During the evaluation of the trials received by Editorial Mar Caribe (EMC), the During the evaluation of the tests received by Editorial Mar Caribe (EMC), the scientific assessment is carried out in (03) three stages: (1. Preliminary round by the scientific committee of the publishing house, 2. Double-blind external peer review by public universities, 3. Final opinion by the publisher’s ethics committee). The participation of the ethics committee is crucial in case of discrepancies between experts on the assessment of the research content, maintaining complete anonymity during the process of exploring these, making the final decision based on linguistic quality, updated references, ease of following the logic of the written text and compliance with publication ethics. External peer reviewers are requested by the editorial committee of Editorial Mar Caribe, to the academic and research vice-rectorates and/or editorial funds of public universities in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela; based on inter-institutional cooperation agreements.
Step No. 1: The deadline for reading and notifying the author and his co-authors, the acceptance or rejection of the trial in the preliminary round by the scientific committee, is ten (10) business days from the date of receipt. In case of rejection, it is returned to the authors for adaptation in accordance with the recommendations for improvement; and the proposal is invited to be resubmitted for reevaluation by the publisher. If the written text is accepted, it goes to the second stage (external arbitration committee). Authors must be aware of the Proposal Evaluation Form, executed by the scientific committee during the process.
Stage No. 2: The editorial committee will assign the essay to (02) two public universities (external arbitration committee), in charge of Academic Vice-Rectorates, Research Deans and Graduate Studies, so that they can review it and make suggestions for improvement, and decide whether to accept or reject the essay. A positive review by both parties will be required for acceptance, the deadline for issuing a final decision on the revised text is thirty (30) calendar days. If the decision is not unanimous, a third review is carried out. The final result will be the acceptance of the manuscript or its rejection. Authors are recommended to review the Scientific Assessment Rubric used at this stage.
Step No. 3: The publisher’s ethics committee ensures compliance with ethical standards to ensure high-quality scientific publications, trust in scientific findings, and that people receive credit for their ideas. The ethics committee demands good quality scientific papers that are of interest to the scientific community of Latin America and the Caribbean. Your book proposal is likely to be accepted if:
- The content of the proposal is within the scope of the publisher;
- The research topic is novel and describes a research that advances the scientific field;
- It proposes a contribution to an active field of research;
- The authors use clear and concise language when expressing research results; and
- The authors are not involved in acts of administrative penalty for unethical conduct in research.
The term of the ethics committee to issue a final decision on the revised text is one (10) calendar day; If the proposal is accepted, the authors are informed as well as if it is rejected. However, at this stage, a reassessment of the content of the book is not accepted, the rejection that is communicated is definitive.
Processing time of the book proposal until publication.
i. The deadline for peer review of a book proposal ranges from 45 to 60 calendar days. This period depends on three stages:
- Preliminary round: 10 business days ≈ 15 calendar days.
- Double-blind external peer review: 30 calendar days.
- Ethics committee opinion: 10 calendar days.
Ii. Once the book proposal for publication has been approved, the editing and layout process, which includes syntax correction and translation, takes a maximum of 30 calendar days.
iii. These times are always subject to the publishing schedule of the publisher, which publishes continuously, and the number of books processed.
iv. The time it takes to publish a book in Editorial Mar Caribe, from the preliminary round to its dissemination in the publisher’s catalog, is (90) ninety days on average.
Assessment and quality control criteria.
i. During the evaluation process, Editorial Mar Caribe trusts in the professional capacity and potential of the reviewers, guaranteeing rigor, confidentiality, equity and honesty in the process of developing this management activity. EMC includes tools to detect plagiarism in text and various documents, using detection software: SmallSEOTools and DupliChecker.
ii. Regardless of the grades that the essay receives from the reviewers, they must be fully supported. The information provided by the reviewers will help the editorial board make the final decision on whether or not to publish the book. However, a manuscript still has the status “accepted” if it has passed peer review and the author has made all suggested edits and changes. The accepted work is then sent for layout and spelling. A version of the machote will be sent to the author for review and return with a letter of acceptance and permission to publish. A work is considered “in progress” if the editor-in-chief has the minimum necessary requirements to publish the book.
Iii. All trials, research products published by Editorial Mar Caribe, will be subject to rigorous peer review and a double-blind system based on the initial selection by the scientific committee in the preliminary round, the anonymity of the peer reviewers, and the subsequent review by the authors of the trials. when applicable.
All peer reviewers must adhere to the following ethical principles:
- They will only accept to review trials in which they have sufficient experience, committing to execute the process in the instituted periods.
- Reviews should be objective and constructive, with no defamatory or demeaning comments.
- They will have to declare their potential conflicts of interest.
- Evaluate each essay based on the rigor, focus, significance, bibliographic support, discursive topic, and coherence in the written text.
- Maintain the confidentiality of the peer review process.
- Provide valuation reports that are constructive, complete, substantiated, and with substantial content.
- Inform Editorial Mar Caribe of any significant similarities between the manuscript under consideration and any published essays of which you are aware.
Of general interest:
i. Editorial Mar Caribe reserves the right to accept or reject the proposals that are received and to request from the authors the modifications it deems necessary to comply with the requirements for publication of the written text and to standardize the machote of the book according to the style of the publisher.
Ii. The review process will be blinded, so referees will not know who the authors of the trial are, and the authors will also not know which assigned expert evaluated their trial.
iii. The evaluation is confidential and the identity of peer reviewers should not be disclosed. However, if the governing bodies of the science and technology system in the country of origin of the research request detailed information from those in charge of the peer review, the publisher will be responsible for providing the information on the peers who collaborated during the process.
Iv. Editorial Mar Caribe assures that the selection of the reviewers who participate in the stages of scientific evaluation of the proposals will be defined according to the specialty or degree of the peer reviewer and THEMA classifiers of the written text.
v. The peer review process for proposals received by the publisher is carried out in an average period of between 45 and 60 calendar days, the time necessary to guarantee the quality of the written text before publication.
Flowchart of the peer review process:
The (Step 3) of the process occurs “Yes and only if” the proposal of the authors is approved in the preliminary round. Authors must attach supporting documents when submitting the essay to Editorial Mar Caribe (Step 1):
Conflict of Interest Statement
- Please download the Portable Document Format for the Peer Evaluation Process.
Process approved and updated by the editorial committee in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay on November 27, 2024
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