As of December 1, 2023, this journal changes its peer review process from a double-blind model (where neither the author's nor the reviewer's identity is known) to a single-blind process (where the author is known, but the reviewer remains anonymous). Historically, the journal has employed double-blind peer review from 2013 until all submissions received in November 2023. The change is justified by the modification of the editorial policy in July 2023 to include the option of publishing preprints and the new policy requiring the publication of preprints for all accepted articles. The publication of preprints during the evaluation process, or even before, as is customary in these publications, will continue to be a personal decision of each author.
Manuscript Evaluation and Publication Process
This journal ensures the scientific quality of its content through single-blind peer review. The manuscript evaluation process involves several phases, each focusing on different aspects, all of equal importance. The most crucial phase is the "single-blind peer review" as it ensures the intrinsic quality of what will be published. This document explains all phases of the manuscript processing, from receipt to official publication.
First Phase: Desk Review (Formal Quality and Best Practices Review)
The desk review is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief and the journal director.
The purpose of the desk review is to assess whether a manuscript meets the formality of the journal and if it is of interest for publication. During the desk review, a similarity detection software (Plagiarism Checker X) will be used, generating a similarity report. Starting from December 2023, this report will be delivered to the authors simultaneously with the confirmation that their article will undergo peer review. This review ensures that reviewers only receive manuscripts potentially suitable for publication, meaning that this phase prevents overloading reviewers with articles that ultimately do not align with the journal's interests.
Throughout the desk review, all citations and references in the manuscript will be checked to determine if there is any malicious use.
The desk review should cover all aspects indicated in the document "Desk Review." Please see the following LINK:
https://nuestramerica.cl/ojs/index.php/nuestramerica/escritorio
Second Phase: Single-Blind Peer Review (Scientific Quality Review)
This is the most crucial phase to determine whether a manuscript should be published.
The process is conducted in a single-blind mode, meaning that the reviewer's identity is known to the author, but the author is unaware of who is reviewing the manuscript. This mode of peer review is justified by the promotion and encouragement of preprint usage. The selection of peers for review is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief and the director, who, with the committee's recommendation, will choose suitable academic peers.
The editor-in-chief and the director send the manuscript for review by at least two different academic peers, ensuring that the author and the academic peers are not from the same geographical area. If they are from the same country, efforts will be made to ensure there is no conflict of interest. After reviewing, the academic peers will suggest improvements, publication without changes, or rejection of the manuscript.
If two reviewers suggest that the manuscript should be published, it will be understood that the peer review recommends publication. If one reviewer suggests publication and another suggests that the manuscript should not be published, it will be understood that there is a controversy, and the manuscript will be sent for review by a third person. Only when two reviewers suggest publication will it be understood that the peer review validates the manuscript for publication. If both evaluations suggest rejection, it will be understood that the result of peer review is rejection.
Third Phase: Editorial Decision
The decision to publish or not a manuscript is exclusive to the editor-in-chief and the director, but nothing can be published without approving evaluations, nor can anything be published if there are any comments or requests from any member of the editorial committee. This responsibility will not be delegated to anyone else. To make the decision, the formal and intrinsic quality of a manuscript will be considered. A manuscript that has received two negative evaluations in peer review cannot be published. What peer review suggests will always be the most important factor in making this decision. For the publication of a manuscript, there must be a minimum of two positive evaluations in the peer review process. In cases where both evaluations suggest not publishing the manuscript, it will be rejected. In cases of controversy where one evaluation is positive and another is negative, a third evaluation will be sought to resolve the conflict.
The possible outcomes will be: 1) accepted, 2) rejected, and 3) accepted with modifications. Rejections are final, and the author will have to submit another manuscript if desired or reconsider the rewriting or restructuring of the rejected manuscript; rejections do not prevent future submissions of the same manuscript, but all reasons for initial rejection must be addressed. Manuscripts accepted with modifications do not guarantee publication; this will only happen if the modifications are made within the indicated timelines. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in rejection.
Fourth Phase: Publication
With the decision to publish the manuscript, a second desk review will be conducted to detect previously unnoticed errors. This final phase is the exclusive responsibility of the editor-in-chief and the journal director, and other individuals will not have an impact on it.
If any information is missing from a manuscript, publication will be suspended until the requirement is met, but this will not result in the rejection of the manuscript, only in the postponement of publication.
Once it is confirmed that the manuscript meets all formal requirements, it will be formatted in HTML5 and PDF, with translations into Portuguese or Spanish as needed. Subsequently, the XML-JATS file will be added. Publication will be carried out as quickly as possible.