Author Guidelines
Metode Science Studies Journal (ISSN 2174-3487 - eISSN 2174-9221) is a yearly peer-reviewed journal that publishes commentaries, reviews and analysis on current research and science communication. We accept articles on all fields of science, which undergo a double-blind peer review quality process.
■ Submission of Manuscripts
The journal is open to the reception of articles subjected to the theme of each issue’s monograph, or a theme of their choice to be published as independent documents. Metode Science Studies Journal covers the publication costs of accepted papers. Metode Science Studies Journal does not have either article submission charges or article processing charges. The publication of an article will originate no cost for the author.
All submissions should be made online through the Metode Science Studies Journal Open Journal System site. New users should first create an account HERE.
Important: Users of the University of Valencia have to indicate they are members of the University of Valencia when they create the account in the Metode SSJ site and they have to register their username and password of their UV account.
If you already have a username and password for Metode Science Studies Journal, you can LOG IN HERE and click New Submission.
■ Peer-Reviewed Research Articles
Research articles are the texts that make up Metode Science Studies Journal’s scientific corpus. The journal welcomes academic papers either subject to the topic of the monograph for every issue or other topics to be published as independent documentary texts.
The papers in Metode SSJ are not primarily results-oriented, but rather reviews of the state of the art on a given topic. Therefore, the texts combine an academic nature with a more essayistic tone. The review of a topic allows the reader to become acquainted with the latest advances in a field or discipline, and compiles the most important references in a given field.
These articles undergo a double blind peer review process. The content of the articles must be original and not have been simultaneously submitted to any other publication. Metode Science Studies Journal takes action to avoid plagiarism and any other possible malpractice. The journal has a strong commitment with transparency. The author or authors must specify whether or not their research received any kind of economic aid and, if necessary, write a declaration of conflict of interest. Please, check Metode Science Studies Journal's Ethical Code before submitting your document.
Research articles: 16,000-20,000 characters (including spaces). Research articles are texts reviewing or analysing results of a certain scientific field or aspects of a certain discipline. They can be included in a monograph or thematic dossier (for which call-for-papers are done periodically), or they can be free-topic works to published independently.
Documentary texts: 16,000-25,000 characters (including spaces). Documentary texts are longer works including exhaustive reviews of the state of a scientific field and its analysis from a multi-disciplinary perspective. These articles will be published in the non-monographic section of the journal.
All articles submitted to Metode Science Studies Journal must respect the specified character length for each kind of text.
Preparation of the file for revision
- The paper will be sent in a main file (Microsoft Word or equivalent), without any reference or identification of the authors.
- The paper must have a cover page, sent as a complementary file, with: title and subtitle, abstract, keywords and identification data of all the authors (name, affiliation, biography, email and postal address).
Specific Guidelines for Peer Review Articles
Articles to be included within Monographs, Dossiers and Documentary texts have to follow the following guidelines:
- Articles must have a title and a subtitle.
- Articles must have a 100-120 word abstract.
- Five keywords must be included.
- Text. It is always better to structure the text in titled sections (unnumbered).
- Pictures must have their corresponding caption and credit.
- Tables and figures may be included if the authors consider it necessary.
- Articles may include footnotes when they are indispensable.
- Articles must include references at the end of the manuscript (no more than 15).They must follow the following citation guidelines.
- The signature and affiliation of the authors will be indicated in an independent file in order to ensure the blind review. This file must include the full name and affiliation of the authors (name, position, department and institution), as well as a brief biographical note (2 or 3 sentences) for each author.
■ Gender perspective
Mètode Science Studies Journal considers good gender equality practices. Before submitting an article, the journal advises authors to read the specific recommendations of the University of Valencia (see the Interuniversity Style Guide, section 6).
Whenever possible, authors are expected to:
- use a plural pronoun (they, their, etc.) when describing groups of people of different sexes or individuals whose gender is unknown;
- use gender-neutral titles (e.g., chairperson, ombuds officer, etc.);
- avoid re-gendering neutral words (e.g., *male nurse);
- generally speaking, authors are expected to use non-discriminatory language and make gender visible only when it is relevant for communication.
■ References Guidelines
Metode Science Studies Journal uses the APA style guide (7th edition) for referencing. We recommend checking: American Psychological Association. (2021). Common reference examples guide. https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf
Citations
1) Text citations must be incorporated in the main body of the text between guillemets («»). When necessary, they must be ordered as follows: « “ ‘ ’ ”».
2) Longer citations (more than three lines) should be copied, without quotes or italics, in a separate paragraph, with the margin indented from the main text and a smaller font size.
3) Should part of the text be omitted, the position of the missing text should be indicated by square brackets: [...]. Any aside/statement written by the person quoting should also be placed between square brackets.
4) The text citations must be preceded by the abbreviated citation (Author, year, pages), thus significantly reducing the number of footnotes.
5) In the case of literary citations, it is preferable to reproduce them in the original language and, when necessary, accompany them by a translation into English in an endnote.
■ Submission and Acceptance of Articles
Peer Review Process
Works sent to Metode Science Studies Journal as Monograph articles, dossiers or documentary texts will undergo a double blind peer-review evaluation process. Authors must register here and sent the document through Metode Science Studies Journal’s OJS platform. Should the author find any technical difficulty, please contact metodessj@uv.es.
Articles received for these sections will be previously assessed by the Editorial Board and they will determine the adequacy of the text to the theme and formal rules in the Author Guidelines. In case these Guidelines are met, the article will be submitted for external review. The identity of the reviewers will be confidential and the authors will not have access to it. Reviewers –external to the Editorial Board, Advisory Board and Scientific Board– can approve the article, ask for changes and modifications that will require further review by the experts, or reject the article. If only one of the experts rejects the article, the text will be submitted to a third assessor. In case of conflict, the journal will pay attention to the allegations as soon as possible, following Metode Science Studies Journal’s Ethical Code.
Guarantee for blind review. The article must include a first page with the title and subtitle, abstract and keywords, as well as the name, affiliation and contact of the authors. Other elements such as the acknowledgements must be included also in this page, which will be removed in the process of review for the submission to assessors. The rest of the article must not have any element identifying the author or authors.
Non Peer-reviewed Articles
Articles sent to all other sections (Op-Ed articles, comments, interviews, book reviews) will be evaluated by the journal’s Editorial Board or by members of the Advisory Board, who will check that articles meet the author guidelines and that are suitable for the journal’s quality and themes. It is advisable to contact the coordinators of each section before writing your text.
■ Artwork
When the author attaches images with the text (graphs, charts, illustrations or photos), they must be presented separately, properly numbered, indicating the location within the text with footnotes, legends, titles and explanations.
Digitized artwork should be presented observing the following:
- The size of the image should be at least as large as the one to be published, with a 300 dpi resolution.
- Scanner input resolution should be at least 300 dpi. Scanned images should be saved at this resolution and a screen ruling of 133 lpi (lines per inch).
- Preferably images should be in TIFF (uncompressed) or EPS.
If the author does not attach images, suggestions as to whom could illustrate the article are welcome.
■ Submission and Publication Languages
Metode Science Studies Journal publishes in English.
The main language for article submission is English, but articles in Catalan and Spanish will be also accepted. Once accepted for publication, Metode Science Studies Journal will translate the article if necessary. Every article published in Metode Science Studies Journal undergoes a process of style, format, and linguistic revision.
■ Technical Requirements
The text must be submitted in a single file. Preferably this should be done with the word processor Microsoft Word, for Macintosh or Windows.
■ Font
It is important to present the article in a common font (preferably Times), especially if it includes mathematical formulae or symbols, phonetic or otherwise. In any case, TrueType fonts must be employed.
