VI-DD-NO-008 Policies and guidelines for the creation and edition of academic journals of the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes
The purpose of this document is to establish the institutional editorial policies and guidelines for the publication of academic journals at the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes. Both the policies and the guidelines aim to promote rigorous editorial processes, in accordance with widely accepted academic standards and based on the philosophy and principles of Open Access. Within the framework of the dissemination and sharing of knowledge—a fundamental mission of an institution such as the UAA—these policies and guidelines are the result of collaborative work among the editors of the institution’s academic journals within the framework of the UAA Network of Academic Journals (RedRUAA). Throughout this process, support has been provided by the General Directorate of Dissemination and Outreach, through its Editorial Department. The proposal is based on the provisions of the General Law on Humanities, Sciences, Technologies, and Innovation, the General Education Law, and the Internal Regulations of the Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation. As part of the institutional framework, the university has consulted the statutes of the Organic Law, the 2025–2033 Development Plan, and the General Guidelines for Publishing at the UAA (2025). In addition, similar guidelines from institutions such as UNAM and documents such as the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021), the Manifesto on Science as a Global Public Good (2023), and the Guide to Best Practices by Rojas and Rivera (2011), along with the criteria that organizations such as SciELO and Latindex establish as requirements for inclusion in their indexes.
The first section of the document presents the mission, vision, and values that guide the publication of UAA academic journals. The second section consists of a series of categories for classifying the journals produced by the institution, so that distinctions can subsequently be made regarding what is considered essential or desirable for each type of journal. The third section lists the stakeholders, bodies, and operational tasks of the Academic Journals Network (RedRUAA). The fourth section describes the management of technological tools for editors, such as the Open Journal System (OJS), the assignment of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), and licenses for plagiarism detection software. The fifth section is dedicated to the process of creating a UAA academic journal, outlining the basic requirements and procedures for submitting new projects to the General Directorate of Outreach and Engagement. The sixth section addresses the editorial process, indicating possible variations depending on the type of journal and the preferences of those responsible for each one. Finally, the seventh section establishes the recommended criteria and indicators for each journal, which can facilitate its inclusion in indexes and databases, as well as provide the minimum requirements that, depending on its type, it must meet to remain listed in the UAA’s registry of academic journals.
