Submissions

Author Guidelines

TEMPLATES FOR THE PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES

Before making a submission, the following documents must be downloaded:

- Editorial instructions template (first submission)

- Acceptance of editorial standards (first submission)

- Revisions form (review stage, second submission)

BASIC ASPECTS TO CONSIDER

Please, read the instructions carefully, and respect the formats of the editorial instructions template. Remember that the article must be written directly on the template, without altering fonts, margins, etc.

In the submission, must be uploaded to the platform the file in Word format, duly anonymized, with a weight of no more than 10 Mbytes (10,240 Kbytes) and a maximum of 25 pages, with tables and figures included.

In addition, you must attach the document of acceptance of editorial standards, duly signed in PDF format.

- ABOUT ARTICLES LANGUAGE

Authors must submit their original and final manuscripts in Spanish, English, or Catalan. If the original language is a Latin language (Spanish or Catalan), they must also include the title, abstract, and keywords in Spanish and English. For articles written in English, only the English version is required.

- ABOUT THE ARTICLES LENGTH

It is suggested that the length of general articles and those derived from theses or dissertations does not exceed 20 pages (including bibliography, tables, and figures), which represents approximately 12,000 words in the Word template of editorial guidelines. Contributions to the notes section may be significantly shorter, with a minimum of 8 pages.

The abstract of the text should be between 230 and 250 words, which will be included in the total length of the document. In addition, the abstract must have the following structure: objective, methodology, conclusions, and originality, as shown in the guidelines template. The abstract must fit within the delimited space and in no case exceed it.

- ABOUT MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE

The original manuscript must contain:

- The title of the article written in the language of redaction and also in another language, which can be English or Spanish, depending on the language of redaction.

- A brief abstract (230 to 250 words) that must include the objective of the research, the methodology, the main contributions made, and the originality of the topic. Manuscripts for the notes section, especially when they are reviews of other works, may omit the abstract. The abstract, like the title, must also be written in another language (English or Spanish) depending on the language of redaction.

- The keywords of the discussed subject (minimum 3 and maximum 4, separated by semicolons), different from those that appear in the title.

- Tables and figures must be inserted throughout the text as close as possible to their first reference.

- Footnotes are permitted, but bibliographic references cannot be inserted in them.

- Bibliographic references must be elaborated following the format of the APA 7th edition standards. In addition, ensure that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the citations throughout the text and those that appear in the bibliography. The use of bibliographic reference managers such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote is recommended.

- ABOUT TEXT STYLES AND FORMAT

Page orientation will be, in all cases, vertical. Only landscape-oriented figures and tables are accepted.

- Text style

Throughout the document, the typefaces to be used will be those embedded in the Word template (Georgia and Georgia Pro Light). All text styles allowed in the manuscript, as well as the formats for tables, figures, footnotes, or bibliographic references, are found in the “ACE Template” tab. Authors are urged to use this tab with style and format macros in the preparation of their manuscripts.

The use of bold text in the document is not permitted, nor is the use of hanging indents.

The use of full sentences in uppercase letters will only be permitted in the main title of the article, while the rest of the elements will use uppercase letters to the extent that the rules of written language require.

The use of italics will be reserved for second-level subtitles, as well as in the body text when a language other than the manuscript’s writing language is used, or when it is desired to emphasize an expression. Manuscripts must be written using inclusive and non-sexist language, reflecting respect for diversity and gender equality. Authors are encouraged to avoid expressions that reinforce stereotypes or exclude identities, and instead use linguistic formulations that promote equity and fair representation of all individuals.

- Tables and figures format

Both tables and figures will be numbered, separately, consecutively with Arabic numerals. The titles of both elements must be placed at the top of them. Explicit reference to the existence of such additional information must be made in the body of the text, and its usefulness described as necessary.

Both tables and figures must be accompanied, at the bottom, by the source and authorship, as well as any notes that are relevant to clarify their content.

Given the electronic nature of the edition, it is recommended that the content of the tables and figures have the same orientation as the text. Manuscripts that combine landscape and portrait format sheets at the same time will not be allowed.

The elements discussed in this section must be incorporated into the body of the text at the time of submission, that is, the manuscript must be a mock-up of the final article project (camera ready). This ensures that the appearance and effect of the spatial arrangement of the figures and tables is as desired by the authors. It will be sought, to the extent that circumstances allow, that the incorporated plans or photographs are in compressed format such as JPG, in order to lighten the weight of the electronic document, always taking care of adequate quality. When possible, authors are encouraged to insert images in SVG format, to ensure their visualization with optimal quality in the final PDF version, especially for images with lines, shapes, and text.

- ABOUT DIGITAL SUBMISSION

Only manuscripts submitted through the electronic platform in Word format will be accepted. It is strictly necessary that each article be presented with the formats indicated in the instruction template (camera ready). Articles segmented into different files or in PDF format will not be accepted. The month of August is non-working for all purposes, including the reception of works.

- ABOUT THE BLINDING OF MANUSCRIPTS

It is the responsibility of the authors that the manuscript file to be evaluated for possible publication does not contain any indication that allows identifying the authorship of the work in the face of blind peer review. This includes the need for the title of the work not to replicate previous publications that have been reviewed.

- ABOUT THE BIBLIOGRAPHY

The end of the article will be reserved for the bibliography, in which citations will appear in alphabetical order (following the paternal or single surname of the authors). For each author, their work will be ordered chronologically from the oldest to the most recent (in the case of multiple references from the same author). The instruction template presents the most frequently used examples of bibliographic references. For other details on inserting references, authors are recommended to refer to the APA 7th edition standards.

- ABOUT AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTION ROLES

The order of authors should be carefully checked before submitting papers, so that their registration on the website is correct. Any changes in the addition, deletion or reordering of authors must be made before the paper is accepted for publication, and must be approved in advance by the Editor of the journal. No changes in authorship will be made once the article has been accepted.

All authors should indicate their ORCID code (https://orcid.org/) to identify themselves univocally. Authors are encouraged to keep their ORCID profiles up to date and in public access mode.

The specific contribution of each author should be acknowledged in a section at the end of the manuscript. For this purpose, authors are encouraged to use the CRediT taxonomy (https://credit.niso.org/).

- ABOUT EDITORIAL ETHICS CRITERIA

Articles published in the ACE Journal must be original and unpublished works. Integral plagiarism and self-plagiarism are not acceptable. Authors, when submitting a manuscript, implicitly certify that this is the case and that the article is not in parallel evaluation processes in other journals, or has pending editorial commitments. In the case of articles derived from papers previously presented at conferences, express mention of this fact must be made in a footnote and the content of the article must not be in any case exactly the same as that of the paper. In the case of articles derived from unpublished or published theses, they must also be mentioned in a footnote indicating, in any case, the academic program from which they derive.

In the case that figures or tables from other publications are used, the authors are responsible for requesting permission from the respective publishing houses for their reproduction. The final submission of the article implicitly certifies this fact.

At the end of the article, acknowledgments must be cited, explicitly stating the funding sources of the research (if any), as well as the assistance, advice, or substantial recommendations made by third parties.

- ABOUT THE EDITORIAL PROCESS AND ESTIMATED TIMESCALES

The editorial process of the journal is designed to ensure scientific quality, transparency, and efficiency in manuscript management. The estimated time from manuscript submission to final publication ranges from 125 to 275 days, depending on the type of review required and the responsiveness of both authors and reviewers.

Upon submission, the manuscript enters a preliminary editorial screening, which takes approximately 15 to 20 days. In this stage, the Editorial Team assesses the manuscript's originality, scientific quality, thematic relevance, and adherence to the journal's guidelines.

If the manuscript passes this initial screening, it proceeds to a double-blind peer review process, which typically takes 45 to 90 days. Based on the reviewers’ reports, the manuscript may be accepted, rejected, or returned to the authors with a request for revisions.

If substantial revisions are needed, authors will have a maximum of 30 days to submit a revised version. This version may undergo a second round of peer review, which may take up to 30 days.

After the review process is completed, the Editorial Team will make a final decision within 15 days. Accepted manuscripts will then move to the production and scheduling phase, which may involve an additional 45 to 90 days before their appearance in an official issue of the journal.

- ABOUT PAYMENT BY EDITION OF ARTICLES

The ACE journal does not charge for publishing articles. However, its operation requires that each article accepted for publication make a payment for its editing and editorial style review, according to the following conditions:

• Fee 1:articles in the Theses section and articles whose main author is affiliated to the UPC or comes from a country in Group 4 (Low-Income Economies) according to the World Bank classification. (https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519)
• Fee 2:articles whose main author comes from any other country, except for G20 member countries.
• Fee 3:articles whose main author comes from a G20 country. (https://g20.org/about-g20/g20-members/)

For all articles accepted for publication, starting January 1, 2025, fee 1 480 euros (plus VAT), fee 2 is 580 euros (plus VAT), and fee 3 is 680 euros (plus VAT). These fees will be paid by bank transfer once the article has been finally accepted and before being placed on the waiting list for publication. These fees will be reviewed and, if necessary, updated at the beginning of each year.

People who, from May 1, 2020, have carried out a peer-review of articles in ACE, complying with the rigor in the evaluation, as well as within 30 days, and the forms, will receive a 10% cumulative bonus, to be applicable in 2 years, from the date the review is sent.

The acceptance of this terms policy means that payment conditions are accepted.

The terms of payment will be processed when appropriate, after acceptance, and prior to the edition and publication of the article.

- ABOUT THE DEPOSITION OF SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

In cases where the manuscript relies on the use of databases as part of its methodological process, authors are strongly encouraged to deposit the data used in an open-access repository, preferably one that is institutional or federated, and aligned with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) framework.

This requirement aims to promote transparency, reproducibility, and open access to scientific knowledge, in accordance with international standards for open science. The manuscript must clearly include a link to the repository where the data have been deposited, in a section entitled ‘Data availability’.