About the Journal

Focus and scope

The RIDI Journal (Revista de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación), is a multidisciplinary scientific publication, open access, which is addressed to the international community of researchers in the social and applied sciences. Its objective is the publication of research and review articles, written in Spanish and English, in the areas of education, administration, energy and the environment.

RIDI has the following short title: Rev.Investig.Desarro.Innov., it is published twice annually and selects its contents through a peer-to-peer arbitration process, through the “double-blind” system. Regarding its ethics policy, RIDI subscribes to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

RIDI is fully run by the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC), and operates under the ‘open access diamond model’, that is, the submission and publication process has no cost for the authors.

Publishing process 

The RIDI publishing process is divided into three stages: article submission, peer review, and professional editing. Here are some key aspects of each of these stages.

Submission of articles Mailing. 

Manuscripts will be sent to the electronic mail: revista.idi@gmail.com, in MS-Word 2003 format or compatible format, according to the guidelines of the instructions for authors. The manuscript can also be sent through the OJS platform of the journal, where the author must be registered.

Documents to formalize the submission. The manuscript will be accompanied by a letter specifying the corresponding author, in which the originality of the manuscript must be confirmed too, specifying that it has not been published in a previous version or by other means, and assumes the commitment not to submit it to another publication simultaneously. The journal provides a letter format, which can be downloaded here.

Editor verification. Once a manuscript has been received, the RIDI Editor will verify that it complies with the requirements established in the instructions for authors and, if everything is correct, an identification code will be assigned to the manuscript, which will be maintained throughout the entire process. In this phase, the editor may consider that the manuscript is not feasible to be submitted to peer evaluation, for reasons related to non-compliance with the journal's rules, coincidence with the thematic spectrum of the journal or due to some inconvenience related to its originality. The editor's decision will be communicated to the authors.

Ethics. RIDI subscribes to the recommendations and good practices (core practices) of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and for this purpose includes within its policy a series of ethical considerations, in the section Statement of ethics and good editorial practices. Any author who decides to submit a manuscript to RIDI must know and understand this section in advance, and must follow the indications or precautions that emerge from there. The violation, or the unresolved suspicion of an ethical dilemma, will lead to the total rejecting of the publication or the process of a submitted manuscript. Finally, in the event that a manuscript is considered viable, after the editorial review, the peer review will begin.

 Peer evaluation 

When a manuscript is accepted to begin its peer review process at RIDI, these are the stages that comprise the process:

Pair selection. The RIDI editorial team will assign two peer reviewers, related to the topic of each manuscript. The pairs will be selected according to their academic profile, scientific and research activity, and their recent record of publications on the same subject as the manuscripts. 

Mailing of the manuscripts. The editorial assistant will send the manuscripts to the peers, along with the respective evaluation format, agreeing a maximum time for the return of their concept.

Results. Once the two concepts are received, the following can happen:

·        Approved without changes. Two peer reviewers approved the publication of the manuscript, without changes. In this case, the manuscript is submitted for review by the editorial team for final approval.

·        Approved subject to change. The evaluators' concepts are positive, but one or both of them suggest changes. In this case, the manuscript is returned to the corresponding author, along with adjustment recommendations for review and correction of the manuscript.

·        Rejected. The concepts of two pairs are negative with respect to the publication of the manuscript. In this case, the editorial assistant will inform the contact author that the work was rejected, attaching the concept of the pairs.

·        Peer conflict. One of the selected pairs approves the publication of the manuscript and another discards it. In this case, the editorial team will appoint a third evaluator whose concept will be final.

Approval. Manuscripts that have been accepted by the peer reviewers and corrected by the authors will be considered by the Editorial Committee for publication. This situation will be reported to the corresponding author.

"Double blind" system. All manuscripts will be evaluated anonymously, by a minimum of two pairs, under the process known as “double blind”. This mechanism guarantees the anonymity of both authors and reviewers, who will never have contact with each other, but only through the editor. Controversies arising in the evaluation process will be settled by the Editorial Committee.

Evaluation times. The estimated average time for the evaluation of a manuscript, including its reception, evaluation, correction and acceptance, is three (3) months. This time may vary depending on the availability of the reviewers and the authors to make any necessary corrections. 

Professional editing of approved manuscripts

All approved manuscripts will be reviewed by a professional editing process. This implies carrying out a style correction on the manuscript, a layout, a comparison of tests, an approval of final art and marking of the final files in different formats.

Responsibility of the authors. Authors must actively participate in the editing process, as soon as the editor of the journal requests it. The diligence of the authors and the meticulousness to answer the doubts, observations or to make the corrections derived from the edition, are relevant throughout this process. The absence of an author's response to complete or resolve all the doubts that arise from the edition, may lead to delays in the publication of the manuscript or, even, to the journal deciding to discard its publication.To facilitate this process, authors are asked to write with the utmost rigor, checking spelling, using short and homogeneous paragraphs, and using punctuation marks appropriately as well as follow the editorial rules and conventions required by the journal. The Editorial Committee reserves the right to modify the title of the articles and to make the editorial changes it deems pertinent, in order to ensure that the texts are published in their cleanest, most coherent and legible version.

Statement of ethics and good editorial practices

RIDI adheres to the ethical recommendations and good practices (core practices) of the Committee On Publication Ethics (COPE). Likewise, the provisions of Habeas Data-Statutory Law 1266 of 2008 of Colombia are taken into account for the management of personal information in databases.

Ethical criteria for authors and evaluators

For the authors

1.  All documents submitted for the publication process in RIDI must have undergone an exhaustive review process by the authors, respecting the policies defined by the journal.
2. The works that are derived from investigations made with people or organizations, must have the corresponding authorization (s), which must be attached to the nominated manuscript.
3. The works presented to RIDI must be original by each of the persons who sign as authors. A work that is translated from another language is not considered original.
4. The opinions expressed in the articles are the sole responsibility of their authors.
5. Although it is not considered self-plagiarism the fact that the authors base their affirmations on the sections of definitions, theoretical framework or methodologies in other manuscripts that they have prepared, it is essential that the contributions and conclusions are not the same as those of manuscripts that are published, either by the authors themselves or by others.
6. All authors must declare that the content of the article is original and that it has not been published, nor is it being considered for publication, in any other printed or electronic medium.
7. Any person listed as the author of an article must have participated in the research process and in the preparation of the material that is presented to RIDI. It is expected that people who did not participate in the activities described will not appear as authors. Whoever has only participated in part of these activities can appear in the acknowledgments section.
8. When the author is a member of the editorial team of RIDI, he will be disqualified for the revisions and decisions that he is responsible for taking on the work.

 

For the evaluators 

1. The editorial team of the Journal invites people with research experience to be an evaluator, according to the area of each of the submitted papers. However, if the peer considers that they do not meet the profile, they do not have the time or they have a conflict of interest to evaluate a document, they should make it known, so that the editorial team assigns another to evaluate the manuscript.
2. The peer evaluator must present a concept that is as clear and rigorous as possible, without using offensive language, so that the Editorial Committee can make the decision on the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript.

The documents sent to the evaluators by RIDI are confidential and, therefore, their review is limited to evaluative purposes. The citation of these as unpublished manuscripts or the use of their contents before publication constitute an inappropriate and unauthorized use. 

For the Editor and the Editorial Committee 

1. The Editorial Board and its support team undertake to maintain the confidentiality of the information contained in the manuscripts in their charge, and undertake not to use such information for purposes other than the function entrusted to them.
2. The Editor and his support team should not reveal any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the authors, reviewers, potential reviewers and other editorial advisers, if necessary.
3. Unpublished materials revealed in an article submitted to the selection process should not be used in own research by the members of the Editorial Committee or the Editor without the express written consent of the author.
4. The editor should not give a concept about a manuscript if he considers that the document may generate a conflict of interest, resulting from competitive, collaborative or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions related to the journal.
5. The RIDI Editor and the Editorial Committee supported by peer review in the ‘double-blind’ mode, are responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal can be published.
6. The editor must process the manuscripts in a fair and balanced manner, without any type of discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality or political philosophy of the authors.
7. The editor will apply mechanisms that guarantee the confidentiality of the information and the anonymity of authors and reviewers within the editorial process.
8. The editor will respond to the queries and concerns of authors, reviewers and readers, promoting academic quality and good editorial practices.
9. The editor will use mechanisms such as: anti-plagiarism software, querying databases or other tools, which reduce the possibilities of plagiarism in the manuscripts submitted to the editorial process.
10. The Editor must respond to complaints about an article already published whose collaboration claims the respective credit. The measures taken will be communicated in a timely manner to the author of the article.
11. The Editor will apply due process to the requests, will issue the communications it deems pertinent to the competent institutions and investigative bodies and, if the complaint is upheld, the publication must make the correction, retraction, expression of concern or other note to clarify the situation.
12. The Editor is guided by the policies of the Editorial Board of the journal, taking advantage of the current legal aspects  regarding defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. 

Plagiarism detection 

RIDI considers plagiarism to be a serious offense and any author who makes this mistake will be permanently banned from participating in the journal. Plagiarism is the action by which segments of works by other authors are reproduced or paraphrased without the corresponding referencing or recognition. It is plagiarized when:

• Fragments of other people's works are included or used in the manuscript without quotation marks or reference to the source.
• It is copied and pasted, directly from other sources without reference to it or without indicating that it is a verbatim quote.
• Images, tables or diagrams are included without permission and without recognition of their origin.Plagiarism, whether consciously or not, is a serious offense that according to current Colombian legislation (the country from which the journal is published), has criminal consequences.In summary, when a work is submitted to RIDI, it is understood that the authors guarantee that:
• The work has not been previously published, nor is it in the process of being reviewed by any other physical or electronic means.
• All authors guarantee to have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
• If accepted, the manuscript may not be reproduced in another place or language without citing the original publication in RIDI.All other provisions not expressed regarding plagiarism will be resolved based on the provisions of good practices (CORE practices), and COPE flow charts.Likewise, RIDI will submit to a review by anti-plagiarism software all the manuscripts it receives for the publication

 Reporting of cases 

The acts that raise suspicions about unethical behavior will be verified under the following procedure: identification, investigation, infractions and sanctions. 

Identification

• Misconduct and unethical behaviors can be identified by anyone and should be brought to the attention of the editor or editorial committee at any time.
• Individuals who report misconduct to the magazine must provide sufficient information and evidence to begin a formal investigation.• All reports will be taken seriously and treated in the same way, until a successful conclusion is reached. 

Investigation

• Initially, the Editor should consult and seek advice from the Editorial Committee.
• All evidence will be collected and treated confidentially by the members who have to judge it. If the answer is not satisfactory, the case will be escalated to the superiors of the site where the authors work.
• The Editor, after reviewing and analyzing the case, will issue a judgment that will lead to detecting infractions and establishing sanctions.

 Offenses

Infractions are divided into minor and serious offenses as follows: 

Minor offenses: misconduct not determined by an interest in harming the journal or third parties.

Serious offenses: engaging in inappropriate and unethical conduct in order to deliberately harm the magazine and third parties. They include plagiarism, conflict of interest knowing that it exists, defamation of people or institutions, alteration of information (method, analysis, results) and any other that violates intellectual property and ethics rules internationally approved.

Sanctions For minor offenses:

• Call for attention to the authors about their unethical behavior which would lead to serious penalties, in case of not providing a satisfactory explanation or recidivism. 

For serious offenses:

•  The journal will publicly notify inappropriate behavior in detail through an editorial note.• The Editor will inform the project's sponsoring entities about the serious offense detected in the source article of the investigation.
• The lifetime inability to re-accept an item from the person who committed the offense.
•  Inform the competent authorities for a judicial sanction. 

Corrections and retractions

RIDI, in the cases deemed necessary, will publish corrections and retractions of the published manuscripts.

The corrections correspond to the publication of a note in which the involuntary errors made in the article are pointed out and the respective correction is presented.

In the case of retractions, access to the article will be restricted and a note will be published explaining the reasons for the retraction. These reasons may be, among others, plagiarism, data presentation, methods, analysis or manipulated results which invalidate the contributions of the article.

Publication frequency

The journal is published every six months and two issues are published per year: January-June and July-December. The reception of the manuscripts is permanent and can be done at any time. In accordance with international criteria on periodicity, the numbers are published at the beginning of the semester: in February the number for January-June and in August the number for July-December.

Open Access

The journal provides an open access to its content, based on the principle of giving free access to the public to research which results in a broader global exchange of knowledge. RIDI is based on the open access diamond model principle, so there is no charge for submission or publication of articles.

Processing Charges -APCs

The submission, processing and publication of articles in RIDI has no cost for the authors. 

Sponsors

Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, UPTC

Facultad Seccional Duitama, UPTC

Indexing

The journal carries out indexing and permanent content updating processes to increase its visibility and long-term preservation. Currently, RIDI is included in: 

Databases

SciELO, Google Scholar,EBSCO: Academic Search Ultimate and Fuente Académica Plus

Indexes

 Publindex, Category B.

Directories

Latindex, DOAJ, REDIB, Dialnet and ERIH PLUS