Submissions

Author Guidelines

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Scope and editorial policy 

Government and Public Administration (Gobierno y Administración Pública) edits and publishes in Spanish or English in the following categories: Articles, Essays, Documents of Public Experiences and Reviews. It is published every six months. The concepts, judgments and opinions expressed in these categories are the sole responsibility of the authors. 

A double-blind external peer review system is adopted.

Plagiarism and self-plagiarism are rejected, and Compilatio software is used to control them. 

Government and Public Administration (Gobierno y Administración Pública) only receives contributions through the OJS system, which generates an entry code that allows its follow-up, while confidentially safeguarding the information on conflicts of interest declared by authors and peer reviewers. 

Gobierno y Administración Pública does not charge for publications nor does it generate monetary costs to its users.

The editorial management process of Government and Public Administration begins when the author registration has been completed, which allows entering the submission platform and submitting all the documentation of a manuscript: (1) file of the manuscript itself (OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF o WordPerfect formats); (2) excel file with tables and figures (if applicable); (3) file with declaration of responsibility and conflict of interest if the authors deem it necessary.

The receipt of the manuscript is formalized upon sending all the indicated documentation, at which time a code and date of receipt will be assigned. 

The stages that continue the editorial management are as follows: 

1. Preliminary evaluation: This includes a general evaluation of the manuscript for the proposed section, compliance with requirements of form, organization, timeliness and editorial interest. The result of this evaluation may be: rejection or arbitration. Any decision is communicated to the corresponding author. The maximum period for this stage is 10 days.
2. Refereeing: It includes assignment of the manuscript to external thematic and/or methodological peer reviewers and with a double blind system. The verdict may be a) rejection, b) acceptance with suggestions or c) acceptance, subject to review by at least two peers. In case of controversy, a third peer reviewer is requested. If the controversy continues due to the non-coincidence of the opinion of the peers, the final result is adopted by the Editorial Committee of the journal. Any decision is communicated to the author(s). In cases of acceptance with suggestions or acceptance, the author receives a minute that includes the suggestions indicated by the reviewers and/or the editor. The maximum time limit for this stage is 110 days.

3. Editing:It begins once the corrected version of the document and attached files have been received. This stage includes the tasks of writing and style adaptation, adjustments of initial and final parts of the manuscript, revision of translation of titles, abstracts, keywords and layout. It ends when the authors approve the final version of the edition. The selected papers will become the property of the journal unless the author(s) submitin writing the decision of the entire group of researchers to withdraw the article for publication, prior to the approval of the final version. 
4. Publication: This stage comprises tagging, preliminary publication on journal website and DOI assignment.
5. Dissemination:Includes the distributionof the manuscript in databases and social networks. 

All in all, from submission to final approval and rejection is 120 days.

 Guidelines for manuscript type selection and text presentation 

a) Articles: We welcome unpublished research of a scientific nature, developed in the field of public affairs, which represent a contribution to the field of public administration and/or political science. The presentation of research is regulated in accordance with the editorial standards. 

b) Essays: We will receive unpublished essays constructed in a maximum of 10 pages, which consider a structure based on reflections and criticisms of the national and international public contexts, which contribute to the debate on public affairs, the construction of public policies or the management of the State itself. They should consider theoretical, conceptual or legal elements that support the argumentation and should consider bibliographic citations in APA 7 edition format. 

c) Documents of Public Experiences: Documents unpublished of analysis and public experiences, reviewed as case analysis, which reflect a contribution to potential further research, may be received. The documents must be constructed evidencing a theoretical and conceptual analysis of the case reviewed, which must be related to an experience within the public field. The documents may be up to 13,000 words in length, consider an outline similar to that of articles, and conclude critically and with contributions of improvements or reflections that will allow further research in the field. 

d) Reviews: Unpublished Book reviews, scientific articles, as well as bibliographical comments may be submitted. They should be longer than 3 and shorter than 5 pages. In relation to its contents, the review is expected to contain a critical reflection of the document, a description and analysis of the hypothesis or research questions that may guide the work, the main ideas of the chapters.  Reflections that, according to the objectives set out in the work, were not resolved or were not sufficiently clear in the publication to be contributions to new research or publications are valued.  

 Editorial Standards Articles 

Articles: Must develop a specific topic of interest in the area of politics and public policy; government and public administration, public leadership and/or information management for decision making in the public sector, and must also be related to theoretical, methodological, ethical or scientific aspects of the research process.  

Format: They should be received in Spanish or English, typed in double spacing, on letter size paper with Times New Roman font size 12, leaving a margin of 3 cm on all edges, single spacing, with no space between paragraphs. The length of the text, including bibliographical references and abstracts, should be a minimum of 6,000 and not exceed 8,000 words. 

Organization of the text: Papers will be divided into the following parts: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Conclusions, and Bibliographical References. 

• Title: The first page of the paper should contain a concise and informative title of the research in capital letters, it should be written in the affirmative sense, in the original language followed by the titles in another language (Spanish or English). 
• Authorship: At the bottom of the first page, indicate the full name of the author(s) accompanied by one or more asterisks (*), depending on the position in the authorship. At the bottom of the page and with the corresponding asterisk(s), the following information should be provided: profession, institutional affiliation (up to 3 hierarchies, e.g.: Department or School, Faculty, University), city and country, ORCID, e-mail. 

This space also indicates sponsorships and/or sources of financial support, if any, in the form of research grants. 

• Abstract: Beginning with the original language, followed by the other language (Spanish or English) briefly stating the objective, material and methods, results and conclusions. It should not exceed 250 words written with single spacing, including at the end 4 key words in both languages.  
• Introduction: This part of the paper is subdivided into the following elements: 

• Problem: Describes clearly and precisely what the research will solve. It should clearly state the what and why of the research. It should be developed in one or two initial paragraphs. 
• Literature review: Exposes the referential framework that supports the research work. The citations provide recognition of previous studies that are specifically related to the work. 
• Objective and/or hypothesis: Formally state the objective and reasoning of your proposal, in addition to defining possible variables, if applicable. The objective should indicate unequivocally what the researcher intends to observe and/or measure, written in an affirmative form and subject to a single interpretation. The hypothesis should clearly, precisely and concisely express a relationship or difference between two or more variables, including, if applicable, the study variables and their effect. 

d) Method: Mention the paradigm to which the research is ascribed and clearly describe the sample, instruments and procedures for the analysis of the information. 

e) Results: They should be presented in a logical sequence and have a statistical or interpretative analysis in relation to the objective of the study. If tables, graphs or figures are included, they should not be included in the text and should be sent in an excel file separate from the manuscript. These elements should be designed in black and white, half the size of the width of a page with clearly distinguishable frames or shading, have sufficient size for reduction, indicate numbering with a title that briefly and clearly expresses the content. In the text, without repeating the content of the table, graph or figure, only the most relevant observations should be highlighted or summarized. 

f) Discussion: The discussion should be based on the objectives and results and then compared with the frame of reference. A discussion on the new aspects and limitations of your study is expected, stating projections or new hypotheses if applicable. Preferably consider studies no more than five years old. 

g) Conclusions: These should respond to the objectives of the study, limiting themselves to the data found without citing references. 

h) Bibliographic references: This section acknowledges the sources used to carry out the research work. It is suggested, to support the justification of the study, no less than 30 references. The citation style corresponds to the norms of the American Psychological Association (APA) in its 7th edition. 

 Editorial Standards Essays 

 Essays: Monographic papers that provide an original reflection on a specific topic of interest in the area of politics and public policy; government and public administration, public leadership and/or information management for decision making in the public sector. Theoretical and methodological discussions or reflections generated from empirical data or mainstream articles will be included. 

Format: They should be received in Spanish or English, typed in double spacing, on letter size paper with Times New Roman font size 12, leaving a margin of 3 cm. on all edges, single spacing, with no space between paragraphs. The length of the text, including bibliographical references and summaries, should be a minimum of 5 pages and not exceed 10 pages including tables, graphs and bibliography. 

Organization of the text: Papers will be divided into the following parts: title, abstract, introduction, development, discussion and bibliographical references. 

a) Title: The first page of the paper should contain a concise and informative title of the research in capital letters, it should be written in the affirmative sense, in the original language followed by the titles in another language (Spanish or English). 

• Authorship: At the bottom of the first page, indicate the full name of the author(s) accompanied by one or more asterisks (*), depending on the position in the authorship. At the bottom of the page and with the corresponding asterisk(s), the following information should be provided: profession, institutional affiliation (up to 3 hierarchies, e.g.: Department or School, Faculty, University), city and country, e-mail. 

This space also indicates sponsorships and/or sources of financial support, if any, in the form of research grants. 

b) Abstract: beginning with the original language, followed by the other language (Spanish or English), briefly stating the objective, theoretical review, hypotheses and/or questions that justify the reflection and conclusions. It should not exceed 250 words written with single spacing, including at the end 4 key words in both languages. 

c) Introduction: This section should include a theoretical review that supports the central argument of the essay. It should analyze the aspects that justify the thesis or hypothesis that will be addressed in the development of the essay, as well as the main questions that the author reflects. 

d) Development: They should be presented in a logical sequence, using subtitles if necessary, and have a statistical or interpretative analysis in relation to the object of analysis. Reflections should be used to answer the questions and hypotheses raised, as well as the use of the theoretical aspects raised in the introduction.  

If tables, graphs or figures are included, they should not be included in the text and should be sent in an Excel file separate from the manuscript. These elements should be designed in black and white, half the size of the width of a page with clearly distinguishable shading, have sufficient size for reduction, indicate numbering with a title that briefly and clearly expresses the content. In the text, without repeating the content of the table, graph or figure, only the most relevant observations should be highlighted or summarized. 

e) Discussion: This should raise the scope and implications of the reflection for future research. 

f) Bibliographical references: In this section the sources used to carry out the research work are acknowledged. It is suggested, to support the justification of the essay, no less than 20 references. The citation style corresponds to the norms of the American Psychological Association (APA) in its 7th edition. 

 Editorial Guidelines: Public experience documents 

 Papers: Papers that compile public experiences and/or case analyses of public issues that can be input to future in-depth research. Papers should consider a theoretical and conceptual analysis of the case, within the framework of the field experience reviewed. It should consider a final critical reflection, with contributions of improvements or reflections that allow advancing in further research in the field or possible reports for public institutions, regarding the improvement and optimization of public policies.  

Format: They should be received in Spanish or English, typed in double spacing, on letter size paper with Times New Roman font size 12, leaving a margin of 3 cm on all edges, single spacing, with no space between paragraphs. The length of the text, including bibliographical references and abstracts, must have a minimum of 7,000 words and not exceed 13,000 words including tables, graphs and bibliography. 

Organization of the text: Papers will be divided into the following parts: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Development, Improvement Proposals, Conclusions and Bibliographical References. 

a) Title: The first page of the paper should contain a concise and informative title of the research in capital letters, it should be written in the affirmative sense, in the original language (Spanish-English) followed by the titles in the other two languages. 

• Authorship: At the bottom of the first page, indicate the full name of the author(s) accompanied by one or more asterisks (*), depending on the position in the authorship. At the bottom of the page and with the corresponding asterisk(s), the following information should be provided: profession, institutional affiliation (up to 3 hierarchies, e.g.: Department or School, Faculty, University), city and country, ORCID, e-mail. 

This space also indicates sponsorships and/or sources of financial support, if any, in the form of research grants. 

b) Abstract: beginning with the original language, followed by the other language (Spanish or English), briefly stating the objective, description of the case and/or experience, development of the case, proposals for improvement and conclusions. It should not exceed 250 words, single spaced, including at the end 4 key words in both languages. 

c) Introduction: This section should include a conceptual review to support the main argument of the case. It should analyze the aspects that justify the experience or case to be addressed, as well as the aspects and actors involved in the situation. It should guide the structure of the development with the main areas described and the main problems observed in the experience.  

d) Development: The case, experience should be presented in a logical sequence, using subtitles if necessary and have a statistical or interpretative analysis in relation to the object of analysis. Reflections should be used to respond to the situations of the case presented, as well as the use of the fundamental conceptual aspects from normative, theoretical logics and/or emerging approaches. The situation, case or experience should be described, detailing the actors, institutions, facts, activities and other elements that can describe and understand the fundamental aspects that give rise to the main interest of the case. 

If tables, graphs or figures are included, they should not be included in the text and should be sent in an excel file separate from the manuscript. These elements should be designed in black and white, half the size of the width of a page with clearly distinguishable shading, have sufficient size for reduction, indicate numbering with a title that briefly and clearly expresses the content. In the text, without repeating the content of the table, graph or figure, only the most relevant observations should be highlighted or summarized. 

e) Proposals for improvement: The presentation of the document should include a section developed by the author(s) regarding a proposal for improvement that should be considered by the institution(s) that are the object of analysis of the situation, case or experience of the document. The recommendations should be based on normative, theoretical and/or emerging approaches. 

f) Conclusions: These should summarize the central elements of the case, proposals for improvement and final reflections of the author(s). 

g) Bibliographical references: In this section the sources used to carry out the research work are acknowledged. It is suggested, to support the justification of the document, no less than 20 references. The citation style corresponds to the norms of the American Psychological Association (APA) in its 7th edition. 

Editorial Guidelines Reviews 

Reviews: Reviews of books, scientific journal documents, as well as bibliographic comments in the area of politics and public policy, government and public administration, public leadership and/or information management for decision-making in the public sector are welcome. It is expected that the author(s) comment on the central elements of the work from a critical and analytical point of view and generate in-depth reflections on the contributions provided by the document. 

Format: They should be received in Spanish or English, typed in double spacing, on letter size paper with Times New Roman font size 12, leaving a margin of 3 cm on all edges, single spacing, with no space between paragraphs. The length of the text, including bibliographical references and abstracts, should have a minimum of 1 page and not exceed 3 pages including the bibliography. 

Organization of the text: Papers will be divided into the following parts: Title, Development and Bibliographical References. 

a) Title: The first page of the work should contain the title of the book and author(s), year of publication, Publisher or Journal, Number or Edition, ISSN or ISBN respectively. 

• Authorship: At the bottom of the first page, indicate the full name of the author(s) accompanied by one or more asterisks (*), depending on the position in the authorship. At the bottom of the page and with the corresponding asterisk(s), the following information should be provided: profession, institutional affiliation (up to 3 hierarchies, e.g.: Department or School, Faculty, University), city and country, e-mail. 

b) Development: Regarding the work, it should consider the story in third person, highlight the main aspects from a critical point of view, analyzing the main elements and conclusions, and generating reflections of the author(s) of the review. 

If tables, graphs or figures are included, they should not be included in the text and should be sent in an excel file separate from the manuscript. These elements should be designed in black and white, half the size of the width of a page with clearly distinguishable shading, have sufficient size for reduction, indicate numbering with a title that briefly and clearly expresses the content. In the text, without repeating the content of the table, graph or figure, only the most relevant observations should be highlighted or summarized. 

c) Bibliographical references: In this section the sources used to carry out the review work are acknowledged. The citation style corresponds to the norms of the American Psychological Association (APA) in its 7th edition.