Approach and Scope

Saber Ser is a biannual open-access scientific publication aimed at disseminating scientific knowledge internationally through the publication of original and unpublished articles. It focuses on themes related to the discipline of Educational Sciences according to the Scientific Areas Classification of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Articles are selected from national and international research that seeks to solve regional and local problems. The journal is funded by the Adventist University Corporation and does not charge for the review, editing, and publication of articles. The evaluation process is carried out by international external peers under a double-blind modality.

Section Policies

Saber Ser - Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education accepts original contributions for publication in the following documentary categories:

Research Article

This type of document details the original results of research. It must clearly present the problem investigated and the related previous work published in recent scientific literature. Additionally, it should rigorously and comprehensively describe the proposed experimental methods and results that demonstrate the contribution of the work in the areas declared by the journal. The article must also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these methods compared to the state of the art, and provide a conclusion section that addresses the stated objectives and is generated from the content of the manuscript.

Review Article

This document results from research where published or unpublished research findings in a field of science or technology are analyzed, systematized, and integrated. Its objective is to account for the advances and development trends in the area in question. It is characterized by presenting an exhaustive bibliographic review of at least 50 references.

Reflection Article

This type of document presents research results from an analytical, interpretative, or critical perspective of the author on a specific topic. It is based on original scientific sources. Its basic structure consists of an introduction, main body, and conclusions, although it may vary depending on the nature of the analysis.

Editing and Review Process

1) Initial Editorial Assessment

Criteria considered: topic relevance, form, and appropriateness for the journal.
Possible decisions:

• Minor adjustments required to comply with editorial policy, followed by submission to peer review once revised.
• Rejection when the topic is not within the journal’s scope or when the required changes are too extensive.
• Direct referral to peer review.

2) Double-blind Peer Review

Two external expert reviewers are selected based on:

• Master’s or doctoral training in the subject area.
• Publications in the field within the last five years.
• Institutional affiliation different from the publishing institution, preferably international.
• No affiliation with the manuscript’s authors.
• Declaration of no conflicts of interest with the publishing institution, the journal, or any of its members (editors, authors, editorial and scientific boards).

The editor will forward the manuscripts for peer review to the reviewers, who will submit their reports via the online evaluation form on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. They may also provide comments directly on the manuscripts using MS Word’s Track Changes tool (estimated review time: 4 weeks).

This review will be conducted under a double-blind modality for both authors and reviewers; that is, manuscripts are sent with the identities of the authors and the reviewers—and any other identifying information—concealed.

Possible outcomes of peer review:

• Publishable without changes.
• Publishable with minor revisions.
• Publishable with major revisions.
• Not publishable, with reasons specified.

3) Post-review and Communication with Authors

The reviewers’ decision is sent anonymously to the authors with the notification (no changes / minor revisions / major revisions / rejection).
When revisions are required, authors receive the reviewers’ suggestions and comments by email, both in the message body and in attached documents.
Author response time: 20 calendar days from receipt of the review to submit the revised version to the editor, clearly marking changes (underlining or Track Changes in MS Word).

The Editorial Board verifies incorporation of the changes and, if deemed pertinent, may send the manuscript back to a reviewer for an additional opinion. The final publication decision rests with the Editorial Board, after verifying inclusion of the requested modifications. The journal reserves the right to edit the text without altering the article’s meaning.

4) Confidentiality

To ensure impartiality, the names of authors and reviewers remain confidential. The Corporación Universitaria Adventista observes the principles of good faith and respect for intellectual property.

5) Disputes

If a dispute arises (e.g., opposing reviewer reports or the author’s disagreement with the decision), an additional reviewer will be appointed. If the dispute persists, the Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision after carefully analyzing the peer reviews, with possible support from the Editorial and Scientific Boards.
Regardless of the external reviewers’ outcome, the Editorial Boards may add recommendations to improve the work’s quality. The final acceptance or rejection decision is not subject to appeal; however, authors may request a new evaluation in cases of doubt or insufficient rigor in the peer reviews.

6) Overall Timelines

Average time from submission to publication: 14 weeks.

Publication Frequency

Biannual. The journal is published at the end of each semester.

Open Access Policy

The journal is available for free for download and full reading through its website. Partial or total reproduction of the content of the journal is allowed for academic or internal use of institutions, as long as the source is recognized and both the authors and the journal are mentioned. It should be noted that any opinion or concept expressed in the articles is the sole responsibility of its authors. The articles published by the Journal will be available under the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, and No Derivative Works license.

Editorial Ethics

Saber Ser is committed to respecting and complying with ethical principles, standards, and guidelines in the entire editorial process, in accordance with the guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Accordingly, the journal has established the following principles and responsibilities applicable to the entire review and publication process:

Guiding Principles in Publishing Processes

Authors, editors, and evaluators will develop their actions in accordance with the principles of intellectual honesty, integrity, respect for intellectual property and copyright, transparency in conflicts of interest, impartiality, and non-discrimination.

Author Responsibilities

• Comply with the guidelines and instructions to authors established by the Journal.
• Ensure that the manuscript submitted to the journal is not in the process of publication or has not been accepted in another journal or that its copyright rights have been transferred to a third party.
• Ensure that the manuscript submitted is original and respects intellectual property standards. The journal does not allow self-plagiarism.
• Respect the copyright of those who made intellectual contributions in the conception, design, and writing of the manuscript. Ensure that you have the powers to publish under your authorship the work submitted to the journal.
• Comply with ethical standards in research, informed consent, and assent if people participated in the research.
• Be responsible for the ideas expressed in the work submitted to the journal, to the extent that these are the responsibility of its authors.
• Complete the originality format and the transfer of copyright rights of the manuscript submitted to the journal. The author accepts that the journal may publish the work in paper, electronic medium, on the journal's website, and in bibliographic databases, at the choice of the journal.
• Timely inform the journal's editorial office of any significant error in their publication and collaborate in the preparation of the respective errata, addendum, or withdrawal of the article, as appropriate.

Editor Responsibilities

• Guarantee the quality, originality, and usefulness of the contents of the Journal.
• Act impartially, objectively, and fairly. This implies that authors or peer reviewers must not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, religious, political beliefs, gender, ethnicity, or origin.
• Comply with the policy and editorial standards of the journal and with the manuscript review and evaluation process. Follow the procedures established by the editorial office in cases of inappropriate conduct or complaints of an ethical nature or conflict of interest.
• Timely communicate to the intervening parties (authors or evaluators) the decisions adopted in the editorial process of the manuscript.
• Maintain the confidentiality of the documents and communications received.

Responsibility of Evaluators

• Evaluators are to impartially, respectfully, and objectively review manuscripts by the dates specified by the journal editor. For this purpose, they must complete and submit the article evaluation form. The evaluator's comments should aim to enhance the manuscript's quality.
• Maintain confidentiality of received documents and communications.
• Avoid establishing any communication with the manuscript's author or authors.

Commitments of Readers

Readers are responsible for immediately notifying the journal editor if they detect any similarities with previously published works or other inappropriate conduct in the published articles. Furthermore, readers must respect the copyright of the articles and refrain from substantially using the content in their own publications, or alternatively, appropriately cite the source.

Originality Verification

Before acceptance for publication in the journal, all submitted manuscripts will undergo a thorough originality analysis using similarity detection software with other published works, followed by a review of the cited references in the document. In the event of any indication of possible breaches of ethical codes, the procedure established in the COPE Flowcharts will be followed to address cases of suspected malpractice.

Copyright

Licence

This journal publishes its contents  under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.

Authors must declare, by means of a statement of originality and assignment of rights, that the submitted manuscript is original and unpublished and has not been published or submitted for publication in any format or medium. If the manuscript is approved for publication, the authors grant, free of charge, to the Corporación Universitaria Adventista (UNAC) the rights of reproduction, communication to the public, distribution, and transformation, without limitations as to the number of copies, formats, or media of publication.

Authors must also guarantee that they will hold the Corporación Universitaria Adventista harmless and indemnify it against any claim related to the economic (patrimonial) copyright in the article, and they will defend the institution against any such claim. This defense includes the payment of legal fees and any other charges related to the legal process.

In accordance with the editorial policies, the Corporación Universitaria Adventista reserves the right to self-archive or deposit the post-print (accepted manuscript) version of the article on websites, databases, indexes, directories, and institutional or thematic repositories at the time the work is accepted.

Privacy Statement

The personal data included in this publication are the property of their holders who authorize their processing as indicated by the UNAC's data processing policy, such as "Personal Data Protection Policies," available on its website. Particularly for the purposes of measurements and reporting of scientific production, this data will be processed in accordance with current laws, especially Law 1581 of 2012 and Decree 1377 of 2013 of Colombia and may be shared for statistical purposes, measurement, and in function of the institutional mission activities of the UNAC.

Publication Expenses

The Saber Ser journal is financed through resources provided by the Adventist University Corporation, a private entity. In line with its academic objective, the journal is open access and does not charge any fee for the submission, processing, editing, and publication of articles. It is important to mention that the journal is free and aimed at the general academic community.

Digital Object Identifier

To ensure the availability, accessibility, and intellectual property of its editions and articles, the journal has implemented a digital object identifier (DOI) system for its electronic versions. This promotes interoperability between systems and enhances the visibility and scientific impact of the published works.

Errata and Retractions

The journal is committed to editorial integrity and ethics, and in the case of errors in published articles, measures will be taken to correct them. The author or the editor may identify errors during the evaluation and editing process or even after publication. Depending on the nature and severity of the errors, different changes and additions to the articles can be made.

If the errors are minor, an erratum will be published correcting the errors without the need to withdraw the entire article. However, if the errors are serious and affect the results and conclusions of the article, a retraction will proceed. Furthermore, if the article violates the journal's editorial ethics, it will also be subject to retraction.

In the event of an honest error that significantly changes the direction or meaning of the results, a retraction with republication will be considered. Any request for erratum or retraction must be sent to the journal's email, providing all necessary information.

The journal will thoroughly analyze all identified errors and, if necessary, seek expert advice to make ethical decisions. In all cases, the journal will strive to correct errors promptly and will communicate the changes and the dates they were made so that readers are informed.

Before submitting a correction request or notifying an error, consider the following aspects:

Readers

If a reader finds a substantial error in the content of a published article, they may submit a document detailing the errors found. The Editor will evaluate the case and, if the error is confirmed, contact the authors to make the relevant corrections and provide a response to the reader.

If the reader is not satisfied with the authors' response, direct correspondence exchange between the reader and the authors will be facilitated, and the journal will be informed about these communications.

Authors

The journal will not accept changes in the order of authors or additions or deletions after the manuscript submission. Any substantial error requiring a retraction must be detailed by the author. For other errors, the exact text should be specified and the corresponding correction provided. The Editorial Board may decide to send these corrections for peer review.

The corresponding author is responsible for informing the co-authors about the errors in the publication and coordinating any changes required by the journal.

Publication of Errata

The person who submitted an erratum will be personally notified, informed about the solution adopted. Additionally, a clarifying note will be published in the next issue of the journal and on its website, detailing the changes made. When the corrected version is published, it will specify what was corrected and what the error was.

In case of retraction, a notice will be published clearly indicating which article is affected and the reasons for the retraction, whether partial or total.

Claims

In case the authors or editors have any dissatisfaction, they can communicate to the email saberser@unac.edu.co presenting their case and providing arguments that support their claim.

The complaint must be clear and concrete, containing sufficient data to demonstrate a possible breach of the journal's editorial ethics declaration. Where possible, additional documentation should be attached as proof or evidence of the claimed situation.

The journal will only receive complaints via email. The technical editor will be responsible for analyzing, managing, and providing timely responses. These will be answered within no more than three (3) business days. However, depending on the complexity of the case, the complainant will be informed of the additional time required to conclude the investigation.

The complainant must provide their contact information: full name, email, and telephone number to direct communications and respond to the complaint or claim. In the case of an anonymous complaint, a response will be sent to the email used to send the request.

The Editorial team, the Editorial Board, or expert personnel will study the case, taking into account the guidelines or recommendations set by COPE, depending on the nature and complexity of the complaint. If necessary, the journal may request additional information and documentation to clarify the case.

In case of personal complaints against authors, editors, evaluators, or the editorial team of the journal, the complainant will be informed why the complaint is not the responsibility of the journal.

If a complaint is made about possible similarities and content coincidences in an article published in the journal, the accusations will be investigated to ensure they are not related to common phrases, such as: "it has been proven that", "in previous investigations, we found that", etc. If it is proven that the accusation is not trivial or inaccurate, the investigation will be escalated to legal instances.

The journal will not conduct investigations when complaints are presented in an offensive, threatening, or defamatory manner. In these cases, the journal will escalate the complaint to the institution's lawyers and the corresponding entities.

The journal may resort to laws, codes, and legal norms when a complainant persists with complaints about an unfounded, false, or malicious matter. In these cases, if the institutional affiliation of the complainant is known, the conduct of the complainant will be reported to the institution.

Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism

Authors submitting articles to the Saber Ser journal must respect and cite the sources from which data, figures, and information were taken in a clear, explicit, and tangible manner. If a breach of this rule is detected during the editorial process, peer review, or evaluation, the publication of the article will be automatically rejected. Should this situation be identified after publication, a retraction note will be issued in a subsequent issue. Authors must ensure the originality of their articles, and the Journal will be vigilant to prevent malpractices of duplicity, plagiarism, or self-plagiarism. By using the iThenticate platform, the percentage of original content and self-citation will be assessed. It is necessary to clarify that for an article to be considered original or unpublished, it must not exceed 20% of content derived from other writings of the author or authors (excluding references). This process ensures the quality and originality of the articles, establishing that if malpractices are found, the article will be rejected for publication. Instances of plagiarism include: direct copying of text without quotation marks or citing the source, modifying some words of the text, paraphrasing, and lack of acknowledgments.