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1. Editorial criteria

Submitted works must meet the publication guidelines of the Publisher and fall under the themes of the corresponding collection. They must also meet the requirements on originality, scientific interest, relevance to the topic, conceptual and methodological rigour, contribution to knowledge, internal coherence of the text and clear explanations, valid and sound conclusions, and sufficient and up-to-date bibliography.

Generally speaking, publication proposals for conference proceedings, project results reports, translations of works that do not include a critical study, facsimile editions, master’s dissertations and doctoral dissertations that have not been reformulated for publication will not be accepted.

The works published by Ediciones Complutense will become part of one of its active collections based on its publishing line or policy.

For more information, we recommend consulting the Ediciones Complutense publishing policy section and, where appropriate, the section on the publishing policy of the collection.

2. Submission of original manuscripts

Publication proposals must be submitted using the official form. All fields in this form must be completed and a chapter or complete text of the work must be provided in Word and PDF formats so that the proposal may be subject for consideration by Ediciones Complutense.

The original manuscript must meet the publication guidelines available on the website, which will refer to the format, spelling, grammar and citation style. After submitting a text, the author undertakes not to submit it to any other publisher.

The text of the work must be submitted using the template that is available on the website. 

The original, which may not include the name of the author, must be submitted in a single Microsoft Word file, using the standard DIN-A4 page size, the margins applied in Word by default (2.5 cm top and bottom, 3 cm left and right), single line spacing, the Times New Roman 12 pt font for the body of the text and 10pt for the footnotes, and 0 pt paragraph spacing. Texts may be no longer than 300 pages, except for general interest works, in which case they may not exceed 200 pages. Scientific texts that include formulae or that need special formatting that cannot be performed in Word can be delivered in the usual format for the discipline. The same file must also be provided in PDF format.

Figures, graphics and tables must be inserted into the text with their corresponding footer and/or header and must include a reference to its authorship or source. Figures must be delivered in separate files, numbered correlatively in the same order in which they appear in the manuscript, in JPG or TIFF format and with a minimum resolution of 300 ppi. The texts for the footer of each figure, graphic or table must be delivered in a separate file and use a 10 pt size font.

The spelling must follow the rules of the Spanish Royal Academy –Real Academia Española (http://www.rae.es/)– or those corresponding to the language used in each work when this is not Castilian Spanish.

The Chicago citation style must be used.

Eventually, the numbered reference (or Vancouver system) will be accepted for biomedical sciences, the rules of the Institute of Electrical and Electronical Engineers (IEEE) for engineering and the American Chemical Society (ACS) style for chemical sciences.

In any case, both the author and the editor of a collective volume will be responsible for unifying both the quotes within the text and the list of bibliographic references at the end of the book or chapter according to the citation style followed.

3. External funding

If the publication is to receive external funding, the author must specify the amount thereof and the name of the partner entity in the publication request.

4. Terms and conditions of authorship and ethical responsibilities

Works must be submitted alongside the corresponding declarations of authorship and of good practice and transfer of rights and will be examined by anti-plagiarism software.

The texts submitted for publication must be the result of original and previously unpublished research. They must include the data obtained and used, as well as an objective discussion of the results. Sufficient information must be provided so that any specialist can repeat the research conducted and confirm or refute the interpretations defended in the work.

Authors must present their results clearly, honestly and without improper falsification or manipulation of the data.

Authors must guarantee that the data and results presented in the work are original and have not been copied, invented, distorted or manipulated.

All forms of plagiarism, multiple or redundant publication and the invention or manipulation of data are classified as serious acts of ethical misconduct and considered as scientific fraud.

Authors must demonstrate appropriate authorship and recognition. Authors must refrain from deliberately distorting the relationship between a scientist and the published work. All authors must have contributed significantly to the research.

Authors must inform the publisher when they enter into a direct or indirect conflict of interest with the members of the Editorial Board of Ediciones Complutense or the Scientific Committee of the collection.

No significant part of the work may have been published previously, whether as an article or a chapter, or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Authors are required to participate in a peer review process for all submitted material.

Pursuant to Spanish legal regulations, all those works with ethical implications (research in humans or the use of biological samples of human origin, use of human embryonic stem cells or lines taken from them, clinical trials, use of personal data and genetic information, animal experimentation, use of biological agents of risk to human or animal health or the environment, confined use of genetically modified organisms - GMO, release of GMO) must have the corresponding report from the Research Ethics Committee of the corresponding centre for the publication thereof, in accordance with Spanish Law 14/2007 (OSG of 4 July 2007), the purposes of which are contained in Article 12.

If the original includes figures, photographs, maps, graphics or any other kind of illustration or image, the author must provide documentary evidence that the same are not subject to rights or that the pertinent reproduction authorisation has been obtained.

5. Editorial process and review of originals

Publication proposals must be submitted using the official form. All fields in this form must be completed and a chapter or complete text of the work must be provided in Word and PDF formats so that the proposal may be subject for consideration by Ediciones Complutense.

All submissions received will be registered according to the date of arrival and confirmation of receipt will be sent within ten working days.

The works, which will be sent alongside the corresponding declaration of authorship, will be examined by anti-plagiarism software and reviewed by the technical staff of Ediciones Complutense in order to ensure that they meet the publication guidelines of the publisher. If this is not the case, they will be returned to the author(s) for rectification within thirty working days. They will then be reviewed again under the same criteria and the author(s) will be granted a period of fifteen working days to include any pertinent changes, if necessary.

They will subsequently be passed to the Chair of the Collection together with all other documentation submitted for review at the Scientific Committee under publishing policy criteria, and a decision will be taken within ninety working days from receipt. If the request is rejected, the Editorial Board of Ediciones Complutense will issue the corresponding reasoned report within ninety working days. If it is approved, the author must submit the full text of the work within six months, if not already submitted, in accordance with the publishing guidelines available on the website. The author must send the manuscript to Ediciones Complutense in Word and PDF formats, together with the work data file, which will include the following information: name, surnames and contact details of the authorships, organisations to which they belong, title and subtitle of the work and date of delivery of the original.

Once the full text has been received and subjected to the corresponding anti-plagiarism analysis, it will be reviewed by the technical staff of Ediciones Complutense in order to ensure that it meets the publication rules of the publisher, as stated above.

The work will then be anonymised and submitted for review and reporting to two specialists of recognised standing in the field with no ties either to the institution to which the author belongs or Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Editorial Board of Ediciones Complutense and the Scientific Committee of the collection. In the event of a discrepancy, the opinion of a third reviewer will be taken into consideration. The reviewers will be proposed by the Scientific Committee of the collection and they must return their reports within thirty working days.

The Scientific Committee of the collection will issue a reasoned ruling within thirty working days from reception of the reports from the reviewer(s) (publishable, publishable with corrections, not publishable), which it will pass to the Editorial Board of Ediciones Complutense alongside said reports. The latter will adopt a final decision within thirty working days. Signed by the Presidency of the Editorial Board of Ediciones Complutense, the ruling will be sent to the interested party by e-mail.

At the same time, when at least two reports are favourable (publishable / publishable with corrections), the considerations expressed by the external reviewer(s) for inclusion will be sent to the author anonymously.

The author will have a period of thirty working days to submit a report on the changes made and, if necessary, list those that have not been made alongside the reasons for not doing so. This document will be sent to the reviewers together with the final text of the work for review and approval within fifteen working days. Lastly, the Chair of the Collection will assume responsibility for ensuring that the observations formulated by the external reviewers are included in the work by the author.

Finally, the author must deliver the declaration of good practice and transfer of rights as a preliminary step before signing the publishing contract. If the original includes figures, photographs, maps, graphics or any other kind of illustration or image, the author must also provide documentary evidence that the same are not subject to rights or that the pertinent reproduction authorisation has been obtained.

For further information, we recommend consulting the sections on instructions for reviewers, original manuscript selection and review process, original manuscript selection diagram and portfolio services.

6. Production process

The author will be entitled to receive two proofs for correction. The first will be delivered within twenty working days from the date of receipt of the original final manuscript and the second within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the first corrected proofs. The correction process will consist of checking the proofs against the original and, where appropriate, including any essential last-minute additions, the publication of which is subject to a decision from Ediciones Complutense.

Finally, the book will be published within 60 working days from receipt of the final page proofs corrected by the author.