Submissions

Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts are required to be written in English and must be in an editable word processor format. Manuscripts will be submitted to the web platform www.ricuc.cl through which all the communication with authors, associate editors, editorial process committee and reviewers will be carried out.

Authors are required to sign up to the platform at Home Page/About/Submissions/Online Submissions/Sign up. The manuscript will be submitted along with a statement of conflict of interest and a statement of the contributions of each of the authors (see ethical requirements for submissions).

The manuscript will be assigned to an associate editor who will select and send it to expert peers on specific topics to its review. The Editor may require reviews and revisions before making a final decision of acceptance or rejection.

Exclusivity of the Contents (Ethical Requirement)

Manuscripts sent to this journal must be original and must not have been partially or completely published or be under any evaluation process in another journal.

The corresponding author is required to submit a signed statement establishing compliance with this requirement when sending the manuscript and a commitment not to subsequently submit it to another journal until the evaluation process is completed (rejection or major review) or it is accepted, but not published within 24 months (see copyright).

Declaration of Interest (Ethical Requirement)

All authors are required to disclose any financial or personal relationships with individuals or organizations that might inappropriately influence their work and conclusions. Some examples of these conflicts of interest include being employed or providing consulting, owning stock, holding patents, or financing. The authors must fill out and sign a statement according to the form provided by the Publisher. If there is no conflict of interest, this must also be disclosed on the form.

Contribution of the Authors (Ethical Requirement)

The corresponding author is required to submit a statement on the contribution of the authors in which the type(s) of the contribution that each author made to the manuscript is identified. The descriptions will be based on the roles proposed by the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) and consider: conceptualization, data generation and management, formal analysis, financing, research, methodology, project management, resources, software, supervision, validation, visualization, manuscript writing, review and editing of the manuscript.

Manuscript Format

The manuscript will be limited to a length of 5,000 words without considering references.

First Page

Manuscripts should have a title page with the full name of the author(s), his/her/their affiliation and full address for correspondence, telephone, and e-mail. The title and affiliation of the authors must be written in Spanish and English. The corresponding author must be identified and will be responsible for all communications.

Summary, Abstract and Keywords

The summary and abstract should not exceed 200 words each and should summarize the key aspects of the manuscript and a synthesis of the most important relevance, results and conclusions that the manuscript presents. Five keywords should be included both in Spanish and English.

Manuscript Content

The manuscript must be properly written and structured. The structure should include at least the following sections: introduction, development, and conclusions. The introduction should clearly state the purpose of the work. The development and discussion should include the main results and observations of the work and the methodology used. The conclusions should be relevant to the readers and properly supported in the body of the manuscript.

The references should be reduced to those that are essential and directly related to the submitted work. When the reference is a manuscript and has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) it must always be indicated at the end of the manuscript. In each citation, the data should be entered in the APA format.

Tables and Formulas

Tables and formulas (equations) should be sequentially numbered in the same order as they appear in the text, with Arabic numbers and referring to them as table 1, table 2..., formula 1, formula 2.... etc., accordingly. These must be included in the text in the same order in which they are referenced. With regard to tables, the title should be placed at the top and should not duplicate the results shown in the plots. The system of units to be used will be the International System (IS).

Figures

Figures can include plots, drawings, diagrams, and photographs. The figures sent must be ready for publication, they must be sequentially numbered, in the same order they are referenced in the text, such as figure 1, figure 2, etc., and their title must be placed at the bottom. They should be included within the text as they are cited and, also, should be sent as files, in the original software format in which they were created.

Copyright

Submitting a manuscript to Revista Ingeniería de Construcción means that it represents an original work, not previously published and not considered for publication elsewhere. If the manuscript is accepted as an article for publication, authors must transfer the copyright using a form provided by the Publisher.

Copyright Notice

It is the policy of Revista Ingenería de Construcción (RIC) to safeguard all the contributions of the authors by acquiring the copyrights of the articles published in the journal. For this purpose, RIC must obtain a written copyright transfer from the authors who contribute with their articles.

The aforementioned transfer will allow RIC to publish and reprint the article as well as to index and/or include it in databases or other services to which RIC belongs.  These tasks are essential in RIC's effort to disseminate knowledge in the construction engineering field.  For this reason, RIC requires the signature of each author of the article in the following document that must be sent once the article is accepted for publication.

(Copyright Transfer Document)

The copyrights of the above-identified work are transferred to Revista Ingeniería de Construcción. This transfer becomes effective from the moment of the reception of this “Copyright transfer” document. In addition, the authors also give a 24-month exclusivity period to RIC after the reception of this form. The author keeps the ownership rights, such as Patents and the total or partial use of the article in works like lectures, reviews, and books. If RIC does not publish the article within 24 months after receiving this form, the authors may request its withdrawal keeping the right of their article, and everything that relates to it.

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

All articles are subject to an editorial and ethical review by the editorial team (Editor, Editorial Manager and/or Associate Editors). This evaluation includes, at least, checking:

The conformity of the subject matter with the contents of the Journal

The originality, innovation and interest of the subject covered

The scientific/technological contribution of the subject covered

The proper compliance with the ethical standards of the journal: exclusivity of contributions, declaration of conflicts of interest and the contribution of each author.

Meeting the formal requirements

The acceptance of the publication conditions

If approved, the articles will be anonymously assessed by the external peer reviewers. For the adequate and timely assessment of each manuscript, the peer reports are necessary.

Once the process of external assessment of the article has been completed, the associate editor will make a recommendation to the editor of the journal who will make the decision, based on any of the following resolutions:

a)            Rejecting the manuscript

b)           Requesting a reviewed version of the manuscript

c)            Requesting a revised version of the manuscript with minor adjustments

d)           Accepting the manuscript for publication

The decision on the assessment and the reports of the reviewers and associate editor is communicated to the corresponding author in writing through the platform.

EDITORIAL PROCESS

The editorial process consists of X steps that the manuscripts sent for evaluation must be approved sequentially

1.            The Editorial Manager of the journal is in charge of verifying compliance with the ethical and formal requirements established in the "Author Guidelines." Then, the article is specifically reviewed with specialized software for the detection and prevention of plagiarism. If the manuscript is compliant, it is submitted to the Editor for assessment. The editorial manager also ensures that the procedures are properly followed and that the assessment deadlines are met on time.

2.            The Editor of the journal analyzes the relevance of the manuscript within the scope and objectives of the journal and the interest of the subject developed. If the manuscript is relevant, it is assigned to an associate editor according to the subject areas for assessment.

3.            The associate editor of the journal analyzes the originality, innovation and scientific/technological contribution of the manuscript. If the manuscript is of interest and complies with the requirements, external peer reviewers from relevant databases are appointed.

4.            The reviewers prepare an assessment report considering the following parameters, if applicable, a) alignment with the scope of the journal b) innovation/relevance c) methodology d) data analysis e) quality of data presentation f) conclusions, and g) references. The reviewers will have a period of 30 days to complete their review. If the reviewers do not reply within that period, new reviewers will be appointed.

5.            The associate editor manages the evaluation process by monitoring each of the reviewers. Once a minimum of two assessment reports are obtained, a recommendation for resolution  is made to the Editor. In case of a discrepancy between reviewers, the associate editor may request the report of a new assessor.

6.            The Editorial Manager analyzes the recommendation of the associate editor and communicates to the Editor who will make a final decision and will inform the corresponding author, adding the reports of the assessors, keeping their identities confidential.

7.            In case the resolution is a rejection, the manuscript is returned to the corresponding author with the corresponding observations. The corresponding author is free to send the manuscript to another journal for assessment.

8.            In case the resolution is to request a reviewed version, with or without minor adjustments, the new manuscript is assigned to the same associate editor for processing, who will prepare a new recommendation to the editor directly or with the support of peer reviewers as decided.

9.            In case the resolution is to accept the manuscript, it will be assigned to the editorial process team who will proceed with the publication process. Only minor editorial changes can be made to the manuscript during this process. Any major change will imply a new revision of the manuscript by the same associate editor.

STATEMENT OF ETHICS AND BEST EDITORIAL PRACTICES

The responsibility of the Editor includes the verification and review of the articles submitted by the authors. The editor has to ensure the scientific quality and avoid malpractice in the publication and manage in a timely manner the assessment of the works received.

In most cases, this is a simple process. However, it is important to mention that ethical challenges may arise during the review process and after publication. Among the possible ethical problems that can be found are: a) plagiarism, b) publication of content previously published by the authors, c) simultaneous submission to other journals, d) authors who did not contribute e) contributors who are not the authors, f) conflicts of interest, g) falsification or fabrication of data, and h) non-recognition of financing sources.

The journal puts its trust in the work of the authors and especially in the corresponding author who must explicitly state when submitting the manuscript that the ethics standards of RIC are respected.

Also, the journal must follow ethical procedures that ensure appropriate management of the information received. This responsibility involves mainly the compliance with the following principles:

Impartiality: the editorial team must be impartial in managing the papers, respecting the author(s) and their intellectual Independence.

Confidentiality: the editorial team must keep the information confidential and the main author or corresponding author is the first person to communicate any information or question regarding the paper submitted. No member of the journal team including reviewers can take advantage of the manuscripts submitted for possible publication. This includes, among other things, original ideas, data, arguments, and conclusions.

Transparency: the editorial team ensures that all papers have been assessed by specialists in the field, and that this assessment process is not biased. The editorial team also reserves the right to maintain the anonymity of the names of both referees and authors.

Acceptance or Rejection: this process is the responsibility of the Journal Editor who accepts or rejects for publication, based on referred reports.

RIC recognizes the corresponding author as the main author, who must guarantee the recognition of all those who have made an objective intellectual contribution to the manuscript.

Ethical Issues:

a)            Plagiarism: articles submitted to this journal must be original and not previously published or in the process of being reviewed by another journal (see instructions for authors). No copies of other papers are allowed, this may be literal without permissions, or with the recognition of the source.

b)           Publication of contents already published by the author(s). Regarding the originality of the articles, no manuscripts are allowed that substantially contain material already published by some of the authors in other sources (such as congresses, books, journals in the same language or another). This is considered to be self-plagiarism even if other words or figures, tables, or other parts of the manuscript are used or modified. The corresponding author must expressly state that this does not occur in the submitted manuscript.

c)            Double submission: manuscripts sent to this journal for possible publication should not have been previously published, or be in the review process of another journal. The corresponding author should expressly state that the manuscript will not be and is not being assessed by another journal while it is under review in RIC.

d)           Non-contributing authors: all manuscript authors must have made an objective intellectual contribution to the paper. Including people among the authors who did not make an intellectual contribution to the paper is a serious ethical problem since it responds to other criteria such as the return of favors as well as other inclusions as an author or seeking unfair advantages by including researchers of great prestige. The corresponding author must expressly state that all authors included have made an intellectual contribution to the submitted manuscript.

e)           Contributors who are not authors: all people who have made an objective intellectual contribution to the work should be listed among the authors. The corresponding author must explicitly state that all people who have made an intellectual contribution to the submitted manuscript have been identified as authors.

f)            Conflicts of interest: all manuscripts submitted for possible publication are assessed in an objective process. This allows for some impartiality in the assessment but does not ensure that reviewers prioritize their personal interests. For them, in the reviewer selection stage, we look for people who are experts in the subjects and who expressly state having no conflict of interest when carrying out the assessment.

g)            Falsification or fabrication of data: RIC understands that in an original article all the data belong to the authors and are authentic. This allows the construction of analyses and conclusions supported by scientific evidence. Therefore, the authors must explicitly attest that all data and results used in the manuscript are their own and authentic.

h)           Use of data without the proper protocols and authorizations: hundreds of research studies involve working with people and institutions. Therefore, information that involves people who will not be the authors of the manuscript is accessed or generated. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining explicit authorization from persons and institutions for the use of the information and must expressly state that these tasks have been performed as appropriate.

i)             Non-recognition of financing sources or other funders of the research: many studies are made possible through institutional funding or access to essential resources by the authors. Although this does not constitute authorship, such contribution should be properly acknowledged. The corresponding author is responsible for explicitly naming these supports in the acknowledgment section and must expressly state that these tasks have been performed as appropriate.

External plaintiffs: if an external plaintiff presents evidence that supports his or her claim, it must clearly indicate his or her allegation. The Journal reserves the right to make a previous investigation and inform all the authors of the article, to hear the defense without prejudice, and the decision must be made by the editor who can consult the executive committee having all the necessary information and support.

The journal assumes the right to investigate before making any decision and to present the background information to the author(s). If any of these faults are detected, the journal reserves the right to reject the manuscript immediately and inform those involved, such as other journals, and the authorities of the institutions where the authors work. If the detection occurs after an eventual acceptance and publication, the journal reserves the right to retract the article by publicly disclosing the fact. The journal also reserves the right to veto the corresponding author for future submissions.

PRIVACY STATEMENT

The names and e-mail addresses listed in this journal will be exclusively used for the purposes stated by this journal and will not be available for any other purpose or to any other person.