Submissions

Author Guidelines

Article reception and evaluation

For article selection, the double-blind peer-review evaluation system is used. This system always respects the anonymity of the author and peer reviewers.
The articles received are submitted to the following process:

1. All the articles are received through the Open Journal System (OJS).
2. The editor, together with the issue coordinator, check that the received articles comply with the objective and scope of the publication, as well as their thematic relevance and academic quality, thus assuring that the articles are original and that they comply with our norms for collaborators.
3. Ideal articles pass a “double-blind” review where experts outside the Editorial Committee, always with the same or higher academic level than the author of the reviewed article, anonymously certify the academic quality of the article and present their recommendation through the evaluation drafted for this purpose.
4. The readers anonymously determine if the article is:
• Publishable
• Publishable with modifications
• Non-publishable
5. The double-blind review process takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks.
6. In case of discrepancies in the results, the article is sent to a third anonymous expert whose evaluation determines the article’s publication.
7. The results of the review process are final in all cases.
8. Once this period is finished, the journal communicates the decisions and the evaluators’ reports to the authors.

During the entire process, the double-blind peer-review process guarantees objectivity, transparency, and impartiality.

Guidelines for article presentation  

• The articles should be presented in a file that is compatible with Word, in size A4 (21 cm x 29.7 cm) paper, with 3 cm margins, Times New Roman 12 font, 1.5 spacing, 0-point separation between paragraphs and justification. 
• The articles in the Relevance, Central Issue and Other Issues sections, should be between 5000 - 7000 words, including notes and bibliography.
• The title of each work should be a maximum of 80 characters. When necessary, the work’s subtitle with a maximum of 60 characters is optionally included.
• On the first page of the text, an abstract in Spanish (200-220 words) should be presented in a single paragraph without epigraphs. The text should contain context, objective, methodology, results, and conclusions. Then, 7 descriptors or keywords should be presented (no phrases or combinations of words). The summary, article title, and keywords should also be presented in Spanish.
• Every article should be accompanied by an additional document that contains: First and Last Name of the author, nationality, academic title, institutional affiliation and current function, in-course studies (if applicable), email, line of research, recent publications and your ORCID identification code. Additionally, provide the article origin (declare support and/or financial backing).
• The manuscript’s visual support should be included in the sent text file in the sections in which the images are referred to. The author will send all the visual support in separate files according to the following criteria: images in TIFF or JPEG format with 300 dpi resolution (dots per inch), defined in grayscale and accompanied by a list of this material. The journal does not search for missing visual support.
• Maximum of six tables and/or figures.

Editing rules

• Use italics to emphasize a word or phrase as well as with words in foreign languages. Never use bold or quotes.
• The first time that an abbreviation is used, it should be between parentheses after the complete form. Afterwards, only the abbreviation will be used.
• A long citation (that surpasses 4 lines) should be in size 11 font, single space, block indented only on the left side (1.25 cm), without indentation on the first line (if several paragraphs are cited, first line indentation is used starting on the second paragraph), without opening and closing quotes, and with white space (size 11 font, single space) above and below the text block.
• Use quotes (“ “) to cite texts.
• Illustrations (tables, graphs, photos, etc.) should be demarcated with a header (composed of two lines: figure number and title) and a footnote (composed of two lines: source and creation; if the two sections are from the author, “Source and own creation” will be put on one line. Both should be written with a long-format citation, although the header will be centered, and the footer will be left justified on the figure. The figure’s title should be in bold because it is a title. The text format that is used within the illustrations should also be in a long-format citation in principle, but flexibility is allowed according to the visual necessity.
• The footnotes should be in Times New Roman 10, single-spaced, justified, and with consecutive Arabic numerals.
• At the end of the article, the bibliography will be presented and should only include the primary and secondary sources referred to in the text, numbered and arranged in alphabetical order. It is critical to include the authors´ and/or editors’ full names in every reference.
• Bibliographical list: 1.25 cm French indentation (first line of every paragraph left justified, the rest indented).
• When an author in the bibliography is repeated, a dash (-) should be included three times to avoid repetitions and facilitate identification.

Comentario Internacional uses the format established by the Notes-Bibliography Reference System determined by the Chicago Manual of Style. All work mentioned in the text should appear in the references list.  

Below, examples which let us appreciate citation differences between footnotes (N) and bibliography (B) are presented.

Printed Books

Basic book

(N) First Name, Last Name, Complete title (City: Editorial, year), page(s).

Walter Mignolo, The Idea of Latin America: The colonial wound and the anticolonial option  (Barcelona: Gedisa, 2007), 34-5.

(B) Last Name(s), First Name. Complete title. City: Editorial, year.

Mignolo, Walter. The idea of Latin America: The colonial wound and the anticolonial option. Barcelona: Gedisa, 2007.

Observation: In the final number of the referenced page range, repeated digits are not written since they are redundant. The range implies that the citation goes from page 34 to 35.

Book with two or three authors

(N) First Name Last name(s) and First Name Last Name(s), Complete Title (City: Editorial, year), page(s).

Ruth Berins Collier y David Collier, Shaping the Political Arena: Critical Junctures, the Labor Movement, and Regime Dynamics in Latin America (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2009), 685.

(B) Last name(s) First Name and First Name Last Name(s). Complete title. City: Editorial, year.

Collier, Ruth Berins, y David Collier. Shaping the Political Arena: Critical Junctures, the Labor Movement, and Regime Dynamics in Latin America. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2009.

Observation 1: In the bibliography, only the first name of the group of authors is written with the last name first; the rest of the names are written in regular order.

Observación 2: The titles in other languages conserve special characters and writing norms unique to such a language unless it is a language with a non-Latin alphabet.

Book with four or more authors

(N) First name Last Name et al., Complete title (City: Editorial, year), page(s).

Reinhard Bunjes et al., Medicine, public health and humanitarian aid  (Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2000), 75-6.

(B) Last Name(s) First Name, First Name Last Name(s),  First Name Last Name(s), First Name Last Name(s), First Name Last Name(s) and First Name Last Name(s). Complete title. City: Editorial, year.

Bunjes, Reinhard, Anja Gebler, Bärbel A. Krumme, Richard Munz, Guha-Sapir Debarati, y Benno M. Ure. Medicine, public health and humanitarian aid. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2000.

Book of editor, coordinator or other

(N) First Name Last Name, ed./coord., Complete title (City: Editorial, year), page(s). 

Javier Torres Ripa, ed., Chicago-Deusto Manual of Style  (Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2013), 647.

(B) Last name(s) First Name, ed./coord. Complete title. City: Editorial, year.

Torres Ripa, Javier, ed./coord.  Chicago-Deusto Manual of Style. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 2013.

Observation: Books with editors include articles or chapters that have several authors. In those cases, it is better to reference the authors of the articles or chapters, before the editor who combined them, unless we are making a reference to the publication in general.

Book section (chapters, articles, poems, tales, etc.)

(N) First Name Last Name(s), “Article title,” in Complete book title, ed. First Name Last Name(s) and First Name and Last Name(s) (City: Editorial / second Editorial, year), page(s).

Ilán Bizberg, “Business modernization and industrial relations in Mexico”, en Business modernization: Trends in Latin America and Europe, ed. Rainer Dombois y Ludger Pries (Caracas, VE: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Colombia / Editorial Nueva Sociedad, 1993), 105.

(B) Last Name(s) First Name. “Article title,” in Complete book title, edited by First Name Last Name(s) and First Name and Last Name(s), page(s). City: Editorial/second Editorial, year.

Bizberg, Ilán. “Business modernization and industrial relations in Mexico”. In Business modernization, edited by  Rainer Dombois y Ludger Pries, 83-110. Caracas, VE: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Colombia / Editorial Nueva Sociedad, 1993.

Observation 1: The title of the lesser work or book section is always in quotes.

Observation 2: A slash separates the different editorials that published the book.

Observation 3: The page range where the section is found (lesser work) within the book (greater work) is indicated in the bibliographical entry.

Periodical publications

Academic journal articles

(N) First Name Last Name(s), “Article title,” Journal title volume, No. (year): page(s).

Fabianna Bacil Lourenço Ferreira, “Health social security in China: Main reforms and imbalances”, Collective Health 13, n.o 1 (2017): 11-2, doi:10.18294/sc.2017.999.

(B) Last Names(s) First Name: “Article title.” Journal title volume No. (year): page(s).

Ferreira, Fabianna Bacil Lourenço. “Health social security in China: Main reforms and imbalances”. Collective Health 13, n.o 1 (2017): 5-17. doi:10.18294/ sc.2017.999.

Observation: The DOI only exists in electronic journals. The URL can also be used if there is no DOI. The DOI is written in lowercase in the notes and bibliographical entries.

Newspaper article

(N) First Name Last Name(s), “Article title,” Newspaper title, complete date, page(s).

Fernando Medina, “4 extortion networks were discovered in 10 prisons”, El Comercio, 14 April 2017, 6.

(B) Last Name(s) First Name. “Article title.” Newspaper title. Complete date.

Medina, Fernando.  “4 extortion networks were discovered in 10 prisons.” El Comercio. 14 April 2017.

Observation 1: The date in newspapers is written completely (day, month, year).

Observation 2: When there is nobody responsible for the writing, the name of the institution can be included as the author.

Electronic publications

Webpage

(N) First Name Last Name(s), “Publication title,” Webpage title, complete date, paragraph, URL.

Decio Machado, “The Political Left in Ecuador No Longer Exists”, Jacobin, 10 April 2017, párr. 12, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/04/ecuador-presidential-election-second-round-correa-lenin/.

(B) Last name(s) First Name. “Publication title.” Webpage title, complete date, paragraph, URL.

Machado, Decio. “The Political Left in Ecuador No Longer Exists”. Jacobin, 10 April 2017. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/04/ecuador-presidential-election- second-round-correa-lenin/.

Observation 1: Due to the fact that reading websites is vertical, and as such, there are no pages, the paragraph number should be referenced with the abbreviation “parr.”

Observation 2: The access date is only mentioned when the publication or last modification date does not exist. It should be preceded by the indication “accessed.”

Electronic books (e-books)                   

(N) First Name Last Name(s), Book title (City: Editorial, year), location or position, electronic version edition.

Luis Felipe Fabre, Cabaret provenza (Mexico city: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2007), loc. 257, Kindle edition.

(B) Last Name(s) Name. Book title. City: Editorial, year. Electronic version edition.

Fabre, Luis Felipe. Cabaret provenza. Mexico city: Fondo de Cultura Económica, Kindle edition.

Observation: Electronic books have no stable pagination (they vary according to the configured font size and device), so the location number (loc.) or position (pos.) should be referenced.

Institutional documents

(N) Country Institution, Document title, (City: Institution, year), page.

Ecuador Ministry of National Defense, Defense political agenda: 2014-2017 (Quito:Ministry of National Defense, 2014), 16.

(B) Country Institution. Document title. City: Institution, year.

Ecuador Ministry of National Defense. Defense political agenda: 2014-2017. Quito: Ministry of National Defense, 2014.

Legal sources

(N) Country, Legal document, registry, complete date, article.

Ecuador, Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, Official Registry 449, 20 October 2008, art. 298.

(B) Country. Legal document. Registry, complete date

Ecuador. Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador. Official Registry 449, 20 October 2008.

Observation: If we are dealing with some regulation, it can also be referenced by article number (art.), paragraph (lit.), numeral (num.), etc.

International Organization Instruments

(N) Organization, Document title, complete date, universal locator.

UN General Assembly, Declaration on the fundamental principles of justice for victims of crimes and abuse of power, 29 November 1985, num. 4, A/RES/40/34.

(B) Organization. Document title. Complete date. Universal locator.

UN General Assembly. Declaration on the fundamental principles of justice for victims of crimes and abuse of power. 29 November 1985. A/RES/40/34.

Thesis

(N) First Name Last Name(s), “Thesis title” (undergraduate/masters/doctoral thesis, University, year), page(s), URL.

 Jorge Fabricio Guevara Viejo, “The institutionalization process of the National Higher Education System in Ecuador: A study from the point of view of an analysis of the resignification of institutional pressure” (doctoral thesis, Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Sede Ecuador, 2016), 141, http:// repositorio.uasb.edu.ec/handle/10644/5298.

(B) Last Names(s) First Name. “Thesis title.” Undergraduate/masters/doctoral thesis, University, year. URL.

Guevara Viejo, Jorge Fabricio. “The institutionalization process of the National Higher Education System in Ecuador: A study from the point of view of an analysis of the resignification of institutional pressure”. Doctoral thesis, Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Sede Ecuador, 2016. http://repositorio.uasb.edu.ec/ handle/10644/5298.

Presentation in Seminars and similar events

(N) First Name Last Name(s), “Report title” (report, activity name, City, complete date).

Gabriel Boero, “Social responsibility and entrepreneurship” (report, X International Entrepreneurship Forum, Quito, 19 November 2014).

(B) Last Name(s) First Name. “Report title.” Report presented in the name of the activity, City, complete date.

Boero, Gabriel. “Social responsibility and entrepreneurship”. Report presented in the X International Entrepreneurship Forum, Quito, 19 November 2014.

Observation: There is no page number or paragraph because the format of the document could vary while it circulates in distinct forms.

Guidelines for the presentation of reviews

• Reviews do not undergo a peer-review process and are not identified with a DOI.
• The manuscripts corresponding to the Review section should be 1,500 to 2,500 words in length.
• The author and the name of the reviewed work should be indicated, as well as the publication year, the name of the publishing house and the number of pages of the book.
• In the reviews, it is anticipated that the authors incorporate an analytical and critical perspective of the book’s content.