Declaration of ethics and good practices

Maskana. Journal Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement (PEMS).

Download PDF

1. Declaration of Ethics and Conduct in Publication (PEMS).

MASKANA is a serialized publication that strives to uphold the highest editorial standards.The journal adheres to COPE's Principles of Transparency and Code of Practice, COPE's Code of Ethics and COPE's Fundamental Norms, indicated at https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Case.

MASKANA's Code of Publication Ethics and Malpractice (PEMS) supports the cooperative efforts of editorial board members, authors, reviewers, and editors to generate engaged and responsible research publications.

MASKANA adheres to the principles of the Code of Ethics of the University of Cuenca, which contemplate:

• Integrity and honesty in all aspects of the research.
• Rigor, care and excellence in conducting research.
• Transparency and open communication.
• Care and respect for all participants and research subjects.

MASKANA is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). We remain committed to promoting best practices in academic research and evaluation.

2. Editorial Team

MASKANA currently has an Editorial Team composed of Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor, Director, Editorial Managers, an Editorial Board and a Scientific Board of recognized experts. It also has the support of an International Board of Reviewers and a Technical Unit.

The Editorial Team is comprised of recognized experts in the journal's subject areas. The Editors provide the full names and affiliations of the members, as well as updated contact information on the journal's website.

In the Contact section, the e-mail, telephone and postal address of MASKANA's headquarters are provided for any inquiries.

3. Responsibilities of the authors

3.1. Publication cost policy

MASKANA does not charge article processing charges (APCs) to the authors. There are no fees or processing charges for manuscripts and/or publication materials.

Publication fees: none.

Filing fees: none.

As a scientific journal, we understand that some institutions may have limited funds for their research activities, especially those in developing countries. For this reason, MASKANA's open access publishing model does not require the author to cover article processing fees. All costs of the evaluation process, layout, editing and proofreading, web publishing and long-term archiving are covered by the Vice Rectorate for Research of the University of Cuenca (VIUC).

The contents of MASKANA are presented in open format and readers are entitled to access them free of charge from the moment of publication. The journal does not charge the reader.

3.2 Review policy

Authors are obliged, for each of the materials submitted, to undergo a peer review process and to follow the publication guidelines.

Authors are obliged to make requested changes and to correct errors. When changes are requested, the authors have a specific deadline to submit the modifications. In each case, the authors and reviewers will seek agreement on the deadline, depending on the nature and quantity of the changes requested.

Authors are required to submit retractions or corrections of errors.

3.3 Originality and plagiarism

Only unpublished and original research will be accepted. Those who send their article to MASKANA must ensure that it is an original document and that it does not usurp parts or fragments of other authors' publications. In addition, authors must confirm the authenticity of the data provided, assuring the Editorial Team that none of the empirical data has been altered to falsely verify the hypotheses. This confirmation will be made through the Cover Letter.

MASKANA shares and echoes the University of Cambridge (2019) definition of plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as “Using the ideas, words, data, or other material produced by another person without acknowledging it.”

Plagiarism can occur with respect to any type of sources and media, including:

• Text, illustrations, musical quotations, extended mathematical derivations, computer codes, etc.
• Material downloaded from websites or extracted from manuscripts or other media.
• Published and unpublished material, including lectures, presentations and grey literature.

We do not, under any circumstances, accept plagiarism in our publication, and reserve the right to check submissions through appropriate plagiarism checking tools. Submissions that evidence suspicion of plagiarism, in part or in whole, will be rejected. If plagiarism is discovered subsequent to publication, we will follow the guidelines set forth in the “Guidelines in case of retraction or corrections” section of this statement. We expect our readers and reviewers to report any suspicions of plagiarism either by contacting the editors or by sending an e-mail to maskana.diuc@ucuenca.edu.ec.

MASKANA uses the Turnitin anti-plagiarism system, which examines the similarity scores of manuscripts.Only 5% similarity is allowed.

3.4 Repetitive or multiple publications

Authors should not attempt to publish the same article or an article in which identical or similar results are repeated in more than one journal. An article submitted to MASKANA cannot be sent to any other publication during the editorial process (until notification of final acceptance or rejection).

3.5 Sources

Authors must provide a list of references, correctly detailing the sources used in the article and accurately citing the origin of the contributions.

3.6 About authorship and contribution

Authorship is established considering that all authors have contributed significantly to the work. The order of the authors should be evaluated in relation to their degree of responsibility, performance and involvement in the preparation of the article.

We consider as corresponding author the person who is in charge of the manuscript and correspondence throughout the editorial process.We request that the corresponding author confirm that he or she has the authority to act on behalf of each of the coauthors in all matters related to the publication of the article. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining such agreements and for informing the coauthors about the status of the manuscript during the submission, review, and publication processes. Likewise, the corresponding author acts as the main contact link for any queries once the article is published.

Authors must have made substantial contributions in the following activities 1) conception and design of the study, acquisition of data or data analysis and interpretation; 2) drafting of the article or critical revisions of the key intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be submitted.

Once the blind peer review process begins, no changes in the authorship of the submitted manuscript will be accepted. If a change of authors, or the addition or deletion of authors, is requested after the evaluation phase, the MASKANA Editorial Team will proceed according to the procedure specified in the COPE Code of Ethics.

Only in very exceptional cases will the Editorial Team consider the addition, deletion or reordering of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the request is being studied, the publication of the manuscript will be suspended.

3.7 Conflict of interest

Authors must explicitly declare the absence of conflicts of interest that may have affected the results obtained. To do so, they must accept the guidelines included in the checklist for the preparation of submissions, which appears in the Submissions section of the journal's web page.

The manuscript will be rejected if conflicts of interest are not declared. If a conflict of interest is discovered after publication, MASKANA will act in accordance with COPE guidelines.

3.8 References and sources of financing

Authors should submit a list of references and financial support if requested by the editorial board. All sources of research funding should be indicated, including direct and indirect financial support from sponsoring organizations and/or projects.

3.9 Responsibility

The authors accept intellectual and ethical responsibility for what they have written and presented. Likewise, they must make sure that they have reviewed the most relevant and updated scientific literature on the topic in question.

All authors are obliged to submit retractions or corrections of errors when they are detected.

3.10 Freedom of speech and false statements

Freedom of expression is essential to us as academic publishers, but we do not condone the publication of false statements that damage the reputation of individuals, groups or organizations.

4. Peer review process

4.1 Review process and editorial decision

The article evaluation system used is peer review, which is defined as obtaining advice on individual manuscripts from reviewers who are experts in the field.

MASKANA applies double-blind peer review: the reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, the authors do not know the identity of the reviewers, and the editors mediate between the two. This selection system helps the editors to decide on the proposed originals and makes it possible for the author to improve the submitted contribution. MASKANA manages its own database of high-level reviewers, based on the journal's policy on the criteria for identification, selection, evaluation, debugging and updating of the reviewers' database.

The reviewers are academics of doctoral level who have acquired scientific prestige and are chosen based on the affinity of their lines of research with the area of knowledge of the original. The reviewers undertake to make an objective, critical, reasonable and constructive evaluation, contributing with accurate and impartial comments on the scientific quality of the article and pointing out to the authors the amendments needed to improve its quality.

After their evaluation of the manuscript, reviewers will submit the corresponding evaluation forms, clearly presenting their reasons for accepting or rejecting the manuscript. Likewise, they will warn the MASKANA Editorial Team if they detect or suspect cases of duplicate or repetitive publications, conflicts of interest, unrealistic data or any other ethical dilemma.

The Editorial Team will act impartially on the decisions made by the reviewers. If an original is accepted by one reviewer and rejected by another, it will be sent to a third reviewer, whose decision will be decisive.

MASKANA is committed to editorial independence, and in all cases, we strive to prevent this principle from being undermined by conflicts of interest, or any other corporate, financial or political influence. Our editorial processes reflect this commitment to editorial independence.

We do not discriminate against authors, editors or reviewers based on their personal characteristics or identity.

We do not tolerate abusive behavior or correspondence toward our staff, or toward others involved in the publishing process. If anyone involved in the editorial process engages in such behavior, we have the right to take steps to protect others from this abuse. These measures may include, for example, not considering a manuscript at all or challenging abusive comments during peer review.

4.2 Respect of evaluation deadlines

The reviewers undertake to carry out the requested review within the maximum deadlines established by the MASKANA Editorial Team, respecting them scrupulously.

If the reviewer does not feel competent to review the assigned manuscript, or if it is impossible for him/her to complete the review in the time allotted, he/she will immediately notify the Editorial Team.

4.3 Confidentiality

The original manuscripts to be reviewed will not present any identifying information about the authors or the institutions to which they belong. The reviewer will examine the work sent to him/her with absolute confidentiality and will refrain from discussing the document with third parties without the clear consent of the MASKANA Editorial Team.

4.4 Objectivity

Peer review will be conducted in an objective manner. The reviewers will not express personal judgments about the authors or the original submissions. They should provide a thoughtful justification for their assessments and submit the evaluation form in accordance with the rules indicated therein, especially if the article is to be rejected. It should be noted that a score of less than 70 points will result in rejection.

4.5 Responsible publication of research: Responsibilities of reviewers

All reviewers must be familiar with and take into account the editorial policy and the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement (PEMS).

The journal requires reviewers to have scientific expertise or significant work experience in a relevant field.

They must have recently conducted research or signed articles, and have acquired peer-reviewed expertise. Potential reviewers must provide accurate professional and personal information, so that their experience is clearly evidenced.

Similarly, reviewers should withdraw if they feel that they are not sufficiently qualified to evaluate a manuscript, if they feel that their assessment of the material will not be objective, or if they discover that they have a conflict of interest.

Reviewed articles are treated confidentially by the reviewers and members of the Editorial Team.

Reviewers should point out relevant published works that have not yet been cited in the document under review. The editor, if necessary, may request corrections in this regard.

Reviewers are requested to identify documents where research misconduct has occurred, or appears to have occurred, and to report it to the Editorial Team, who will deal with the matter accordingly.

MASKANA is modeled on best ethical practices, based on those established by the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers: https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines-new/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers.

4.6 Disclosure

Information related to the double-blind peer review process cannot be used for personal purposes, nor can it be shared with people outside the editorial process.

4.7 Conflict of interest of reviewers

Reviewers must not have any conflict of interest.

Reviewers should inform the editorial team immediately if they suspect that the original manuscript has undeclared conflicts of interest.

A reviewer should decline to complete the review if presented with a potential conflict of interest with respect to the assigned manuscript. For example,

• whether you collaborate or have collaborated with one or more of the alleged perpetrators
• whether it is a competitor or maintains a scientific rivalry
• if you feel antipathy towards one or more of the alleged perpetrators
• if you have a close relationship with one or more of the alleged authors and are therefore unable to evaluate the manuscript objectively
• whether it can benefit in any way if the work is published or rejected.

5. Ethical oversight of the publication process

5.1 Report

MASKANA's Editorial Team ensures the selection of qualified and expert reviewers who will issue a scientific and critical opinion of the original document, avoiding any kind of bias, discrimination or favoritism.

Once the editorial process has been completed, and based on the scientific evaluations of the reviewers, the articles of the highest quality and with the greatest contribution are selected for publication.

MASKANA's Editorial Team will take the most reasonable measures to identify and prevent the publication of articles in which research misconduct has occurred. Under no circumstances will the journal or its editors encourage such misconduct, nor will they knowingly allow it to occur.  In the event that the MASKANA Editorial Team becomes aware of any allegations of research misconduct, such allegations will be dealt with appropriately.

The MASKANA Editorial Team will not tolerate or encourage bad practices, such as plagiarism, fabrication of data, duplicity, fragmented publication, or any type of fraud or research misconduct. If such violations are discovered, they will be evaluated by members of the Editorial Team and appropriate action will be taken.

5.2 Confidentiality

The MASKANA Editorial Team undertakes not to disclose any information about the originals received, except to the authors, reviewers or editors of the journal. Likewise, the anonymity of authors and reviewers will be promoted at all times.

5.3 Conflict of interest

The Editorial Team undertakes not to use in its research the content of the articles submitted for evaluation without prior consent of the authors. Likewise, any conflict of interest between authors and editors will be avoided.

The editor and members of the editorial management team must immediately inform the Editorial Team if there are conflicts of interest before receiving an article. If this is the case, they will be prevented from taking part in the editorial process of the original.

The submission of original manuscripts by members of the MASKANA Editorial Team will be restricted.

5.4 Observance of publication deadlines

The MASKANA Editorial Team is committed to meeting the deadlines for the evaluation and publication of the original manuscripts. When a manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors will be contacted indicating the number of the journal and the date it will be published.

5.5 Errors in published articles

The MASKANA Editorial Team, if necessary, is open to make corrections and to publish clarifications, retractions and apologies. For this purpose, the Editorial Team will refer to the case study provided by COPE.

In the event of suspicions of unethical conduct in relation to the submission of an original or the publication of an article, the resolutions of the MASKANA Editorial Team will be determined within the framework established by COPE.

The following is a list of the most common cases of unethical conduct and the corresponding course of action, linked with reference to COPE:

1. Suspicions of plagiarism in an original received.
2. Suspicions of plagiarism in a published article.
3. Suspicions of duplicity in an original received.
4. Suspicions of duplicity in a published article.
5. Evaluator suspects undisclosed conflict of interest in an original received.
6. Reader suspects a conflict of interest in a published article.
7. Suspicion of an ethical problem in an original manuscript.
8. Suspicion of fabricated data in an original manuscript.
9. Suspicion of fabricated data in a published article.
10. Request to add additional authors prior to publication.
11. Request to add additional authors after publication.
12. Request to remove authors prior to publication.
13. Request to remove authors after publication.

5.6 Guidelines in case of retraction or corrections

A. Editors' Responsibilities.

In case of misconduct, the journal editor is responsible for resolving the problem. He/she may collaborate with the co-editor, members of the editorial board and scientific committee, reviewers, and experts in the field.

B. Documentation.

The problem shall be documented as appropriate.

All factual issues shall be documented: who, what, when, where, where, why.

All relevant documents, particularly the items in question, shall be retained.

C. Procedure for authors.

The journal editor will contact the author or publication involved, whether it is the author submitting to MASKANA or another publication or author. In this way, the author has the opportunity to respond or comment on the complaint, allegation or dispute.

D. Timely corrections and post-publication discussions.

In the event that misconduct has occurred or appears to have occurred, or in the case of necessary corrections, the MASKANA Editorial Team will address the various cases following the appropriate COPE recommendations. Great care will be taken to distinguish cases of honest human error from deliberate intent to defraud.

COPE states that:

Journal editors should consider retracting a publication if they have clear evidence that the results are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g., fabrication of data) or honest error (e.g., computational or experimental error). Retraction is also appropriate in cases of redundant publication, plagiarism, and unethical research.

Journal editors should consider issuing an expression of concern if : 1) they have reason to believe that there has been research or publication misconduct on the part of the authors, but do not have sufficient evidence, 2) there is evidence that the results are unreliable, but the authors' institution will not investigate the case, 3) they believe that an investigation into the alleged publication-related misconduct has not been, or would not be, fair, impartial, or conclusive, 4) or there is an ongoing investigation, but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time.

Journal editors should consider publishing a correction if a small part of an otherwise reliable article turns out to be misleading (especially because of an honest mistake), or the list of authors/contributors is incorrect (i.e., a deserving author has been omitted or someone who does not meet the authorship criteria has been included).

Source: COPE Retraction Guidelines,

https://publicationethics.org/node/19896

In summary, the MASKANA Editorial Team will consider retracting a publication in the event of misconduct; issuing an expression of concern in the event of inconclusive evidence of misconduct; or issuing a request for correction of a misleading segment.

MASKANA has taken as an example the best ethical practices found in COPE's Responsible Research Publication section: International Standards for Publishers: https://publicationethics.org/files/International%20standard_editors_for%20website_11_Nov_2011.pdf

The journal is open to any dialogue or discussion based on mutual respect and within the framework of the current editorial policy.

6. Patrimonial and access rights

6.1 Copyrights and data Exchange

Articles published in Maskana journal will be subject to the following terms:

The University of Cuenca, through its Vice-Rectorate for Research, as the publishing entity, will reserve the copyright of the published articles; it will encourage their reuse through the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International license, which allows copying, use, dissemination, transmission and public exhibition as long as:

• Authorship and original sources are cited (name of publication, publisher, URL and DOI).
• Do not use for commercial or lucrative purposes.
• Reference is made to the validity and details of the Creative Commons license.

The following license and copyright agreement is valid for any article submitted from August 14, 2023 onwards.

The authors retain the copyright of the article.

• The authors grant to the Vice Rectorate for Research of the University of Cuenca (VIUC) a non-exclusive irrevocable license to publish the article electronically and in print, and to identify themselves as the original publisher.
• The authors grant commercial rights to the Vice Rectorate of Research of the University of Cuenca (VIUC) to produce printed volumes of the journal for sale to libraries and individuals, if deemed necessary.
• The authors grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as the original authors and citation details are identified.
• Only for special cases in which, for example, the author wishes to transfer the copyright to an institution, please refer to the section on copyright transfers. Articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license, unless otherwise noted.

According to CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license:

You are free to:

Share — share and redistribute published material in any medium or format.

Adapt — remix, transform and build upon the material.

Under the following conditions:

	Attribution - You must give proper credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but in no way that suggests that the licensor endorses you or your use.
	Non-commercial - You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
	Share Alike - If you remix, transform or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. Sin restricciones adicionales: no puede aplicar términos legales o medidas tecnológicas que restrinjan legalmente a otros a hacer cualquier cosa que permita la licencia.

Notices

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material that are in the public domain or whose use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.

No warranty is given. The license may not give you all the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy or moral rights may limit your use of the material.

Reproduction Requests (Reproducibility)

All articles published by MASKANA on behalf of the Vice Rectorate for Research of the University of Cuenca have been licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license since August 14, 2023 or under its previous version 3.0 from 2010-2017 and Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License from 2017 until July 2023. Under these licenses authors retain copyright. It is not necessary, on the part of the publisher, to allow / confirm a reproduction. We suggest contacting the authors to inform them about further use of the material. In any case, authors must be credited.

6.2 Censorship

We will never be complicit in censorship. MASKANA is fully committed to the principle and promotion of freedom of expression. Our aim is to disseminate knowledge to as many people as possible and to serve the academic community in all countries of the world. MASKANA adheres to the COPE Position Statement on Censorship.

7. Complaints and appeals policy

Any complaint or appeal related to the lack of compliance with ethical editorial practices referred to in the editorial process will be addressed and resolved by MASKANA. Specifically, it is possible to refer the actions of the editorial team in cases related to:

• Non-publication of an article: A thorough review of the claimant's arguments will be carried out, which will not imply any commitment to publish.
• Plagiarism: The Turnitin tool will be used by the Editorial Team to establish an objective basis prior to any resolution. If this is not sufficient, the assessment of an external examiner will be used.
• Disagreement with the result of the peer review: the author's point of view will be studied and, if necessary, a new reviewer will be asked to make the final decision.
• Conduct of editors: to be reviewed jointly with the Scientific Council.

In all these cases, or in any other situation of complaint by authors or readers, a properly identified and signed letter should be sent to the following e-mail address: maskana.diuc@ucuenca.edu.ec, describing the details and motivation of the complaint.

After examining the letter and verifying that it has the essential formal elements to represent a justified complaint or appeal, the Editorial Team will proceed to respond and resolve the matter.

8. Archive

MASKANA, like the electronic journals of the University of Cuenca managed through OJS (Open Journal Systems), uses the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) system for digital preservation. The LOCKSS system allows a journal, with the permission of the publisher, to collect, preserve and disseminate to its users a copy of the materials to which it has subscribed, as well as open access material for preservation and restoration purposes. Additionally, the journal has activated the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) plugin, which allows journals in OJS to digitally preserve their content.

In addition, the University of Cuenca has daily automatic backup processes that maintain the integrity of the journals and their stored data. These backups are performed in different geographic locations, so that data is not lost in the event of a serious physical event.

Finally, MASKANA adheres to databases that act as open access repositories, preserving articles in PDF and XML format independently of the journal. For example, the Dialnet database. As a result, there is permanent external support for the journal's articles and greater visibility for them.

For complete information, see the Content Preservation section.

8.1 Authors' self-archiving

In relation to self-archiving, authors can reuse published articles. That is, they can be archived as long as it is not for commercial purposes, and they can be deposited in thematic or institutional repositories.

9. Ownership and management

Complete information on MASKANA's ownership and management can be found in the About the Journal section.

MASKANA is owned and managed by the Vice Rectorate for Research of the University of Cuenca, which will always be clearly indicated on the journal's website. The publisher does not use names of organizations that may mislead potential authors and editors about the nature of the owner of the journal.

10.Web Site

MASKANA is a journal managed entirely through OJS (Open Journal Systems). The publisher, through the MASKANA journal website (maskana.ucuenca.edu.ec), will always demonstrate that care is taken to ensure high ethical and professional standards.  Special care has been taken in the internal management of the OJS to ensure that the rigorousness of the evaluation processes is transparent.

In addition to the editorial staff, who manage the website, MASKANA has the support of a professional technical team from the Technical Service of the University of Cuenca, with whom we have worked together to install a current version of the OJS system.

11. Publication schedule

MASKANA journal publishes two biannual issues per year, corresponding to the months of June and December.

The periodicity with which MASKANA is published is clearly indicated in the section About the journal - System of publication and periodicity.

12. Name of the journal

MASKANA is the name of the journal. The name MASKANA is and will be unique and univocal, and will not be easily confused with another publication or mislead potential authors and readers as to the origin of the journal or its association with other journals.