervene in any controversy that presents itself during the review process.

 

Attributions and Responsibilities of the Journal’s Editor or Director.

  • Will keep the International Scientific Committee informed of the agreements reached in the Editorial Board.
  • Will be responsible for all things published in the journal.
  • Will strive to meet the needs of readers and authors, to constantly improve the journal, to ensure the quality of the published material and to elevate its academic and scientific standards. On the other hand, will be willing to publish the necessary corrections, clarifications, retractions and to offer apologies when necessary.
  • Will commit to guaranteeing the confidentiality of the review process and will abstain from revealing either the identity of the authors or the reviewers at any point in the process.
  • Will be responsible for the decision of which articles can be accepted in the journal based on the determination of the Editorial Board.
  • Will duly inform the author about the status of their article in the review process, as well as the results of the review.
  • Will evaluate the articles and their academic content with no distinctions for the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnical origin, political orientation or nationality.
  • Will make sure that the information on the articles submitted for their publication is not divulged to any person outside of the Editorial Board and the International Scienific Committee.
  • The information contained in the articles submitted for their publication will not be used for personal research of the editor or any other member of the editorial team without the written consent of the author. The privileged information or ideas collected through the peer review will be confidential and will not be used for personal gain.
  • Will take impartial and just decisions, and will guarantee an appropriate peer review process.
  • Will remain in constant communication with the reviewers during the evaluation and approval process.

 

Responsibilities of the Reviewers

  • Will commit to inform of any unethical conduct from the authors and point out any information that would be cause for rejecting the article. In addition, they will commit to maintaining the confidentiality of the information related to the articles they review.
  • The reviewers will have the necessary guidelines to conduct the review of the article. These guidelines will be provided by the editor-in-chief.
  • Each chosen reviewer will notify the editor-in-chief –as quickly as possible– if they are qualified to review the research contained in the article or if they cannot conduct the review. In that case, they may suggest another colleague that can participate in the process.
  •  Every article submitted for revision must be treated as a confidential document. It will not be shown or discussed with other experts, except with the written consent of the editor-in-chief.
  • They will conduct themselves objectively. Any personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. The reviewers must express their point of view clearly and support it with valid arguments.
  • All privileged information or ideas collected through the peer review process will be confidential and will not be used for personal gain.
  • They will, preferably, abstain from reviewing articles in which there can be a conflict of interest.

Services that index Latinoamérica

Elsevier

Hapi

Clase

Latindex

Scielo

Journal electronic availability: Redalyc, UNAM- Digital Library.

Journal History

Latinoamérica. Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos, was born in 2003 (num. 36) as a biannual publication intended for the dissemination of original research –in the Humanities and Social Sciences– on Latin America and the Caribbean. The biannual journal is heir to the Latinoamérica. Anuario de Estudios Latinoamericanos, which began publication in 1968 at the Center for Latin American Studies, created in UNAM’s Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in 1966. The Anuario was started thanks to the effort of Dr. Leopoldo Zea, who wanted to “increase and stimulate the research of the culture of our America”. And so, Latinoamérica was born as a way to strengthen the development of knowledge in the areas of specialization that were taught in the Faculty: Latin American philosophy, history and literature; through the publication of previews and results of the research conducted by professors and researchers. In 1979, with the creation of the Coordination and Dissemination Center of Latin American Studies (CCyDEL), this coordination became the entity responsible for publishing the annual. In a second stage, the focus of our research area was updated in search for a thematic, theoretical and methodological diversity which would be beneficial to the production of humanist and social knowledge on Latin America, in order to better understand the region’s processes and problems. During this time, the cover design of our publication was modified. In August 2007 the CCyDEL changed its name and was converted to the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean; from this point on, Latinoamérica was consolidated as biannual journal of academic excellence. Starting in May 2011, it has been a part of the Mexican Journals of Scientific and Technologic Research Index and it is also open access.