Code of Ethics

Alteridades adheres to a code of editorial ethics in its academic work, the purpose of which is to ensure that the processes of submission, evaluation, peer review, editing, publication, and preservation of content are carried out in accordance with the principles of integrity, impartiality, transparency, academic responsibility, and respect for copyright.

This code applies to all individuals involved in the journal’s editorial process: authors, members of the Editorial Board, reviewers, issue coordinators, technical staff, and others involved in the management of the publication.

Alteridades is guided by the principles of academic integrity, impartiality in editorial decision-making, confidentiality during the review process, transparency in policies and procedures, respect for authorship, recognition of the diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches, open access, and the prevention of misconduct.

The Editorial Board and the Editorial Committee are responsible for ensuring the journal’s academic quality, the thematic relevance of published texts, and compliance with editorial policies. Their decisions are based on academic, editorial, and ethical criteria, without discrimination based on nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, theoretical orientation, political stance, ethnic origin, or any other factor unrelated to the academic merit of the manuscript.

All manuscripts received by Alteridades are treated as confidential documents throughout the editorial process. The information contained in the texts may not be used, disclosed, or shared without the express authorization of the journal and the authors.

Alteridades has implemented mechanisms to ensure that its editorial processes are transparent, documented, and auditable. The journal will make its editorial policies, guidelines for authors, review standards, information about its editorial bodies, and dispute resolution procedures available to the public.

  a) Responsibility of the journal

Alteridades is committed to receiving and conducting a preliminary review of submitted texts and, if they meet the journal’s editorial and relevance criteria, forwarding them for peer review.
In all cases, the journal will subject approved texts to evaluation procedures based on a double-blind peer review process.
The journal will maintain the anonymity of authors and reviewers.
The journal’s editorial processes will ensure that reviewers act in accordance with the guidelines for reviewers in order to guarantee the objectivity of the reviews received.
Alteridades guarantees that articles submitted by members of its various editorial bodies and reviewers will be subject to the same academic and editorial processes applied to any other author.
Any objections to the reviews issued must be addressed to the Editorial Committee in a document that provides a reasoned and justified explanation. The committee will decide on the matter, and its decisions are final.
Members of the editorial bodies and reviewers may not, under any circumstances, use information from texts submitted to the journal until they have been published.
The Editorial Board and the Editorial Committee may reject manuscripts that do not meet the general criteria for academic relevance.

  b) Responsibilities of the reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts with academic rigor, objectivity, respect, and confidentiality. Their reviews must provide clear arguments to support the editorial decision and, where appropriate, offer guidance on how to improve the manuscript.
Reviewers agree to:
- Evaluate the texts they agree to review in an objective and constructive manner.
- Provide an explicit review based on their knowledge of the subject matter, and their reasoning must be clear to both the Editorial Committee and the author, avoiding the use of adjectives to describe the content.
- Evaluate the work within a period of no more than 3 weeks so as not to hinder editorial processes or disadvantage the authors; if this is not possible, promptly inform the Director and the Editorial Committee.
- Notify the Editorial Board and the Editorial Committee if you are not qualified to evaluate the subject matter of the submitted work; if your evaluation presents a conflict of interest; or if there is any academic reason not to publish the document. In any of these cases, you must decline to provide the review.
- Submit the review form signed and duly completed to facilitate the Committee’s evaluation.
- Do not disclose or use the content of the manuscript submitted to you, which is confidential until it is published.

Evaluate based on the following criteria:
- Alignment between the text’s subject matter and the journal’s general focus.
- Relevance of the topic.
- Original contribution to knowledge on the topic and/or discipline.
- Consistency of the text in terms of the presentation of objectives, their development, argumentation, justification of conclusions, and, where applicable, the use of empirical evidence.
- Appropriate use of theory and methodology to obtain data in accordance with the research objectives.

   c) Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors have an ethical obligation to submit original, unpublished work that is the result of their own academic research, to properly cite the sources used, to disclose any conflicts of interest, and to avoid simultaneously submitting the same manuscript to another publication. In addition, they must specify whether the text is part of a funded project.
The author agrees to:
• Submit original research. Research that has already been published will not be accepted.
• Not submit their work to any other publication while it is under review at Alteridades.
• Fully comply with the journal’s Editorial Guidelines.
• Incorporate the comments and changes requested by the reviewers into the final version of their text.
• Approve the publication of their institutional affiliation and email address.
• Authorize the distribution of their work via electronic media.

Conflict of Interest Policy

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to prevent situations that may affect—or appear to affect—the objectivity, independence, and impartiality of the editorial process.
A conflict of interest is deemed to exist when a person involved in the editorial process has personal, family, professional, institutional, academic, financial, political, or any other type of relationship that could unduly influence the evaluation, decision-making, or publication of a manuscript.
Authors must disclose any relationship, funding, collaboration, affiliation, institutional interest, or circumstance that could be interpreted as influencing the results, arguments, or conclusions of the work.

Conflict of Interest with Reviewers or Members of the Editorial Board
Individuals invited to review a manuscript must recuse themselves from evaluating it if there is recent collaboration with the author, membership in the same research group, a direct employment or institutional relationship, recent supervision or co-supervision of a thesis, a close personal or professional relationship, overt academic rivalry, or any other circumstance that prevents an impartial evaluation. Members of the editorial bodies must recuse themselves from participating in the discussion or decision-making regarding manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. In such cases, the decision will be delegated to another member of the editorial team or to a collegial body without a conflict of interest.
When a potential conflict of interest is detected, the journal’s editorial board or the Editorial Committee will review the case and take the necessary measures to preserve the impartiality of the process. These measures may include replacing reviewers, reassigning the manuscript to another editor, requesting clarifications, or suspending the process until sufficient information is available.

Policy on Corrections, Errata, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions
Alteridades has a policy in place to address errors, omissions, or ethical issues detected after the publication of an article, with the aim of protecting the integrity of the academic record. When minor errors are identified that do not affect the academic content, results, reasoning, or conclusions of the article, the journal may issue an editorial correction. These corrections may pertain to typographical errors, affiliation information, formatting errors, metadata, or bibliographic references. When significant errors are detected that do not invalidate the core content of the article, Alteridades will publish an erratum linked to the original article. The erratum must clearly indicate the identified error, the corresponding correction, and the date of publication of the correction.

Statement of Concern

When there is a well-founded doubt regarding the integrity of a published article, but the available information does not allow for an immediate resolution of the case, the journal may publish a statement of concern on its website. This measure is preventive in nature and will remain in place while the corresponding review is conducted.

Retractions
An article may be retracted if plagiarism, substantial self-plagiarism, fabrication or serious manipulation of information, duplicate publication, deliberate omission of conflicts of interest, unauthorized use of protected materials, serious breach of research ethics, or substantive errors that invalidate the results or conclusions of the work are confirmed.
Requests for correction or retraction may be submitted by authors, reviewers, members of editorial boards, or interested third parties. The journal’s editorial board will review the case, request additional information when necessary, and submit the decision to the appropriate editorial body.

Policy on Complaints, Disputes, and Appeals

Alteridades has a procedure in place to receive, review, and respond to complaints, disputes, and appeals related to its editorial processes, peer review decisions, ethical practices, or published content. This policy applies to authors, peer reviewers, readers, members of the academic community, and anyone who feels it necessary to file a complaint related to the journal. Complaints may concern inappropriate treatment, lack of clarity in communication, possible errors in the review process, conflicts of interest, ethical issues, or inconsistencies in published information. Complaints must be submitted in writing and include the name of the person filing the complaint, contact information, a clear description of the reason for the complaint, supporting evidence or documents (if any), and identification of the relevant manuscript, article, or editorial process. Disputes regarding the decisions issued must be addressed to the Editorial Board in a reasoned and substantiated document and sent to the journal’s email address.

Appeals Regarding Editorial Decisions

Authors may file an appeal when they believe that an editorial decision was based on procedural errors, insufficient evaluation, an undeclared conflict of interest, or an incorrect interpretation of the journal’s criteria. The appeal does not in itself imply acceptance of the manuscript. The journal’s editorial board will acknowledge receipt of the complaint or appeal and review the information submitted. When warranted by the case, the editorial board may seek the opinion of the Editorial Committee, external experts, or the appropriate institutional body. The response must be provided in writing and explain the decision reached. Complaints and appeals must be submitted respectfully, in good faith, and with verifiable arguments. Alteridades will not respond to communications that are offensive or lack sufficient information.