About the Journal

Maskana is a multidisciplinary scientific journal published by the Vice-Rectorate for Research at the University of Cuenca (Ecuador). It was initially created with the aim of providing a platform for the dissemination of research from all areas of knowledge. It currently disseminates research results at an international level.
Maskana is a Quichua word meaning search or exploration. The first edition of this journal was published in the second half of 2010, and since then it has maintained its regularity, with two editions a year in June and December. It is a serial publication that accepts original articles in Spanish and English. Its areas of competence are Humanities and Social Sciences, Biological and Health Sciences, Exact Sciences and Technologies.
Maskana ensures that its articles are available in reliable repositories. It is indexed in the Latindex 2.0 Catalogue, DOAJ, Dialnet, ERIH PLUS and many other international databases; it accepts research or bibliographic review articles, which will be subject to external peer review. Professors, researchers, students and professionals from all over the world interested in the permanent updating of knowledge are invited to read its pages and/or submit manuscripts.

Maskana publishes two editions per year, in June and December. Currently, and as of 2016, it is distributed in digital format only.
The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) of the online journal is: e-ISSN 2477-8893. For its online production, the Open Journal Systems platform, an open access journal manager, is used. Print editions of Maskana were published from December 2010 (Vol. 1, No. 1) to December 2015 (Vol. 6, No. 2). The ISSN of the print journal is: p-ISSN 1390-6143

Maskana journal maintains a permanent call for articles. The editorial process begins once the author has sent the required documents in the requested format through its digital content manager Open Journal Systems. In the following link you will find the guidelines to make a submission: Directrices de envío.
At least one of the authors must register beforehand and include their ORCID identifier. If they do not have this personal identifier, they can register at: ORCID.
Manuscripts sent directly to the journal's mailing address or to the journal's editors will not be accepted. For more information on the submission process, please see the downloadable Maskana template.
Maskana accepts the following types of articles as long as they are original, the product of completed or ongoing research, and subject to the IMRaD method (Introduction - Methods - Results and Discussion).

  • Original research article: this is the scientific article that presents the most recent research findings in detail. They can be partial or final results obtained from research projects.
  • Literature review article: this is the scientific article that systematises the state of the art of a subject through the existing literature in order to discuss certain variables and report on their development. It is recommended that the PRISMA methodology be used for this type of article.

The requirements for the submission of a literature review article are as follows.

  • (a) Clearly explain the rationale and objectives of the review article.
  • (b) Indicate what type of literature review it is. The traditional classification includes descriptive, comprehensive, evaluative and clinical case reviews with review. Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is now frequently used.
  • (c) It is important to show that a rigorous methodology has been followed. It must be explained how the literature search was conducted, the criteria used for the selection of documents and how the information processing was organised.

Upon receipt of a manuscript, the Editorial Team carries out a relevance assessment. This checks whether the document has not been published before and, in order to avoid any kind of plagiarism, the similarity rates of the content.
Formatting and editing must conform to the guidelines set out in the downloadable template.
The result can be Accept, Accept with changes or Rejected. In case of a negative criterion of Acceptance with changes, the corresponding author will receive a report specifying the aspects of form and content that need to be improved in order to advance to the next stage of the evaluation process.
If the article meets the minimum criteria, it is sent to two reviewers (external to the Directorate of Research and the University of Cuenca) for evaluation by the double-blind refereeing system. This process examines whether the document has the necessary scientific qualities to be published.
After receiving the reviewers' comments, a summary report is sent to the corresponding author. A manuscript can be assessed with Acceptance without comments, Acceptance with few changes, Acceptance with major changes or Rejected. Once the evaluations have been received, the final decision on the publication of a manuscript will be taken by the editor-in-chief of Maskana. Accepted manuscripts are published in the first issue after acceptance of the manuscript.
The relevance assessment process seeks to be explanatory and educational. The blind peer review process, in turn, is based on the pursuit of excellence in content and form. In itself, they represent the way Maskana acts, within the scientific community, as a platform for teaching the writing of scientific articles.
All the aforementioned stages can be followed by the author through the Open Journal Systems operated by the journal. The reviewers' opinion is not subject to appeal.

The journal Maskana of the University of Cuenca, is defined as a Diamond or Platinum Open Access publication, which means that neither the authors nor the readers must pay for the publication or access to the articles. The University of Cuenca assumes all costs associated with evaluation, editing and digital preservation, thus guaranteeing the dissemination of knowledge without economic barriers. Maskana offers free and open access to all its contents from the moment of publication, fostering the global exchange of knowledge and ensuring maximum visibility and use of research.

Creative Commons licences

All articles published in Maskana are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. This license allows anyone to perform the following actions with the contents:

  • 1. Share: copy, distribute and publicly communicate the content by any means or format.
  • 2. Adapt: Remix, transform and create derivative works from the content.

Conditions for re-use:

  • Attribution: proper credit must be given to the authors, mentioning the original source (name of publication, publisher, URL and DOI). A link to the licence must also be provided and specify whether changes were made to the content.
  • Non-commercial: The use of articles may not be for commercial or for-profit purposes. Any adaptation or distribution must be on a non-profit basis.
  • Share Alike: If adaptations or derivatives of the content are made, they must be shared under the same terms as the original licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

In addition, the authors grant the Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la Universidad de Cuenca (VIUC) a non-exclusive irrevocable licence for the electronic and printed publication of the articles, allowing the institution to distribute them. The VIUC reserves the right to produce and market printed versions of the journal for libraries and individuals, if deemed necessary.

Self-archiving

Maskana allows and encourages self-archiving of articles by authors in institutional, thematic and personal repositories, as part of its digital preservation and open access policy. Authors can deposit accepted (post-print) or published versions of their articles in open access repositories from the moment of publication. According to the Sherpa Romeo classification, the journal allows unrestricted open access (see Sherpa Romeo).

Conditions of self-archiving:

  • Authors must ensure that the original source is properly cited, including the name of the journal Maskana, the DOI, and a link to the published article on the journal's website.
  • No embargo period applies, allowing authors to self-archive their articles immediately after publication.
  • The repositories where authors can deposit their articles include institutional, thematic (e.g. open access repositories in social sciences, health, etc.) and general-purpose repositories (e.g. Zenodo, arXiv).

This policy allows greater visibility and access to articles, and contributes to long-term digital preservation, in line with international preservation standards.

Publication costs

Maskana does not charge article processing charges (APCs) or publication fees. All costs associated with evaluation, layout, editing, proofreading, online publication and digital preservation are assumed by the Vice-Rectorate for Research of the University of Cuenca. Authors are not charged for any aspect of the editorial process, and readers can access all published content free of charge.

Copyright

Authors retain the copyright to their articles but grant the VIUC a non-exclusive irrevocable licence to publish and distribute the articles in both electronic and printed format. Authors also retain the right to use their own articles for academic or dissemination purposes, provided that the source is properly cited.

The Vice-Rectorate for Research of the University of Cuenca may, at its discretion, produce printed versions of the journal, respecting the rights of the authors and ensuring that further use of the articles by third parties is made under the terms of the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Digital preservation

Within the framework of its open access policy, Maskana guarantees not only immediate and free access to its content, but also its long-term preservation and availability through its participation in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN). This digital preservation system, implemented by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), ensures that articles published in the journal remain accessible in the future, even in the event of technological failures or platform changes.

PKP PN protects content through a distributed network of preservation nodes that store multiple copies of articles in different locations. This approach ensures that, in the event of any eventuality affecting servers or access to the original platform, articles remain intact and available to researchers, practitioners and the public.

By integrating into institutional and thematic open access repositories, Maskana reinforces its commitment to preservation and continued accessibility, ensuring that the journal's scholarly legacy is protected for the long term. This contributes significantly to the constant flow of information and the lasting impact of published research.


Introduction

Your privacy is important to Maskana. This privacy statement provides information about the personal information Maskana collects and the ways in which our journal uses that information.

Collection of personal information

Maskana may collect and use personal information that is necessary for the processing and publication of the manuscripts we receive. This information may include full names, affiliation and contact details such as postal addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and/or fax numbers.

Use of personal information

Any personal information received by Maskana will only be used to process and publish your manuscript, and eventually to:

  • administer this website,
  • customise the website for you,
  • to allow your access to and use of the services of the website,
  • send you communications about your manuscript,
  • send you communications about future issues or calls for contributions.

Please note that Maskana may disclose your personal information to the extent required by law, in connection with any possible legal proceedings, and/or to establish, exercise or defend its legal rights.

Securing your data

Maskana will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, theft, misuse or alteration of your personal information.

Transborder data transfers

The information Maskana collects may be stored, processed and transferred between any of the countries in which Maskana operates to enable the use of the information in accordance with this privacy policy.

In addition, please remember that personal information that you submit to us for publication on our website may be available worldwide via the Internet. By doing so, you consent to such cross-border transfers of personal information.

Updates to this declaration

Maskana may update this privacy policy from time to time by posting a new version on this website, so you should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are familiar with any changes.

Other websites

This website contains links to other websites. Maskana is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third parties.

Consultations

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or Maskana's treatment of your personal information, please send an email to maskana.diuc@ucuenca.edu.ec.