ETHICS AND EDITORIAL BEST PRACTICES

ETHICS AND EDITORIAL BEST PRACTICES

Verbeia. Revista de Estudios Filológicos. Journal of English and Spanish Studies is committed to the principles of integrity, transparency, academic rigour, and best practices in scholarly publishing. Its editorial policy is guided by the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) concerning ethics and integrity in academic publishing.

This policy applies to all parties involved in the journal's editorial process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial and Scientific Committees.

  1. Ownership, Management, and Editorial Independence

Verbeia is affiliated with the Faculty of Education and is supported by Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC).

The journal guarantees the independence of its editorial decisions, which shall be based exclusively on academic, scholarly, and ethical criteria, without interference arising from commercial, institutional, or personal interests.

The journal shall make publicly available and keep up to date information concerning its editorial team, committees, publishing institution, scope, publication frequency, peer-review process, author guidelines, and editorial policies.

  1. Publication Frequency and Scope

Verbeia is an annual journal devoted to the publication of research articles, original scholarly contributions, and reviews related to philological studies, particularly in the fields of English and Spanish Studies.

The journal accepts contributions in Spanish and English and publishes its issues in accordance with its established publication schedule.

  1. Originality and Integrity of Submissions

Manuscripts submitted to Verbeia must be original and unpublished and must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal or publication.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality, academic rigour, and integrity of their work, as well as the accuracy of the citations, bibliographical references, sources, data, and materials used.

Practices contrary to the ethics of scholarly publishing shall not be accepted. These include plagiarism, misappropriation of the work of others, manipulation or falsification of data or sources, and duplicate or redundant publication.

The journal reserves the right to take appropriate measures whenever it becomes aware of potential irregularities, either during the editorial process or after publication.

Anti-plagiarism policy

Once the manuscript is received, the journal management will use the Turnitin (since 2026) tool to verify that the manuscript is original and unpublished.

 

  1. Authorship and Contributions

Authorship shall be limited to those individuals who have made a significant intellectual contribution to the research and preparation of the manuscript.

All individuals listed as authors must be aware of and approve the version submitted for publication and assume appropriate responsibility for its content.

Individuals who have contributed to a work but whose contribution does not justify authorship may be acknowledged in an acknowledgements section.

Where a dispute arises concerning authorship, the order of authors, or the attribution of contributions, the journal shall take the necessary steps to clarify the matter in accordance with the principles of transparency and academic integrity.

  1. Peer-Review Process

Research articles submitted to Verbeia shall undergo external evaluation through a double-anonymous peer-review process, ensuring that the identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential throughout the review process.

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial editorial assessment shall be evaluated by at least two specialists in the relevant field. In the event of a significant discrepancy between the reports received, the editorial team may request an assessment from a third reviewer.

Peer review is an essential component of the editorial process and is intended to contribute to the quality, rigour, and academic validity of published work.

  1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors shall:

  • submit only original and unpublished work;
  • ensure the accuracy of all sources, citations, and references used;
  • appropriately acknowledge the intellectual contributions of other researchers;
  • correctly identify all individuals responsible for the authorship of the work;
  • disclose sources of research funding, where applicable;
  • disclose any potential conflicts of interest;
  • obtain the necessary permissions to reproduce materials protected by intellectual property rights;
  • participate diligently in the review process and provide reasoned responses to the comments and recommendations made by reviewers and editors;
  • provide, where applicable, documentation relating to authorisations, consent, or permissions;
  • inform the journal's editorial team of any significant error identified in their work after publication and cooperate in its correction.

Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal, as well as duplicate or substantially redundant publication, shall be regarded as practices contrary to publication ethics.

  1. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers shall:

  • assess manuscripts objectively, rigorously, constructively, and impartially;
  • base their comments and recommendations on academic and scholarly criteria;
  • maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscripts received for review;
  • respect authors' intellectual property rights;
  • refrain from using for their own benefit or that of third parties any information, arguments, data, or materials obtained through the review process;
  • disclose any potential conflicts of interest;
  • decline a review when they do not possess the expertise necessary to assess the work adequately or when they cannot guarantee their independence;
  • complete reviews within the established timeframe;
  • identify, where appropriate, relevant published work that has not been cited;
  • inform the editorial team of any significant similarity or overlap they identify between the manuscript under review and other work of which they are aware.
  1. Responsibilities of Editors

Decisions on the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts shall be made by the editorial team of Verbeia on the basis of the academic quality, originality, rigour, relevance, and suitability of the work in relation to the aims and scholarly scope of the journal.

Editors shall ensure the confidentiality of manuscripts throughout the editorial process and shall neither use unpublished information contained in them for personal purposes nor disclose such information to individuals who are not involved in the review process.

The editorial team shall safeguard the integrity of the peer-review process and the independence of editorial decisions.

Editorial decisions shall not be based on factors unrelated to the academic and ethical assessment of submissions.

  1. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors shall disclose any personal, academic, professional, institutional, or financial relationships that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, the review and publication process.

The existence of a potential conflict of interest does not necessarily imply inappropriate conduct, but it must be disclosed in order to guarantee the transparency and impartiality of the editorial process.

Where a conflict of interest may compromise the independence of a review or editorial decision, the person concerned shall refrain from participating in the relevant procedure.

  1. Sources, Corpora, Archives, and Research Data

Authors shall be responsible for accurately identifying the documentary, bibliographical, archival, and digital sources used in their research.

Where required by the nature of the work, authors shall provide sufficient information to identify and, where possible, consult the corpora, archives, databases, collections, or materials used, while respecting any applicable restrictions relating to access, confidentiality, intellectual property, and data protection.

Where research data can be shared, authors are encouraged to facilitate their preservation and accessibility in accordance with the practices of the relevant academic discipline.

  1. Ethical Oversight, Consent, and Data Protection

Research shall comply with the ethical principles and legislation applicable to the relevant field of study.

Authors shall ensure that the materials used in their research have been obtained and used in accordance with the applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where a study includes interviews, testimonies, personal data, confidential documentation, human participants, or other materials subject to authorisation or consent, authors shall be responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions and for safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of the individuals concerned.

  1. Intellectual Property, Plagiarism, and Redundant Publication

Authors shall respect intellectual property rights relating to texts, images, photographs, documents, and any other materials incorporated into their work and shall obtain any reproduction permissions that may be required.

Plagiarism, misappropriation of content, substantial self-plagiarism, and duplicate or redundant publication are incompatible with the ethical principles of Verbeia.

The journal may use the procedures and tools it considers appropriate to verify the originality of submitted manuscripts and shall take appropriate action where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a breach of these principles.

  1. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Generative artificial intelligence tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors of works published in Verbeia, since intellectual and ethical responsibility for the content rests with the authors.

Where such tools have been used substantially in the preparation of a manuscript, authors shall disclose their use and provide a sufficiently precise description of the purpose for which they were employed.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy, originality, integrity, and appropriate attribution of all submitted content, including bibliographical references, citations, and any other information prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools.

Confidential content, personal data, unpublished manuscripts, or materials subject to privacy or intellectual property restrictions must not be entered into external artificial intelligence tools where such use could compromise those rights.

The use of artificial intelligence tools does not under any circumstances relieve authors of responsibility for the entirety of the work submitted.

  1. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Amendments

Verbeia is committed to preserving the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record.

When a significant error is identified in a published work, the journal shall examine the case and take the appropriate measures according to the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Such measures may include corrections, clarifications, or other amendments and, where circumstances substantially compromise the reliability or integrity of a work, its retraction.

Corrections and retractions shall be issued transparently and shall remain linked to the original content whenever technically possible.

  1. Allegations of Misconduct

Any individual may report to the editorial team of Verbeia a potential breach of the principles of research integrity or publication ethics.

Such reports shall be examined confidentially, objectively, and impartially. Where necessary, information shall be requested from the parties concerned before a decision is reached.

The journal shall address both potential irregularities detected during the editorial process and those reported after publication.

Where required by the nature of the case, the journal may request information or cooperation from the institutions with which the authors or researchers concerned are affiliated.

  1. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit complaints concerning the editorial process or request the reconsideration of a decision where they believe there are sufficiently justified grounds for doing so.

Complaints and appeals must be duly substantiated and shall be examined objectively and impartially.

Whenever possible, a complaint concerning a particular action or decision shall be assessed by a person who was not directly involved in that action or decision.

  1. Editorial Transparency

Verbeia shall keep essential information concerning its operation publicly accessible and up to date, including its aims and scope, publication frequency, editorial and scientific bodies, publishing institution, peer-review procedure, author guidelines, and editorial policies.

The journal's editorial management shall seek to ensure clear, rigorous, and transparent procedures and to safeguard the autonomy and independence of academic decision-making.

  1. Institutional Open Access and Repository Policy

With regard to open access and the institutional repository, Verbeia follows, where applicable, the policy established by Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC).

UCJC Open Access Policy:
https://repositorio.ucjc.edu/themes/Mirage2/resources/politica%20acceso%20abierto%20UCJC_es.pdf

Ethical Reference

The Ethics and Editorial Best Practices Policy of Verbeia is guided by the principles, recommendations, and resources of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) concerning, among other matters, publication integrity, authorship, peer review, conflicts of interest, intellectual property, research data, ethical oversight, complaints, misconduct, and post-publication corrections.

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):
https://publicationethics.org/