Publication Ethics
RandPunkt Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to following the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This page describes the ethical principles that guide our editorial process, the responsibilities of authors, reviewers, and editors, and the procedures for handling corrections and retractions.
1. Publication Frequency and Language
RandPunkt Journal is published monthly. Each issue contains the articles accepted during the corresponding month.
Manuscripts are accepted for review in Spanish and English. However, all accepted articles are published in English, regardless of the language in which they were originally submitted. Authors writing in Spanish will receive, at no cost to them, professional proofreading and translation into English before publication. The translated version will be shared with the corresponding author for final approval prior to publication.
2. Authorship and Contributorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission.
Any change in authorship (addition, removal, or reordering) after submission must be communicated to the Editor-in-Chief and approved in writing by all authors.
3. Originality and Prior Publication
Manuscripts submitted to RandPunkt Journal must be original and must not be under consideration by any other journal. Authors must ensure that their work has not been published elsewhere, either in whole or in substantial part. Posting a preprint on arXiv, Zenodo, or another recognized repository does not constitute prior publication.
4. Conflict of Interest
Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the evaluation or interpretation of the work. Authors are required to include a conflict of interest statement in the manuscript or during submission.
5. Use of Generative AI
Authors must declare whether generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar) were used in the preparation of the manuscript. AI tools must not be listed as authors. Any use of AI must be disclosed in the manuscript itself, including the tool used and the purpose of its use.
Reviewers and editors must not upload submitted manuscripts to generative AI tools, in order to protect the confidentiality of the peer review process.
6. Peer Review
All manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process. Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents, must not share them with third parties, and must declare any conflict of interest that would prevent them from providing an impartial evaluation.
7. Data and Code Availability
Authors are encouraged to make their data, code, and other materials publicly available whenever possible. A data and code availability statement may be included in the manuscript and in the submission form.
8. Corrections and Retractions
If a published article is found to contain significant errors or ethical violations, RandPunkt Journal will publish a correction notice or, in serious cases, retract the article. Retractions will be clearly identified, will state the reason, and will be linked to the original article. Retracted articles will remain available in Zenodo, but will be clearly marked as retracted.
9. Complaints and Appeals
Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision or make a complaint about the editorial process may contact the Editor-in-Chief at polanco@unam.mx. All complaints will be handled confidentially and according to COPE guidelines.
10. Intellectual Property and Licensing
Authors retain the copyright of their works. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which allows unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
11. Fees
RandPunkt Journal charges no fees for submission, review, proofreading, translation, or publication (no APC). It is a completely free journal, for both authors and readers.