Ethical Standards

Ethical Considerations

The Revista Gobierno y Administración Pública (Journal of Government and Public Administration), based on the guidelines proposed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in its Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors [http://publicationethics.org/], establishes the need to define the criteria and procedures to be followed in the relationships and scientific publications of a periodic nature, as well as the responsibilities of authors, reviewers, and editors, to ensure the respect of the rights and duties of each actor involved in the publication process.

A.- Regarding authors:

Authors declare the originality of their work and that it does not imitate or represent any section of another author's work without providing the corresponding bibliographic reference. Similarly, authors declare that no section is a replica of any part of other works of their own authorship.

By submitting their work, authors declare it is unpublished and has not been evaluated elsewhere. To maintain double-blind evaluation, the article must not be hosted or published on public websites.

When submitting their work, authors must declare any possible conflict of interest that could cast doubt on the reliability of the journal's review, selection, and publication processes. A conflict of interest is understood to be the existence of a link (family, academic rivalry, financial, or other) that undermines the transparency and impartiality of judgments and procedures.

The authorship declared at the time of submission of the manuscript must reflect substantive intellectual contributions and public responsibility for the content of the article. In works with multiple authors, it is understood that each author has contributed significantly to one or more stages of the work and that ownership of the work belongs to all those who sign the manuscript. In line with best editorial practices, authors are expected to ensure that all relevant contributions are acknowledged and that each author has approved and given their explicit consent to the final version submitted and any subsequent modifications accepted for publication. Furthermore, it is recognized that there may be relevant contributions that do not constitute authorship; in such cases, these should be declared transparently (e.g., in the acknowledgments) with the knowledge and authorization of the individuals involved.

To improve transparency and traceability of responsibilities, GYAP requests a Statement of Contributions based on the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) taxonomy, standardized according to ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022. This statement should indicate the role(s) assumed by each author (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, research, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, supervision, obtaining funding, among others). An author may declare multiple roles, and the same role may be shared by several people; where appropriate, the degree of contribution (lead/equal/supporting) may be indicated optionally. The assignment of roles must be agreed upon by the authoring team and reviewed by all persons declared, as CRediT does not define authorship but rather complements editorial criteria by describing contributions in a consistent manner.

GYAP promotes that the data, materials, instruments, and code supporting the results of the article be managed and described according to the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. To this end, when submitting the manuscript, authors must include a Statement of Contributions indicating what data, materials, and code exist and where they are located (e.g., in a repository), ideally with a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI) and the conditions of access. If, for reasons of privacy, personal data protection, security, or legal agreements, the content cannot be published openly, a basic set of metadata must be provided and it must be clarified how it can be accessed (e.g., controlled access or upon request). To enable reuse, an explicit license for data/materials and, where applicable, for software must be declared; in addition, datasets (organized collections of data) used or generated must be formally cited in the list of references (creator, year, title, version, repository, and persistent identifier).

Throughout the work, recognition should be given to publications that have influenced the research and argumentation process, citing the corresponding original sources in the references and bibliography. In addition, authors should not use information obtained privately through conversations, correspondence, or discussions with colleagues in the field, unless they have explicit written permission from their source of information and said information was received in the context of academic advice.

The intellectual rights of the works are the property of their authors. Their publication in Gobierno y Administración Pública grants the latter the rights to publish and disseminate them by any means or information system it deems necessary. Articles may be reproduced provided that the original source is cited.

Plagiarism Policy

By submitting their work, each author declares that it is strictly unpublished and has not been submitted for evaluation to any other journal. Authors must declare the originality of the work, which does not reproduce any part of another author's work without providing the corresponding bibliographic reference.

Writings selected for evaluation will be submitted to the Compilatio plagiarism detector. Works that do not meet the standards of originality will be rejected.

Conflict of Interest Declaration

Both reviewers and editors must declare any potential conflicts of interest by sending an email to the journal’s address. A conflict of interest is understood as a situation where any relationship (e.g., familial, academic rivalry, financial, or otherwise) undermines the transparency and impartiality of judgments and procedures. Authors must sign a Commitment Letter declaring the absence of conflicts of interest, which is submitted along with the manuscript.

Images and other AI-generated multimedia are also not allowed in the GYAP journal without explicit permission from the editor. Exceptions may be granted in certain situations, for example, for images or videos in manuscripts dealing specifically with AI or machine learning. Such exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be disclosed at the time of submission.

B. Regarding Reviewers:

Reviewers commit to maintaining the confidentiality of the articles submitted for their consideration and guarantee that they have no conflicts of interest regarding them. A conflict of interest is understood as a situation where any relationship (e.g., familial, academic rivalry, financial, or otherwise) undermines the transparency and impartiality of judgments and procedures.

If, for any reason, a reviewer becomes aware of the author’s identity, they commit to returning the article without evaluating it. Likewise, reviewers agree to treat the assigned material with total confidentiality and are strictly prohibited from discussing it with third parties.

Reviewers commit to applying the criteria and making decisions in a rational and impartial manner.

Reviewers may only accept the evaluation if they consider themselves to have the appropriate expertise and/or knowledge of the subject matter and feel capable of delivering the report within the stipulated deadlines.

Reviewers must not use the assigned work until it has been published, especially in cases where they could benefit or harm someone, whether an individual or an organization.

If a reviewer has been involved in any of the stages of conception or development of the evaluated work, they must decline the review.

If any ethical irregularity is detected, such as clear similarities with already published works or improbable data, the reviewer must notify the editors.

Reviewers must remember that peer review is a collaborative process within academia, aiming to be fair and respectful of the efforts researchers make in the search for and dissemination of new knowledge.

C. Regarding Editors:

Editors must ensure the quality of the material published.

Editors must defend the right to freedom of expression.

Editors must protect the confidentiality and integrity of academic records.

Editors must be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.

In relation to readers, the editorial team will always provide complete information regarding the origin of publications, funding sources, the role of sponsors or financial backers, and financial sponsors of the articles. Additionally, editorial policy, editorial criteria, and indexing categories will be made public.

In relation to authors, editors will take the necessary steps to ensure the quality of the materials published, specifying, when applicable, the objectives and standards for the different sections in which the content is organized. Decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts will be based solely on their relevance, originality, clarity, and alignment with the journal's editorial focus.

The journal’s website will inform authors about manuscript preparation requirements, the evaluation procedures, review guidelines, response timelines, appeal mechanisms, copyright handling, and conflict of interest resolution. Any changes in the editorial board will not affect manuscripts already accepted for publication prior to those changes.

D. Regarding the Journal:

Gobierno y Administración Pública is committed to upholding the principles stated in this document and guarantees impartiality and the involvement of competent and rigorous reviewers.

The order of publication of scientific articles, academic essays, public experiences, book reviews, and documents in the field, as well as bibliographic comments, will be determined at the discretion of the editor-in-chief and editorial board, ensuring consistency within the respective issue.

The journal will refrain from interfering with the sequence of author contributions or reviewer evaluations.

       Complaints and appeals

The complaint or appeal process begins by contacting the journal editor, Dr. Jaime Contreras Álvarez, via email at revistagyap@udec.cl. The editor will confirm receipt by email and evaluate the merits of the complaint or appeal, informing the Editorial Committee, which will have two weeks to decide on the matter.

The Committee may resolve the complaint or appeal immediately or request an investigation, informing the complainant and communicating the decision in a report. If an investigation is initiated, the parties will be asked to provide additional information or statements of objection, and based on this, a decision will be made to reject, request additional information, or approve.

The decision will be communicated in the committee's minutes. When the information confirms the complaint or report, it will be shared with the parties and with the complainant's affiliated institution. Should the circumstances necessitate it, the publication could undergo modifications or corrections through the publication of a retraction document in the journal.