Publication Ethics

The journal Anales de Teología conducts its activities in accordance with the principles of integrity, scholarly rigor, responsibility, impartiality, transparency, and editorial independence. This policy sets out the ethical responsibilities of those involved in its processes and the procedures for preventing and addressing publication malpractice.

The journal takes as its reference framework the Core Principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the guidance this organization publishes for journals and editorial teams, particularly its guidelines on retractions and expressions of concern. Links to the full documents are provided at the end of this policy. This policy applies to authors and reviewers, the Editorial Team, the Editorial Board, guest editors, and anyone else involved in the receipt, assessment, editorial decision-making, or publication of the journal’s content.

All published texts are subject to editorial oversight. Research articles and translations also undergo external review in accordance with the Editorial Process and Peer Review policy.

Editorial bodies

The Editorial Team comprises the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editors listed on the Editorial Team page. The Editor-in-Chief makes decisions on manuscripts, while the Associate Editors assist with editorial management and act as substitutes in the circumstances set out in this policy.

The Editorial Board, composed primarily of specialists from other institutions, provides scholarly advice. Its members do not review manuscripts or ordinarily participate in decisions concerning them. Exceptionally, a member may be appointed to handle a manuscript or examine an ethical case in the circumstances set out in this policy. Performing these editorial duties does not make that person a reviewer of the manuscript or replace external peer review where required.

Editorial independence

Decisions on manuscripts rest with the Editor-in-Chief or a substitute when a conflict of interest arises. Decisions take into account the manuscript’s alignment with the journal’s aims and scope, its scholarly quality and relevance, the review reports, and compliance with editorial policies.

Editorial independence does not imply the absence of a defined scholarly profile. Alignment with the journal’s aims and scope is a legitimate selection criterion; it defines the issues and traditions of interest to the journal, rather than the theses a manuscript must defend. No institutional authority, funding source, commercial interest, or person outside the editorial process may determine whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected, or require it to support predetermined conclusions.

Review reports constitute reasoned recommendations rather than binding decisions. The Editor-in-Chief may depart from them when sufficient scholarly or ethical grounds exist. In such cases, the reasons will be recorded in the editorial file and communicated to the authors.

Ethical responsibilities

Authors are responsible for the authenticity and accuracy of submitted work, compliance with applicable ethical and legal standards, and the truthfulness of the declarations provided to the journal. Requirements concerning originality, plagiarism, redundant publication, authorship, the use of protected materials, and translation permissions are set out in the Integrity, Originality, and Authorship policy. Authors must cooperate with requests for information, clarification, or correction made during the editorial process or after publication.

Reviewers must accept only assignments for which they have sufficient expertise. They must act impartially, provide reasoned and respectful comments, declare any conflicts of interest, and maintain the confidentiality of the materials received.

The Editorial Team must apply policies consistently, select competent reviewers, protect the confidentiality of the process, document significant decisions, and act on possible ethical breaches. The journal will promote regular training for its members in publication ethics, drawing on COPE guidance, and will provide reviewers with written instructions on their responsibilities.

Everyone involved in the process must maintain professional and respectful conduct. The journal will not tolerate harassment, intimidation, retaliation, personal attacks, or undue pressure.

Impartiality, non-discrimination, and language use

Manuscripts are assessed on their content, scholarly merit, and alignment with the journal’s aims and scope. Editorial decisions must not be based on the authors’ nationality, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, religion, political views, or institutional affiliation.

To safeguard institutional diversity in authorship, and in accordance with the Academic Journals Regulations of the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, the journal ensures that articles with a UCSC affiliation do not exceed 10% of the works published in any rolling twelve-month period. This measure may affect the publication schedule for such works, but not the assessment of their scholarly merit, which follows the same criteria applied to all other submissions.

Theoretical, theological, political, or religious disagreement does not in itself constitute grounds for rejection or a conflict of interest. A reasoned critical examination of controversial concepts, doctrines, texts, or practices does not in itself constitute discriminatory expression.

Contributions must use clear, precise, and respectful academic language, free from discriminatory expressions, personal attacks, and unjustified stereotypes. The journal does not prescribe a specific formula for inclusive language and accepts strategies consistent with the grammatical norms of the manuscript’s language, such as generic or collective nouns, paired gender forms, and impersonal constructions. Non-standard morphological forms may be used only when they are the subject of analysis or part of a direct quotation.

Conflicts of interest

A conflict of interest exists when a personal, family, academic, intellectual, professional, institutional, or financial relationship or interest may affect, or reasonably appear to affect, a person’s impartiality in the editorial process. Membership in an organization with a direct interest in the manuscript’s conclusions also constitutes a conflict of interest.

Circumstances that may constitute conflicts include membership in the same institution, team, or project; a coauthorship, collaborative, or academic supervisory relationship within the past three years; a hierarchical or close personal relationship; a professional dispute; a financial interest related to the manuscript; prior involvement in its preparation; or the possibility of direct benefit or harm from its publication.

Researching the same topic, belonging to the same theological tradition, holding a different position, being cited in the manuscript, or having published work relevant to its development does not in itself constitute a conflict. However, if the manuscript directly examines a prospective reviewer’s work and this may compromise their impartiality, the circumstance must be disclosed to the Editor-in-Chief.

All authors must declare their conflicts of interest, including an explicit statement when none exist. Reviewers, editors, and others involved in handling a manuscript must disclose any potential conflict before accepting the role or as soon as they become aware of it.

Depending on the nature of the conflict, the Editor-in-Chief may require the person concerned to recuse themselves, appoint a replacement, reassign the manuscript, or take any other measure necessary to preserve impartiality. When the conflict involves the Editor-in-Chief, responsibility for handling the manuscript and making the decision will rest with an Associate Editor without a conflict of interest or, if the conflict also involves the Associate Editors, with an Editorial Board member from outside UCSC who has no conflict of interest and is appointed specifically for that manuscript.

Submissions by journal members

Members of the Editorial Team or Editorial Board may submit contributions to the journal, but they will not receive preferential treatment or take part in handling their submissions.

When the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor is an author or coauthor of a manuscript, it will be handled by an Editorial Board member from outside UCSC who has no conflict of interest and is appointed specifically for that case. This person will act as an ad hoc editor: they will conduct the preliminary editorial assessment, select the external reviewers, and make the editorial decision. They will not act as a reviewer of the manuscript, and the work will undergo the same external review procedure as any other submission in its category.

Authors affiliated with the journal will be excluded from editorial access to the manuscript on the platform, the reports, the deliberations, and the decision. Manuscripts submitted by Editorial Board members will follow the ordinary procedure, with the same exclusion of the author from any involvement in handling the submission.

If the manuscript is published, the article will include a note disclosing the author’s connection with the journal and identifying the person who handled the editorial process. The same rules apply to guest editors and special issues. No one may handle their own manuscript or a manuscript in relation to which they have a conflict of interest.

Ethical oversight of research

Ordinary theological analysis of works, documents, translations, or textual corpora does not in itself require approval from an ethics committee. However, research involving individuals or communities, interviews, surveys, non-public testimonies, personal or sensitive data, vulnerable groups, or other matters subject to ethical oversight must comply with applicable institutional and legal standards.

Where required, authors must have obtained prior approval from a competent and duly accredited or recognized ethics committee. At the time of submission, they must attach the approval decision and identify the committee, the date, and the approval code or number. Where relevant, they must also declare that informed consent was obtained and describe the measures taken to protect participants’ identity, privacy, and confidentiality.

If the research is exempt from ethics approval, the exemption must be documented by the competent committee when institutional regulations so require. In other cases, authors must explain the grounds for the exemption, and the Editor-in-Chief may seek the opinion of an independent committee or specialist. Such consultation does not replace any prior approval that should have been obtained or allow retroactive ethics approval to be granted.

Confidentiality, personal data, and process integrity

Manuscripts, supplementary files, reports, and editorial communications are confidential and may be accessed only by those who must be directly involved in their handling, assessment, or editorial decision. Authors’ and reviewers’ personal data are processed in accordance with the Privacy and Use of Information policy and current Chilean personal data protection legislation, and are used exclusively for editorial management and other purposes lawfully disclosed by the journal.

Editors and reviewers must not share, use, or exploit the unpublished content of a manuscript for their own purposes, or enter or upload manuscripts or associated materials, in whole or in part, into generative artificial intelligence systems. Other conditions applicable to these tools are set out in the Use and Limits of Artificial Intelligence policy.

The Editorial Team and reviewers must not request the inclusion of irrelevant references to the journal, their own publications, or those of third parties. Every bibliographic recommendation must have a scholarly justification. Review manipulation, impersonation, citation agreements, or any practice intended to improperly influence the editorial process or bibliometric indicators are also prohibited.

Responding to possible ethical breaches

The journal will examine allegations or suspicions of ethical breaches arising before, during, or after publication, drawing on the COPE guidelines and flowcharts applicable to each case. Communications may be sent to analesteologia@ucsc.cl and will be acknowledged within five business days. Anonymous reports may be considered when they provide sufficiently specific and verifiable information.

The examination will be conducted by the Editor-in-Chief together with an Editorial Board member who has no conflict of interest in the case. When an allegation involves the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor, the examination will be conducted by two Editorial Board members from outside UCSC who have no conflicts of interest. When it involves an Editorial Board member, that person will be completely excluded from the examination. If the nature of the case prevents the formation of a sufficiently independent internal body, the journal may seek the participation of external specialists without conflicts of interest.

The persons concerned will be informed of the relevant facts and will have fifteen business days to submit their explanation and supporting information before a decision is made. The information communicated must be sufficient to enable them to provide a reasoned response to the issues raised.

The identity of the person making an allegation will remain confidential throughout the procedure, unless that person expressly consents to disclosure or disclosure is legally required. The journal will not take adverse action against anyone who reports a possible breach in good faith.

The submission of an allegation does not mean that a breach has been established. Decisions must be based on the available evidence and distinguish between honest error, negligence, and deliberate misconduct. The journal will aim to conclude the examination within sixty business days and will inform those involved if the complexity of the case requires more time.

Depending on the nature of the case, the journal may request additional information, suspend the editorial process, or consult specialists, ethics committees, or other competent bodies. When sufficient evidence exists and the nature or seriousness of the facts warrants it, the journal may refer the matter to the institution of affiliation or another competent body to conduct any investigation falling within its remit.

Before publication, the journal may allow the process to continue, request clarifications or revisions, temporarily defer the decision, or reject the manuscript. If the content has already been published, the Complaints, Appeals, Corrections, and Retractions policy will apply.

No automatic sanctions will be imposed. Any editorial restriction, such as temporarily suspending the acceptance of new submissions from an author, must be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the facts, duly justified, and open to appeal.

Complaints, appeals, and policy updates

Objections concerning the editorial procedure, a decision, the management of a conflict of interest, or a possible breach will be handled in accordance with the Complaints, Appeals, Corrections, and Retractions policy and examined by a person who was not involved in the challenged decision.

The journal will maintain internal records of significant ethical decisions and review this policy periodically, as well as whenever COPE guidance, applicable regulations, or the procedures actually used by the journal change, to ensure that the published information reflects its editorial practice.

Reference documents