Authors distribution

In Terra Latinoamericana is sought that the authors of the publications have affiliations whose geographic diversity and publication record validate their participation in the academic community associated with the scope of the journal.

Authors roles

Terra Latinoamericana, for the sake of clarity, transparency, and to give authors the credit they deserve, is now including an Author Contributions section in all primary research paper issued. We endorse the Project CRediT taxonomy of contributor roles which is available at https://casrai.org/credit/.

The Terra Latinoamericana Editorial Committee will require that the corresponding author disclose the statement at the time of manuscript submission describing the roles exerted by each contributor as follows:

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Role

Definition

1

Conceptualization

Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aim.

2

Data curation

Management activities to annotate (produce metadata), scrub data and maintain research data (including software code, where it is necessary for interpreting the data itself) for initial use and later re-use.

3

Formal analysis

Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyses or synthesize study data.

4

Funding acquisition

Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication.

5

Investigation

Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection.

6

Methodology

Development or design of methodology; creation of models.

7

Project administration

Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution.

8

Resources

Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools.

9

Software

Programming, software development; designing computer programs; implementation of the computer code and supporting algorithms; testing of existing code components.

10

Supervision

Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team.

11

Validation

Verification, whether as a part of the activity or separate, of the overall replication/reproducibility of results/experiments and other research outputs.

12

Visualization

Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically visualization/data presentation.

13

Writing – original draft

Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation).

14

Writing – review & editing

Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, commentary, or revision – including pre- or post-publication stages.

Number of authors

While there is no single universal rule for determining the number of authors per scientific document, most national and international publishers do not set an absolute maximum number. However, there are exceptions where specific journals set a maximum number of authors depending on the type of publication and its content. Several publishers believe that the number of authors depends largely on the scientific ethics of all authors.

In order to establish practical guidelines regarding the number of authors, Terra Latinoamericana's editorial policy states the following:

Scientific Articles. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of six (6) authors in the manuscript. In cases where the number of authors exceeds six, the section editor or the editor-in-chief will determine whether, based on the content of the manuscript, the inclusion of the proposed number of authors is justified. The factors to be evaluated in these cases are the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, complex statistical analyses, long-term experiments, complex variables, and studies such as genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, among others, always justifying the participation of each author with precision.

Research Notes. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of four (4) authors. It is hoped that this recommendation will not affect collaborations between multidisciplinary groups; however, the editorial committee considers that for this type of publication, limiting the number of authors is a practice consistent with the synthetic and exploratory nature of these contributions, since research notes communicate preliminary or methodological results of restricted scope. The number of authors should reflect direct participation in the design, execution, and analysis of the data, avoiding the inclusion of collaborators with tangential contributions. This measure promotes the traceability of intellectual contributions and accountability, in accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, 2023) on authorship criteria and collective responsibility. Furthermore, it contributes to maintaining editorial consistency across the different types of manuscripts in Terra Latinoamericana, defining the size of the teams according to the nature and scope of the reported scientific work (Source: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/). The participation of each author must be fully and precisely justified.

Review Articles. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of six (6) authors. In cases where the number of authors exceeds six, the section editor or the editor-in-chief will determine whether, based on the content of the review, the inclusion of the proposed number of authors is justified. Factors to be evaluated in these cases include the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or international collaborations of significant scientific relevance and impact, among others, always justifying the participation of each author precisely. Limiting authorship in this type of article promotes responsible authorship and verification of contributions, in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, https://publicationethics.org/), thereby avoiding the dispersion of responsibilities and ensuring an appropriate balance between the volume of intellectual work and author recognition, while also promoting the quality and depth of critical analysis, which are hallmarks of the scientific reviews published in Terra Latinoamericana.

Scientific Essays. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of six (6) authors. In cases where the number of authors exceeds six, the section editor or the editor-in-chief will determine whether, based on the essay's content, the proposed number of authors is justified. Factors to be evaluated in these cases include the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, reflective, interpretive, or propositional contributions, conceptual arguments, and the critical integration of existing knowledge, among others, always clearly justifying each author's participation.

Reviews. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of four (4) authors. In cases where the number of authors exceeds, the section editor or the editor-in-chief will determine whether, based on the content of the review, the inclusion of the proposed number of authors is justified. The factors to be evaluated in these cases are the length and purpose of the contribution, the coherence of the argument, and the common analytical perspective of the review, among others, always precisely justifying the participation of each author. Limiting the number of authors in this type of contribution is consistent with the length and purpose, as these do not involve collaborative empirical work or a complex experimental phase. This limit promotes clarity regarding the intellectual contributions of each participant and avoids the dilution of academic merit, in accordance with scientific ethics policies.

Biography. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of three (3) authors. Given the descriptive and reflective nature of a profile, the number of authors should be kept reduced, as the text's value lies in its narrative cohesion and unified academic perspective. This allows for a balance between individual contributions and the manuscript's literary and conceptual quality, avoiding redundancies or disparate viewpoints.

Letters to the Editor. It is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of two (2) authors. Limiting the number of authors promotes clarity in the attribution of ideas and ensures direct responsibility for the content when presenting objections, comments, or reflections on recently published articles. Letters to the editor do not present experimental work or substantial collaborative development.

Number of corresponding authors

While there are no universally accepted rules for determining the number of corresponding authors, it is RECOMMENDED to include a maximum of two (2) corresponding authors only for RESEARCH ARTICLES. These must be fully justified, demonstrating that they contribute in an equivalent and complementary manner to critical areas of the study that require the coordination of specific expertise, such as collaborative research and co-supervision of graduate theses. For all other publications, it is recommended to include only one (1) corresponding author. Designating a single corresponding author ensures the traceability of scientific communication, clarity regarding the administrative and ethical responsibility for the manuscript, as well as editorial management, version tracking, transparency in the declaration of conflicts of interest, and the authenticity of authorship.

Timeliness/Publication Volume

From January 2021, Terra Latinoamericana changes to the Continuous Publication system. Continuous Publication consists of abandoning the idea of gathering articles in numbers and volumes of a journal that is published at regular intervals and moving to one in which each approved article is published individually online so that the scientific community has access to it. as soon as possible. In general terms, with continuous publication, it is possible to eliminate periodicities by adopting as the only publication period the year of publication corresponding to the volume. The main advantage is the speed in the process of arbitration and publication of the articles in the journal. All papers published annually are within ranges appropriate to the subject area of Terra Latinoamericana.

Authors Affiliation Details

All publications in Terra Latinoamericana are accurately identified. Publications include full names and institutional affiliations, including country / region, of all contributing authors. Additionally, the ORCID number of the authors is provided as a digital identifier or the links to institutional profiles that specify the identity and affiliation of the authors is included.

Peer Review Process

The contribution received through the journal's platform is analyzed to determine if it complies with the authors' guide, format, approach and scope by the editorial committee made up of the Technical Editor, the Deputy Editor, the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editors. In addition, the percentage of similarity is evaluated to establish possible plagiarism or self-plagiarism. If the contribution meets the aforementioned requirements, the Deputy Editor or the Editor-in-Chief assigns it based on their expertise to an Associate Editor, whose function is to send it to three specialist reviewers on the subject (peer review), in the form called double blind (the author does not know the reviewers and vice versa). Subsequently, based on the reviewers' decision, the Associate Editor will determine if it is accepted with minor changes, major changes or if it is rejected. In case of being accepted with changes, the author must make them and the associate editor will determine if the pertinent changes were made.

The objective of the peer review process in Terra Latinoamericana is to maximize the quality of the manuscript while guaranteeing the authors' rights to submit their work for a rigorous, constructive, and transparent review process. Peer review is carried out by active researchers and academics, carefully appointed by the Editorial Committee of the journal in accordance with strict criteria of excellence, and who certify the precision and validity of the research with their names in the published article. Peer review focuses on objective criteria for the validity and quality of the work presented. Likewise, it is rigorous, fair, constructive, responsible, and transparent for all those involved. Of course, peer review should be efficient. Efficiency is achieved by developing on the OJS platform, an online, collaborative discussion forum between authors, reviewers, and the responsible associate editor and providing comprehensive quality service to all participants in the review process. All contributions, without exception, undergo the same rigorous review process. Peer review is carried out by active researchers and academics, carefully appointed by the Editorial Committee of the journal in accordance with strict criteria of excellence, and who certify the precision and validity of the research with their names in the published article. Peer review focuses on objective criteria for the validity and quality of the work presented. Likewise, it is rigorous, fair, constructive, responsible, and transparent for all those involved. Of course, peer review should be efficient. Efficiency is achieved by developing on the OJS platform, an online, collaborative discussion forum between authors, reviewers, and the responsible associate editor and providing comprehensive quality service to all participants in the review process. All contributions, without exception, undergo the same rigorous review process.

Terra Latinoamericana has maintained strict quality standards for manuscripts and the peer review process through clear criteria. When a manuscript exceeds the criteria, it is accepted and rejected when it does not exceed them. Terra Latinoamericana's peer review process judges the value and validity of submitted studies through rigorous quality controls. Associate Editors are accredited to make content decisions; they are charged with recommending rejection at any time; they make the acceptance decisions, and any decision is notified to the Editor-in-Chief. The Format Editor, with the team of Technical Editors, can also reject those manuscripts that due to some involuntary errors of omission were not previously rejected, thereby ensuring that the peer review was rigorous and that the publication is of high quality.

Transparent review. To ensure rigorous and objective reviews, the identities of the reviewers remain anonymous during the review process. The name of the Associate Editor remains visible throughout the arbitration process. The process allows reviews to be conducted in a constructive manner, with associate editors and reviewers having a level of responsibility and accountability for the document by providing rigorous feedback that provides a publication of the highest quality.

Rigorous review. Terra Latinoamericana provides a review questionnaire template that is located on the OJS platform, with the purpose of systematically conducting reviews in this template. The review focuses solely on the quality of both the research and the manuscript and aims to provide constructive comments to bring the final article to a better quality. This process allows for a fair, rapid, complete, and comparable research evaluation.

Manuscripts that do NOT use Terra Latinoamericana template will be automatically rejected without undergoing the peer review process.

Acceptance criteria. The quality standards of a manuscript that allow the Editorial Committee and the reviewers of Terra Latinoamericana to accept a publication, is based mainly on basic criteria for the publication of scientific studies, such as clear and adequate language and presentation, for example, complying with editorial standards presentation of tables and figures; the manuscript must be in accordance with the editorial and ethical standards of Terra Latinoamericana; the methodology must be transparent and correct, with a well-established experimental design, correctly applied statistical analyzes and a detailed description of the study materials; The bibliographic references must be sufficient, recent and with coverage relevant to the main subject of the manuscript, which must consider a hypothesis and a specific question, with a relevant theory on the subject of study.

Rejection criteria. Basically, a contribution can be rejected at any stage before the paper is published, even during initial validation, peer review, final validation and, if problems are identified at a late stage, also after acceptance. In general terms, those manuscripts that do not meet the acceptance criteria should be rejected; However, it is important to establish clarity in the rejection criteria that are mainly limited to the following: when the manuscript does not conform to editorial and ethical policies, for example, it is not original, it is duplicated, it is plagiarized or self-plagiarized; the presentation in terms of the language is not of sufficient quality for the review process to be carried out strictly and rigorously; there are errors in the methodology, for example, the experimental design is not correct, the statistical analyzes are not appropriate for the study data and in this matter, the collaboration of the Statistical Editors of Terra Latinoamericana is essential; the presentation of the manuscript does not allow to elucidate if there is a hypothesis or research question with scientific validity, that is, the research question is pseudoscientific; the conclusions are not in accordance with the objectives or are biased by incorrect analysis; references in the text do not reflect the current state of knowledge in the study area or are very local, that is, the access to references is not possible; the study carried out violates the ethical policies not only of Terra Latinoamericana, but also those internationally recognized, for example, privacy protection, studies with living beings, among others; evidence is presented in the results obtained whose precision and reliability is very low, with the possibility that the data were falsified or fabricated and that the tables, figures and images present fraudulent manipulation.