Submissions

Author Guidelines

Guidelines for authors

No charges apply for authors to publish their work in the journal

All authors must indicate their ORCID identification number. If you do not have one, you can get one at www.orcid.org.

Authors will indicate to which section of the journal they are sending their manuscript.

In the case of multiple authors, the sender will declare that he/she has the approval of each one of them for their inclusion, as well as the actual contribution to the submitted manuscript.

In the case of more than four authors, the effective contribution of the number of signatories will be valued considering the sent manuscript, being able to require a justification to the first of the listed authors.

The authors certify that the submissions have not been and will not be presented in other scientific publications, transferring the exploitation rights to the journal for the dissemination of the article in any of the possible formats (printed, electronic, media, social networks or any other).

In the case of research promoted or financed by institutions or persons other than the authors, an express declaration is required from

- Permission to send the manuscript.

- Permission to access the sources and other materials related to the original scientific data on which the submitted articles are based, in order to ensure their validity, both before and after the publication of the article.

In the case of existing, the manuscript must explain the support received for the studies presented: scholarships, equipment, financial support...

In the case of acknowledgements, authors must certify that the persons mentioned have contributed substantially (although without meeting the criteria for authorship), and that they have obtained permission to be named in the manuscript.

In the case of research involving medical research on human subjects, authors are required to adopt the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

The journal reserves the right to request the opinion of the ethics committee in which the research is carried out.

These same principles may be required in the case of research involving experimentation on animals, in all cases requiring compliance with current legislation in Spain and in the country where the research is carried out.

The journal reserves the right to request the opinion of the ethics committee in which the research is carried out.

Research must respect the dignity and privacy of individuals, adhering to the European legislation developed in the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD) and respecting the code of conduct and ethical principles of the American Psychological Association (APA).

It is recommended to follow Universitat de Barcelona's Style Guide.

The submission of manuscripts requires the declaration of acceptance of the introduction of possible corrections of style, correction of grammatical and typographical errors, without introducing in any case changes in its substantial content.

All authors must indicate their complete professional affiliation: position, work centre (name of the institution, department or services, city, country, e-mail). Institutional names should begin with a capital letter: Unit, University, Faculty, Department, Hospital... Proper names, including those of institutions or services, should not be translated.

Authors should indicate if they have a degree in Social Work and specify which one if so. This is intended to facilitate communication during the publication process, considering that this is a journal of Social Work and not of other disciplines.

Authors will receive notification of the receipt of their manuscript from the submission management system and feedback about the publication process. This motivation may be given prior to acceptance of the manuscript if it does not meet minimum requirements (e.g., original article, focus and scope of the journal, etc.), and once it is accepted for review, the assessment and comments of external reviewers are offered in all cases.

1. Criteria for acceptance of manuscripts

The originality of the manuscripts is necessary, valuing their actuality and novelty, the applicability of results and/or contribution to scientific knowledge, the methodological quality and the formal aspects of presentation (clarity, precision, organization and coherence).

At least one of the signatories of the submitted manuscript must have a degree in Social Work. In this way, the editorial line of the journal is guaranteed (see Focus and Scope section). Similarly, manuscripts that do not respond to this editorial line will not be accepted.

The original language of the manuscripts will be Spanish or / and English.

2. Content of the manuscripts

2.1. Articles

The maximum length of the articles is 7,000 words, including title, abstract, graphic elements, bibliographic references and annexes.

Title of the articles

It must be clear, precise and informative. In Spanish and English.

Summary

Maximum length of 250 words. In Spanish and English.

The summary must allow the reader to understand the characteristics and contents of the research presented. Thus, it must contain:

- A brief introduction, which can be limited to indicating what is presented.

- Objective or general objectives.

- Applied methodology, indicating design, type of study, instruments, temporality...

- Outstanding result(s).

- Most relevant conclusion(s).

- In case the manuscript contains proposals, also highlight the most relevant one.
Maximum length of 250 words. In Spanish and English.

The summary must allow the reader to understand the characteristics and contents of the research presented. Thus, it must contain:

- A brief introduction, which can be limited to indicating what is presented.

- Objective or general objectives.

- Applied methodology, indicating design, type of study, instruments, temporality...

- Outstanding result(s).

- Most relevant conclusion(s).

- In case the manuscript contains proposals, also highlight the most relevant one.

Keywords

Minimum 3 and maximum 5.

Text of the manuscript

It should respect the following format derived from IMRYD: Introduction, methodology, results, discussion, conclusions and bibliography. Within this structure, variations may be presented that respond to the same logic, for example: introduction, theoretical framework, objectives, methodology, analysis, conclusions, acknowledgements and bibliography.

As a guide, the sections and their contents are described:

- Introduction. Introduction of the topic and/or problem addressed, which may include the socio-political context, mention of similar studies and a description of what they offer a response to and what they do not, as well as an explanation of what the manuscript contributes. The introductions should not be used to list the sections included in the article.

- Theoretical framework. Brief theoretical conceptualization that allows understanding the context in which the research, results and analysis are located. The theoretical framework allows the reader to know about the reality that is being addressed, the concepts and the theoretical contributions that guide the article. Sometimes it can be useful to structure the theoretical framework into subsections.

A quality theoretical framework contains a variety of bibliographic sources, thus allowing a broader and richer vision of the complexity of the topic or problem being addressed. Tables, graphs and/or diagrams can also be included to synthesize the information.

- Objectives. They must be clearly listed, both general and specific objectives. They should always begin with verbs in the infinitive, which provide guidance on the scope of the tasks to achieve them and the type of information obtained and generated. It is recommended to be as concrete as possible and not to use verbs that go beyond the depth worked. In any case, it is recommended that they be clear enough to be understood outside the context of the manuscript.

- Methodology. It should be as transparent as possible. It may include sub-sections such as: design, scope and population under study, field work and instruments, procedures, information analysis, ethical aspects, limitations. It may also include a section on procedures, to highlight and describe the processes and steps taken to carry out the field work.

The ethical aspects must ensure that the research has been carried out in accordance with ethical codes and laws (institutional permits, data protection laws, informed consent)

The limitations of the study are of necessary inclusion to show how far the proposed methodology can be answered and therefore have been considered as far as possible.

The tables, graphs and procedural diagrams are visual resources that can be useful in the methodological section, as they allow the way in which the research is carried out to be explained clearly.

- Analysis. Especially in quantitative studies, it can be preceded by a results section. The structure of the analysis should be from more general to more specific, considering the objectives proposed in the research. The sub-sections can help to generate this structure. The analysis cannot be limited to a sample of results and comments, but must make use of theoretical tools.

- Conclusions. It should not be a summary of the most outstanding aspects of the analysis, but rather the real and genuine contribution of the article; the knowledge it provides. The exercise of abstraction of the conclusions must be linked to the previous work of analysis, and must respond to the objectives presented. Recommendations or proposals for improvement emanating from the research process itself may be included.

- Bibliography. It must respect the APA rules, including the DOI reference whenever it exists. It is recommended, whenever possible, to make use of the original sources and to avoid theoretical contributions as they are used or interpreted by other authors, except in those cases in which this procedure responds to the objectives of the research.

Annexes may be included only in those cases where their content responds directly to the need to provide a direct response to the subject or problem addressed. In these cases, they should be included as a final section of the manuscript, numbered and titled according to their content, following this format: Annex 1. Title of the annexed document.

If the annexes do not respond to this need, the journal team will ask the authors to eliminate them.

Typography rules

Manuscripts must be written in Word format and compatible (doc, docx, rtf...).

APA regulations must be followed:

- Margins of 2.54 cm, both lateral and upper and lower.

- Alignment on the left.

- Double-spaced spacing, except for the footers.

- Indentation of 0.5 cm.

- Times New Roman letter, size 12.

- Sections and subsections should be ordered with Arabic numerals. Example: 1, 1.1, 2., 3, 3.1, 3.1.1...

Tables, figures and other graphic elements must be included in the original location of the manuscript.

If images are included, they should be sent with a minimum resolution of 200 dpi, with a minimum width of 70 mm and in JPEG format.

Bibliographic standards

The APA regulations, seventh edition of October 2019, must be respected.

Examples of its application are provided for different cases:

- Guidelines for the bibliographic listing

Book citation

Physical authors:

Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle (no. ed.). City: Publisher.

Surname, N., Surname, N., Surname, N., Surname, N. and Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle (no. ed.). City: Publisher.

Coordinators or literary editors:

Surname, N. (Ed.). (year). Title in italics: subtitle (no. ed.). City: Publisher.

Surname, N. (Coord.). (year). Title in italics: subtitle (n.º ed.). City: Publisher.

Corporate authors:

Name of the institution or body. (year). Title in italics: Subtitle (no. ed.). City: Publisher.

Electronic books with DOI:

Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: Subtitle. doi:

Electronic books with URL:

Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle. Retrieved from + URL

Citation of chapters or parts of a book:

Surname, N. (year). Chapter title: subtitle. In No. Surname of the coordinator/editor of the book (Coord./Ed.), Title of the book in italics: subtitle (no. ed., p. no. first page chapter-no. last page chapter). City: Publisher

Citation of articles:

Last name, N. (year). Article title: Article subtitle. Journal title in italics: subtitle, volume no. in italics (volume number), first page of the article- last page of the article.

Articles with DOI:

Surname, No. (year). Title of the article: subtitle of the article. Journal title in italics: subtitle, volume number in italics (volume number), article's first page, article's last page. doi

Articles with URL:

Surname, No. (year). Article title: Article subtitle. Journal title in italics: subtitle, volume number in italics (volume number), article's first page, article's last page. Retrieved from + URL address

Citation of thesis, final master's and final degree work:

Apellido, N. (año). Título en cursiva: subtítulo en cursiva (Tesis doctoral / Trabajo de Fin de Máster / Trabajo de Fin de Grado no publicado). Nombre universidad, Comunidad autónoma en caso del Estado español o país.

Tesis, trabajos de fin de máster y de fin de grado con DOI:

Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle in italics (Doctoral thesis / Master's thesis / Unpublished Master's thesis). University name, Autonomous Community in the case of the Spanish State or country.

Thesis, final master's work and final degree work with DOI:

Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle in italics (Doctoral thesis / End of Master's work / Unpublished end of degree work). Name of the university, Autonomous Community in the case of the Spanish State or country. doi:

Thesis, final master's work and final degree work with URL:

Surname, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle in italics (Doctoral thesis / Final Master's paper / Unpublished final degree paper). University name, Autonomous Community in the case of the Spanish State or country. Retrieved from + URL address

Congress proceedings:

Surname, N. (year). Paper title: subtitle. In Name Surname of the literary editor of the congress (Ed.), Title Congress In italics and first letters In capital letters: subtitle (p. no. first page of the chapter-no. last page of the chapter). City: Editorial.

Legislation:

Title of regulation, Name of official publication, publication no., publication section (year of publication).

Databases:

Surname, No. (year). Title of the database [Database]. Retrieved from + URL address

Database entry:

Title of the database entry. (year). In + Database title [Database]. Retrieved from + URL address

- Guidelines for the text of the manuscript

Quotes:

Less than 40 words: Within the paragraph, between quotes and without italics. The page should be indicated at the end of the quotation.

More than 40 words: In a separate paragraph, with indentation, without quotes and without italics. The page must be indicated at the end of the quotation.

Citation according to number of authors

Tables

Table X. (in bold, where x is the corresponding number), title of the table After the table the indication Note (in italics) with description and concrete information about if extracted/adapted, description of the original work and mention of the property rights.

Graphs and figures

Figure X. (in bold, where x is the corresponding number). Description of the original work, extracted/adapted, "Title of the figure", authorship, book or magazine or electronic resource. Mention of the property rights (copyright or CC License).

2.2. Reviews

The maximum length of the reviews is 1500 words, including title.

Title of the reviews

They must be titled with the bibliographic reference of the work reviewed, indicating the number of pages and ISBN identifier


Last name, N. (year). Title in italics: subtitle (no. ed.). City: Publisher. XXX pp. ISBN:

Typography rules

The same rules must be followed as for the submission of manuscripts.

Bibliographic standards

If they are included, the same rules must be followed as for the submission of manuscripts.

Privacy statement

The intellectual property of the manuscripts belongs to the authors until their publication. For this reason their content will be treated as confidential communication by the journal and team involved in all phases of the evaluation and publication process. The content of the manuscripts will only be accessible to the minimum number of people involved in the editorial process.