Publications ethics statement

The Journal Entre Ciencia e Ingeniería is governed by the international standards published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) [1], [2], in order to carry out a transparent editorial process both in the process of publishing scientific articles and in the procedures related to the resolution of associated conflicts. Accordingly, the editorial team of the Journal Entre Ciencia e Ingeniería is committed to ensuring that all parties (editors, peer reviewers, and authors) comply with ethical standards at each stage of the editorial process.             

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Integrity in Research

  • Authors must ensure that their research is conducted honestly and transparently.
  • All data and results must be reported accurately, without manipulation or bias.
  • Ethical standards accepted in the relevant discipline must be followed.
  • Any type of research misconduct, including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism, must be avoided.

Transparency in Publication

  • The Journal is committed to providing fair, impartial, and prompt review of manuscripts.
  • Authors should clearly and completely describe their research methods to facilitate the reproducibility of results.
  • Sources of funding and any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
  • The Journal will publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.

Respect for Intellectual Property

  • All submitted works must be original and must not have been previously published.
  • Authors should acknowledge and appropriately cite the contributions of other researchers.
  • Use of copyrighted material must be permitted or justified under fair use.

Diversity in Authorship

  • The journal promotes inclusion and diversity in all aspects of authorship and review.
  • No form of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or other personal characteristics will be tolerated.
  • Collaboration and co-authorship among researchers from different backgrounds and disciplines are encouraged.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORS

Originality and Plagiarism

  • Authors must guarantee that their work is original and free from plagiarism.
  • All significant sources and contributions must be properly cited.
  • Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes a serious breach of ethics and is unacceptable.

Data and Reproducibility

  • Authors must provide accurate and detailed data that allows reproducibility of their results.
  • They should be prepared to provide raw data if requested by reviewers or editors.
  • Poor data management, such as the omission of conflicting data, is unacceptable.

Conflict of Interest

  • Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their work.
  • They should include detailed disclosures about any financial support or other relationships that could be considered conflicts of interest.

Corrections and Retractions

  • If significant errors are discovered in their work, authors should immediately inform the editors and cooperate in publishing corrections or retractions as necessary.
  • The intentional omission of known errors is a serious violation of publication ethics.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS

Confidentiality

  • Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and refrain from sharing information with third parties.
  • Reviewers must not use information obtained during the review process for their benefit.

Objectivity and Constructiveness

  • Reviews should be objective and constructive, providing clear criticism and suggestions for improving the manuscript.
  • Personal, commercial or ideological factors should not influence them.

Conflicts of Interest

  • Reviewers should inform the editors of any potential conflicts of interest and refrain from reviewing manuscripts where such conflicts exist.
  • Conflicts of interest can be personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political, or religious.

Speed

  • Reviewers must complete their evaluations within the agreed-upon timeframe and notify editors if they experience delays.
  • Unnecessary or intentional delays in the review process are unacceptable.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS

Publication Decisions

  • Editors are responsible for making decisions about the publication of manuscripts based on the scholarly quality and merit of the work, without being influenced by commercial or personal interests.
  • Decisions must be fair and impartial, and should be based on peer review and the originality of the work.

Equity and Transparency

  • Editors must ensure that the review process is fair, impartial, and transparent.
  • They must provide clear feedback and justify their decisions.
  • They must refrain from using their position for personal or professional gain.

Confidentiality

  • Editors must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and not disclose details to anyone outside the review process.
  • Editors must not use information obtained during the review process for their benefit.

Corrections and Retractions

  • Editors should facilitate the publication of corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.
  • They must collaborate with authors to correct errors and maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

AUTHORSHIP CREDIT (CONTRIBUTOR ROLES TAXONOMY)

 The Journal Entre Ciencia e Ingeniería considers that an author of a published work is a person who has made a significant intellectual contribution to it. According to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)[1] guidelines, to be considered an author of a scientific article, three main requirements must be met: substantial contribution to the work, writing or critical revision of the text, and final approval of the version to be published. Authorship implies shared responsibility for the content of the article and should be attributed to those who have made significant contributions to both the research and the manuscript, in accordance with the ethical guidelines for publication.

Substantial contribution:

Each author must have made a significant contribution to the work. It includes:

  • Conception and design of the study: Having participated in the planning and design of the research project.
  • Data Acquisition: Having collected or generated the data that supports the study.
  • Data analysis and interpretation: Having analyzed the data and/or interpreted the results obtained.

 Writing and critical review :

The person must have actively participated in the writing of the article or the critical review of the text, contributing relevant intellectual content.

Final approval:

The person must have reviewed and approved the final version of the article to be submitted for publication.

When submitting an article, the author must include information on their contributions in the format established in the guidelines for authors, which are available on the page. To specify each author's contribution to the work, it is recommended to use the criteria established by the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) taxonomy [3]. CRediT classifies in detail the possible contributions of a researcher to the development of a scientific article resulting from research. This taxonomy provides transparency in the contributions of researchers to published scientific articles, improving the system of attribution, credit, and responsibility. The taxonomy is listed below.

  1. Conceptualization: Formulation of ideas, objectives, and general goals of the research.
  2. Methodology: Development and/or design of the methodology, creation of models.
  3. Software: Software programming and development, computer program design, code and algorithm implementation, testing of code components.
  4. Validation: Verification of the replicability and reproducibility of results, experiments, and other research products.
  5. Formal analysis: Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other procedures to analyze and synthesize data.
  6. Investigation: Conduct the formal research process, specifically conducting experiments or collecting data/evidence.
  7. Resources: Provide study materials, reagents, patients, animals, laboratory samples, instruments, computing resources, or other tools for analysis.
  8. Data curation: Activities to generate metadata, cleanse data, and preserve research data for later reuse.
  9. Writing – Original Draft: Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including translation).
  10. Writing – Review and Editing: Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of published work by members of the original research team, specifically critical review and commentary, including the pre- or post-publication stage.
  11. Display: Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of published work, specifically the visualization and presentation of data.
  12. Supervision: Conducting and leading the planning and execution of the research, including advising the core team.
  13. Project management: Management and coordination of research planning and execution activities.
  14. Acquisition of funds: Acquisition of financial support for the implementation and publication of the project.

AUTHORSHIP AND RESPONSIBLE USE OF AI OR AI-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGIES 

The Journal Entre Ciencia e Ingeniería follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) position statement [2] regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technology in the preparation of manuscripts. Tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Bing, as well as other Large Language Models (LLMs), do not meet the authorship criteria and therefore cannot be included as authors on manuscripts.

In situations where AI or AI-assisted tools have been used in the preparation of a manuscript, this should be adequately declared with sufficient detail at the time of submission through the cover letter (Letter of Originality). Furthermore, authors should be transparent about the use of these tools and disclose details of how the AI tool was used. It can be done in the "Materials and Methods" section, in addition to providing details of the AI tool's product in the "Acknowledgments" section.

Authors are fully responsible for the originality, validity, and integrity of the content of their manuscript, including any material contributed by AI or AI-assisted tools. They must ensure, through careful review, that this content complies with all publication ethics policies of the Journal Entre Ciencia e Ingeniería.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Transparency and Accountability

  • Clarity of Use: Articles that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) should clearly describe the role of AI in the research, including the methods and algorithms employed.
  • Accountability: Authors and the Journal are responsible for the results obtained through AI, ensuring that data and models are used ethically and accurately.

Data Integrity

  • Quality and Truthfulness: The data used to train and validate AI models must be accurate, complete, and of high quality.
  • No Manipulation: Data should not be manipulated to obtain favorable or misleading results.

 Equity and Non-Discrimination

  • Avoid Biases: Steps should be taken to identify and mitigate potential biases in AI algorithms that could lead to discriminatory outcomes.

Privacy and Security

  • Data Protection: Ensure the privacy and security of data used in the development and application of AI, in compliance with current data protection regulations.
  • Informed Consent: Ensure that any use of personal data is carried out with the informed consent of the individuals whose data is being used.

ETHICS IN PUBLICATION AND PEER REVIEW

  • Transparency in Review: Reviewers and editors should be transparent about their use of AI tools in the peer review process.
  • Impartiality: Ensuring that editorial decisions are not unduly influenced by AI technology.

MAIN ACTIONS BY THE EDITOR AND/OR THE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE IN CASES WHERE THE JOURNAL'S CODE OF ETHICS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IS VIOLATED.

An article is rejected when, in any of the reviews conducted by the Editorial Board or Peer Reviewers, it is found to violate the journal's ethics. On the other hand, an article is retracted when it has already been published and, for any reason, it is evident that it violated the journal's ethics. The following are considered violations of the journal's ethics:

  • It constitutes plagiarism and previously published results: if it is verified that the published results belong to another researcher or that the information has been previously published by the same author or by other authors, and does not have the respective recognition with the referencing standards.
  • The findings are unreliable: it may be evident that the published results contain erroneous calculations or that they correspond to a flawed or rigged experiment.
  • There is material or data that has not been authorized for use. It has been verified that another researcher obtained the material or data used, and this researcher has not authorized its use.
  • Copyright infringement (plagiarism and self-plagiarism): The author(s) have violated copyright by failing to provide credit in the publication through proper referencing.
  • Report of the Investigation for Ethical Violations: An entity or person reports an investigation into ethical violations in its conduct.
  • The publication was made with the endorsement of manipulated reviewers : It is verified that the reviewers have rescinded their endorsement by manipulating the authors.
  • Double submission: The authors have submitted the article to at least two journals simultaneously.
  • Conflict of interest: A conflict of interest on the part of the authors is found that unduly affects the publication.
  • In the case of article rejection: the Editor will send a communication to the authors rejecting the article and indicating the reason for the breach of the journal's ethics that has been demonstrated.
  • In the case of retraction of an article: the Editor will send a communication to the authors indicating the reason why the article will be retracted, evidencing there the breach of ethics of the journal, once this step has been completed, heard from the authors and ratified the breach of ethics of the journal, a watermark will be made in the article and a footnote will indicate the reason why the article is retracted, in this case the retraction of the article will be informed through a communication to the databases and indexes where the journal is indexed.
  • Deletion of articles: The deletion of an article is carried out once it has been published. It is uncommon and is only taken as an extreme measure when it goes against ethical principles and good practices in publications. The cases in which the Entre Ciencia e Ingeniería Journal would carry out this action are:
    • The article defames or violates the legal rights of others, only if retraction is not a sufficient measure.
    • By court order, due to a conflict of interest, the article is required to be withdrawn.
    • If the article poses a serious health risk, it provides compelling reasons that demonstrate the publication may pose risks to the health of readers.
    • In the case of the elimination of an article, the Editor will send a communication to the authors indicating the reason why the article will be eliminated, evidencing there the breach of ethics of the ournal, once this step has been completed, heard the authors and ratified the breach of ethics of the ournal, the article is eliminated, an Errata is made in the next issue of the ournal indicating the elimination of the article and the reason why the decision was made, in this case the elimination of the article will be informed through a communication to the databases and indexes where the journal is indexed.

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[1] COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. Committee on Publication Ethics. [Enlace al documento](https://publicationethics.org/files/Ethical_guidelines_for_peer_reviewers_0.pdf).
[2] Directrices COPE para la conducta ética en la publicación académica. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).