Submissions

Author Guidelines

Template

You can download the template here for submitting manuscripts to the journal. This template includes general elements, and some parts may be adjusted according to the requirements of each section.

Checklist for Submission Preparation

As part of the submission process, authors are required to verify that their submission complies with all the elements listed below. Submissions that do not meet these guidelines will be returned to the authors.

• The submission has not been previously published nor is it under consideration by any other journal (or an explanation has been provided in the Comments to the Editor).
• The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect format.
• Wherever possible, URLs are provided for references.
• The text is single-spaced; uses 11-point Times New Roman font; italics are used instead of underlining (except for URLs); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate locations, rather than at the end.
• The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.

Articles must be prepared following the general format for the submission of scientific articles. These must be submitted to the General Editor of the Minerva Journal of the University of El Salvador, sending to the address:

Once the Editorial Board of the Minerva Journal, hereafter referred to as CE-Minerva, receives the scientific articles, they will undergo an evaluation process based on the following considerations:

• Style, content, and scientific novelty.
• Presentation and technical language in the specific area.
• Only unpublished articles will be published.
• In all correspondence, only one of the article's authors will be designated.
• The journal accepts scientific articles in Spanish.
• Authors must be listed in order of importance, according to their contribution to the scientific article being published, including the following information: full name, affiliation, email address and ORCID code
• The final version of the scientific article must be submitted through the journal's Open Journal System platform; submissions via other means, whether printed or electronic, will not be accepted.

The CE-Minerva reserves the right to approve, reject, or suggest corrections for the publication of a scientific article, based on the results of the peer review evaluations.

Once the corrections suggested by the peer reviewers are sent to the lead author, they must address the observations and upload the revised document to the system within a maximum period of one month. There is a right to refute observations, which must be submitted in writing and supported by scientific evidence.

Articles submitted by national and international authors who are not directly affiliated with the University of El Salvador must include permission for publication from the institution funding the research, if the research was conducted with a grant.

Authors will assume responsibility for any conflicts arising from the authorship of the works or third parties published in the Journal.

General Format for the Submission of Scientific Articles

• Scientific articles must be submitted in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect format.
• The article must not exceed 8,000 words or 20 pages, including tables, figures, and bibliography.
• The text must be written in a single column, using normal 11-point Times New Roman font with single spacing. The left margin must be 2.5 cm, and the right, top, and bottom margins must be 2.5 cm. Pages must be numbered at the bottom right corner.
• Tables must be prepared with their corresponding descriptions.

Tables

A table is an element used to display numbers and/or text in a column and row format according to APA standards. The table must also include its basic elements, which appear in the following order: table number, title, header, body, and footnote (if necessary).

• The title must be clear and concise.
• Acronyms and abbreviations must be written according to international technical standards; otherwise, they must be accompanied by a footnote.
• If the table size exceeds one page, the header row must be repeated on each additional page. Horizontal orientation may also be used for tables that are too wide.

Example:

Table 1

Title must be brief, clear, and explanatory

Figures

Figures include graphs, diagrams, maps, photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and other visual elements. They must be presented according to APA standards.

• Figures must include the following elements: figure number, title, image, caption, and footnote (if necessary).
• Titles must be concise and explanatory.
• Maps must include at least a graphical scale to maintain proportional measurements.
• Photographs must be of good quality (submitted in JPG, PNG, or TIFF format).

Example

Figure 1

The figure title must be concise and explanatory

Note. Illustrative figure taken from RPubs.

Citations

Citations are an essential part of the scientific article submitted for publication in the Journal, not only to acknowledge the scientific credit of other authors but also to provide evidence of the dialogue between knowledge. The Journal's citation guidelines follow the APA 7th Edition Standards.

Example:
Citation with one author (Zeitlin, 2021), two authors (Martínez-Roque & Ardón, 2021) and more than two authors (LeCun et al., 2015).

Journal Sections

• Scientific Articles
• Case Studies
• Technical Notes
• Review Articles
• Special Reports

Content of Submitted Works

Table 2

Content of submitted works according to the Journal section

General Elements of an Article

Title, Authors, Affiliation, Email (Institutional), and ORCID Code

Full title of the research work. It must not exceed 20 words. Include the title with its English translation.

Authors and affiliation. These are placed immediately below the research title, ordered according to scientific contribution to the work, not alphabetically. Academic degrees and hierarchical positions are not included.

Abstract and Abstract (in English)

It must be between 150 and 250 words and include an English translation (Abstract). It must be sufficiently concise and informative to allow the reader to identify the content and relevance of the work and decide whether to read it. It must be written in the past tense and refer to the location and date of execution; it should also include a summary of the methodological procedure, objectives, and only hints of the main results and conclusions.

At the end of the abstract, a series of terms called "keywords" (Key words) must be included, under which the article will be indexed in databases. The recommended number is 3 to 6 keywords, with the first letter of the first keyword capitalized and ordered by importance.

Introduction

It serves as a literature review; it refers to previous work on the research topic, including the most important scientific references. All statements and arguments must be supported by bibliographic citations.

It describes the relevance of the topic in the current scientific context, as well as a brief overview of the current state of knowledge in the field. It should not be too lengthy and must answer the question of "why this research was conducted." The last paragraph should summarize the study's objective.

Methodology

It must include the research's location in space and time, environmental conditions, study units, data collection, economic studies, and statistical analysis (study variables, models, and statistical tests, if applicable to the type of research). Established and well-known methods must be supported by bibliographic citations.

Results and Discussion

This is the organized presentation of findings, which is the true contribution of the research. Tables and figures may be included. The writing sequence does not necessarily have to be chronological but should allow for a coherent and clear exposition of the results obtained. The results of the experiments described in the Methodology must be expressed clearly and quickly. The first paragraph should summarize the study's main finding in a concise, clear, and direct sentence. This section must be written in the past tense. Units of measurement must be clear, following the International System of Units, and abbreviations must be fully explanatory, according to international standards.

The discussion of results examines the findings, their meaning, and limitations, emphasizing the new and important aspects of the research. It determines the coherence or contradiction of the data found. This section is the core of the scientific article.

• Conclusions must logically recap the results. They must be independent, concrete, and non-redundant.
• They must be based on the study's findings, not speculative or derived from literature.
• They must align with the research objectives.
• Tables or figures must not be mentioned.
• They must not be confused with recommendations.
• Numbers or bullet points must not be used.

Acknowledgments

This applies to institutions or individuals who supported the research. Any publication funded by the University of El Salvador must include the statement: "This research was conducted with financial support from the University of El Salvador, Central America."

References

In the scientific article, only references directly cited in the manuscript may be listed under this heading, and they must follow the APA 7th Edition standards. At least 60% of the references used must be no older than 5 years.

Examples:

Conflict of Interest

Any potential conflicts of interest arising from the manuscript submitted for publication must be stated.

Evaluation Process

Once submitted, the editorial team of the Minerva Journal reviews it within 15 days. If they consider it of interest and compliant with the criteria outlined in the author guidelines, it proceeds to the peer review phase. Thus, works are reviewed under the traditional peer review system in double-blind, ensuring mutual anonymity between the reviewer and the author(s). The journal assigns the review to topic experts, members of the Journal's Advisory Board, and/or external editorial team members. Based on the review reports, the journal editor will make the final decision to publish or reject the text.

Please note that even after being accepted in the peer review process, a submitted work may still be rejected if the Journal's editorial team judges the text to be poorly written, with discontinuities in discourse, repetitions, gaps, inaccurate or inappropriate statements, or flaws in the bibliography.

The editorial team will communicate the evaluation results and the editor's decision to the authors, whether to accept or reject the article.

Upcoming Issues

There is an option to accept pre-publication (preprint) of those manuscripts that have completed the editorial process, prior to the publication of the issue.

Instructional video for article submission: