ISSN 1851-8265
versión on-line
ISSN 1669-2381
versión impresa
ISSN 2250-5334
english edition

Instructions to authors

• Scope and policy
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Sending of manuscripts

1. About Salud Colectiva

The journal’s objective is to disseminate original and unpublished articles in Spanish which contribute to the study of the health-disease-care process (HDCP). Since its first publication in 2005, Salud Colectiva has incorporated a series of documents and initiatives as part of its editorial policies. Among these documents of reference are found the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

2. Regarding the concept of original and unpublished

1. Original and Unpublished

Salud Colectiva only accepts original and unpublished works that have not been published in whole or in part in any print or online media, that have not been simultaneously sent to another publication, and that are not in the process of being evaluated by another publication at the time of submission.

Works that do not satisfy these requirements can be rejected at any time, even once they have been accepted and approved for publication.

1.1 Definition of “original work”

Although the term “original” is generally used as a synonym for “unpublished,” or to refer to a work’s novelty, given the word’s polysemy we think it necessary to differentiate the two terms. To define the concept of original, Salud Colectiva adopts the following definition from the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española: "Dicho de una obra científica, artística, literaria o de cualquier otro género: Que resulta de la inventiva de su autor. [Said of a work of the scientific, artistic, literary genres, or of any other genre: the result of the inventiveness of its author].”

Therefore, if a text should not meet this condition, it would not be a work by those who purport to be its authors and could be considered plagiarism, a practice clearly denounced by the scientific community. Or it could be the result of other unethical practices, such as the creation of fraudulent articles with fictitious information and with ghost authors or authors who simply lend their names, created virtually via programs to automatically generate such fake scientific articles.

Whatever the case, the term “original” refers to the connection between the author(s) and the work they claim to be their own, and thus has a close relationship with the authorship criteria the journal has adopted.

1.2 Definition of “unpublished work”

Given the clarity of the term “unpublished,” perhaps the greatest difficulty arises in creating consensus around what constitutes “published” work. Traditionally an article was considered published when it was selected for inclusion in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Given the proliferation of online formats, the term “publication” presently implies not only the inclusion in peer-reviewed journals but also spans the full spectrum of possibilities provided by the electronic systems of publication (works published full-text in institutional repositories; conference, symposium, or workshop websites; etc).

The principal reasons for which Salud Colectiva prioritizes unpublished works are as follows:

The review process of submitted works is based in the confidentiality and anonymity of the authors and evaluators. If the work is found online in full or in part, the condition of confidentiality in the evaluation process is lost.

If the work is found online it can already be referenced and cited by other researchers, in which case if it were published again, the information would be duplicated.

The condition that the work be unpublished is essential to the efficient use of resources, therefore avoiding the duplication of contents that can already be accessed by other means.

Therefore when an author makes the decision to seek publication of his or her work, he or she must consider carefully the channels available for doing so and choose the one he or she considers most appropriate.

2. Duplicate submission

As the chapter on Overlapping Publications of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts (URM) explains, “duplicate publication of original research is particularly problematic because”:

Of “the possibility that two or more journals will unknowingly and unnecessarily undertake the work of peer review, edit the same manuscript, and publish the same article.”

"It can result in inadvertent double-counting or inappropriate weighting of the results of a single study, which distorts the available evidence.”

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) has published a series of recommendations referring to duplicate submissions that can be consulted here.

In the event that Salud Colectiva detects a possible duplicate submission in the revision process, the journal will follow the steps proposed by COPE in “Suspected redundant publication in a submitted manuscript.”

In the event that Salud Colectiva unknowingly publishes an article already published elsewhere, the journal will follow the steps proposed by COPE in “Suspected redundant publication in a published article”.

3. Articles derived from a larger study

Works derived from a larger research project will not be considered duplicate publications as long as the question the article seeks to answer is different, that is, the way of approaching the data obtained is different and the aspects considered in the new work were not considered in the previous works derived from the same project.

If there are other works derived from the same research study that have published or are in the revision process in other journals, these should be enumerated in the document “Declaration of ethical considerations and conflict of interests” [in Spanish] solicited as part of the submission process, in which the differences of the other derived articles with respect to the article being submitted must be clearly stated.

4. Authorship

Salud Colectiva adopts the authorship criteria defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors.

Those named as authors must publically assume responsibility for the article's contents. All collaborators that do not meet the authorship criteria must appear in the Acknowledgements section.

Research groups should come to a consensus about “authorship criteria” in accordance with international publication practices before submitting their work for evaluation by a journal. If for any reason a change is suggested, these changes should again be agreed upon by all members of the group.

Unclear authorship criteria can be put in to evidence by a number of circumstances and at a number of different times, and could lead to a suspension of the review process or even lead to the rejection of the article. Among the primary problems detected, we can describe the following:

Authors that solicit changes in the order in which names appear without the consent of the other authors.

Authors that include coauthors without notifying them and without their consent.

Authors that discover that their name was included in an article once the article had been published, without having given their consent.

Authors that discover that their name was not included in the publication and was withdrawn by the corresponding autor without their consent.

Ghost authors: nonexistent persons named as authors, or people who do not appear as authors although they meet authorship criteria.

Guest authors: Authors that lend their name to the publication without having participated in the research.

1. Sections

EDITORIAL
A space for the reflections and opinions of the editorial staff regarding their editorial work or for invited authors to offer their views on different issues of current interest.

ARTICLES
Critical reviews or results of investigations of an empirical, experimental or conceptual nature about topics related to the HDCP of no longer than 20 pages.

DEBATE
Articles accompanied by comments and reviews by authors from different institutions, followed by a response from the primary author. Exclusively upon the Editorial Board's invitation.

HISTORICAL REVIEWS
Articles based on historical texts which have had a significant impact on the collective health field. The article should not exceed 20 pages in length and must be submitted along with the document as originally published, which should not exceed four pages in length.

FOUNDATIONAL TEXTS
Texts considered central to the development of thought in Latin American social medicine and collective health.

CONFERENCES / DOCUMENTS
Lectures given by eminent figures or documents and proceedings of organizations or conferences which, due to their relevance and pertinence, contribute to the goals pursued by Salud Colectiva.

DIALOGUES
Dialogues with notable figures from the cultural, intellectual and scientific fields, in which they discuss their careers and work.

MEMORY AND HISTORY
Through interviews or dialogues with important figures organized by Salud Colectiva, this section attempts to restore lost memories of the social medicine and collective health fields first developed in the 1960s in Latin America.

BOOK REVIEWS
Book reviews should address works published within the past two years and may not exceed three pages in length. They should be accompanied by a high-resolution image of the book's cover.

LETTERS
Commentary on and reviews of articles or any other text published in previous issues of the journal, or opinions about current issues of interest, not exceeding three pages in length.

SC NEWS
Brief news articles will be included in order to provide readers with information about bibliometric indicators, activities and updates regarding Salud Colectiva.

2. Preparation of Manuscripts

The sections open to submission are: Articles, Historical Reviews, Book Reviews and Letters.  For all sections only original, unpublished works written in Spanish will be accepted. Papers are to be prepared in Microsoft Word using Times New Roman 12 pt font, double spaced, with paper size ISO A4.

2.1 “ARTICLES” AND “HISTORICAL REVIEWS” SECTIONS

Each work must be submitted with two title pages: the first page should contain each author's full name, undergraduate degree, last postgraduate degree, current position and institution, and e-mail address; the second page should contain, in Spanish and English, the full title of the article, an abstract, and related keywords (according to the requirements explained below). Papers must be submitted along with the “Declaration of ethical considerations and conflict of interests” and the “Letter to transfer publication rights.” (see 2.4.1 and 2.4.2)

2.2 BOOK REVIEWS AND LETTERS

Both of these sections must be prepared according to the instructions in 2. Preparation of Manuscripts.  Each work must be submitted with a single title page containing each author's full name, undergraduate degree, last postgraduate degree, current position and institution, and e-mail address.  No abstract or keywords should be included. The bibliographies in both sections should follow the same guidelines established in 2.3.9 Bibliographic References. The material should be submitted along with the Letter to transfer publication rights. (see 2.4.2)

As outlined in the description of the section, all Book Reviews should be submitted along with a high resolution image of the book’s cover.  In order to assure proper scanning of the image, we recommend author’s consult the guide "Cómo digitalizar documentos" created by the journal’s editorial team.

2.3 GENERAL ASPECTS

2.3.1 Authorship

Those named as authors must publically assume responsibility for the article’s contents, therefore the designation as an author implies: 1) a substantial contribution to the conception and/or design, the acquisition, analysis and/or interpretation of the data; 2) the writing or critical revision of the article; 3) the approval of the final version that will be published. 

All collaborators that do not meet the authorship criteria must appear in the Acknowledgements section.

2.3.2 Abstract

All articles submitted must include a summary in Spanish, and a corresponding translation in English, clearly describing the objectives, methodology, most relevant results and primary conclusions. The abstract should be written in a single paragraph not divided into sections, with a length of no more than 12 lines. When an article is submitted to the indexing service, the abstract is separated from the body of the text, therefore the abstract should not contain citations or footnotes.

2.3.3 Keywords

The keywords, understood as descriptors or thesauruses, are collections of terms organized hierarchically to allow for the establishment of relationships between concepts and thereby to facilitate access to information.  In order to effectively do this, keywords require the use of a common language in the indexing of articles in scientific journals as well as in the search and recovery of information within online data bases.
 
In order to insure the proper indexing of articles in online databases, we ask that authors include three to five keywords in Spanish and English that summarize the content of the work, which must be selected from the index  Descriptores en Ciencias de la Salud (DeCS) coordinated by BIREME.

2.3.4 Endnotes

These should be cited consecutively in lower-case letters in parentheses and placed invariably at the end of the text. Footnotes are not permitted.

2.3.5 Illustrations

No more than eight tables and/or figures in black and white will be accepted.  Maps, graphs, photographs and scanned documents must be labeled as Figures.  All illustrations must be mentioned within the text. They should be submitted on separate pages, one per page, and include:

• Arabic numerals (tables and figures should be numbered independently, in series according to their designation)
• A descriptive title that specifies the geographic and temporal dimensions of the data presented
• Mention of the source

Clarifications regarding the source

If the Tables and/or Figures included in the work were not previously published and the data was not taken from an outside source, the label “Own elaboration” must be used.

If a previously published illustration is reformulated, or the data is taken from various different sources, the label should read “Own elaboration based on data from” followed by a list of the names of the authors or institutions using the same type of citation as in the body of the text, including the complete publication and location information in the final list of Bibliographic References (Referencias Bibliográficas).

If a previously published figure is used exactly as it was originally created, the original source must be cited and the submitting author must possess the owner's authorization to reproduce the material. This permission is required except in the case of public domain documents.

Clarifications regarding Tables 

The author should take into account that the Tables are self-explanatory, therefore at the foot of the table it may be necessary to incorporate general notes, explanation of acronyms or abbreviations used, or explanatory notes for particular cells (with asterisks) or columns (with lowercase letters). These notations are labeled consecutively within each table, with the series beginning anew for each table.

In order to unify publication criteria tables and/or figures may be redesigned, in which case the table with the quantitative parameters must also be submitted.

Image Resolution

During the process of evaluation of the article, authors may send low-resolution images as long as they clear and legible. However, authors must be able to assure that once the article is approved for publication they will be able to send images with the following requirements established by the journal to ensure proper printing:

• Maps must be exported from programs that convert them into vector images (.eps format)
• Graph: for graphs made in Excel, the original file must be send (without exporting).  Graphs made in other programs should be exported from the same program in which they were made, as vector images (format .eps)
• Scanned documents: for photographs and/or documents that should be scanned, we recommend that authors consult the guide “Cómo digitilizar documentos” (how to digitalize documents) created by the journal’s editorial team.

2.3.6 Acknowledgements

All collaborators that do not meet the aforementioned authorship criteria (see 2.3.1 Authorship) must appear in the Acknowledgements section. It is the authors' responsibility to obtain the permission of those mentioned in the Acknowledgements section, as readers may infer their approval of the data and conclusions.

2.3.7 Sources of Funding

Any sources of funding must be detailed in the Acknowledgements section, including the name of the funding entity and the name, number, or code of the project.

2.3.8 Conflict of Interests

The mention of a conflict of interest does not imply the rejection of the article. Any real or potential conflict of interest, any obligations on the part of the author/s with regards to sources of funding, or any other type of relationship or rivalry that may be deemed to constitute a conflict of interest must be declared. The lack of conflict of interest must also be stated. If the authors or the editors consider it relevant, this information may be published in an appropriate section of the article. 

2.3.9 Bibliographic References

In addition to supporting the affirmations in a text, bibliographic references also permit an interested reader to access the information cited. It is therefore not recommended that unpublished or inaccessible documents be included.   

Citations within the text

References must be cited parenthetically in the text with consecutive numbers. For example: “It has been observed (3,4) that…” or also “some authors (1,5) have shown that…”

If the same reference has been cited more than once, it is not renumbered but rather the same number already assigned is repeated.
 
Textual citations should not only include the number of the reference but also the page number from which it was extracted, for example: (1 p. 85). 

Each numeric citation corresponds to a single document; therefore more than one publication cannot be cited under a given number. 

List of Bibliographic References

Bibliographic references will be numbered according to the order in which the citations appear in the text.   A standardized list containing all of the documents cited, independently of their format (Internet, print, DVD, CD, etc) must be included.

The consulted bibliographic sources which have not been cited in the text shall appear in alphabetical order based on the authors' surname under the heading Bibliografía de Consulta. The Referencias Bibliográficas and Bibliografía de Consulta sections should be included on separate pages, at the end of the article.  The information on the books, journal articles, newspaper articles, whether electronic or in print, should follow the order specified in the standards established in Citing Medicine by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). 

Examples for sources in print and online format

» Journal article

Testa M. Decidir en Salud: ¿Quién?, ¿cómo? y ¿por qué? Salud Colectiva. 2007;3(3):247-257.

Fleischer NL, Diez Roux AV, Alazraqui M, Spinelli H. Social patterning of chronic disease risk factors in a Latin American city. Journal of Urban Health. 2008;85(6):923–937

» Journal article on the Internet

Matus C. Las ciencias y la política. Salud Colectiva [Internet]. 2007 [citado 20 oct 2010];3(1):81-91. Disponible en:  http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=73130107&iCveNum=6157

Samaja J. ¿Qué tipo de investigaciones debe promover la Universidad? [Editorial]. Salud Colectiva [Internet]. 2006 [citado 15 may 2010];2(3):233-235. Disponible en:  http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1851-82652006000300001

» Book

Testa M. Pensar en Salud. Buenos Aires: Lugar Editorial; 1993.

Deleuze G, Guattari F. Mil mesetas: capitalismo y esquizofrenia. Valencia: Pre-textos; 1988.

» Book with mention of the edition

Robertson LS. Injury epidemiology: research and control strategies. 3a ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.

» Libro (authors / editors)

Onocko Campos R, Pereira Furtado J, Pasos E, Benevides R, organizadores. Pesquisa avaliativa em saúde mental. Desenho participativo e efeitos da narratividade. São Paulo: Hucitec; 2008.

» Book (corporative autor)      

Organización Panamericana de la Salud. La renovación de la Atención Primaria de Salud en las Américas. Washington DC: OPS; 2007.

» Book Chapter

Minayo MCS. Ciencia, técnica y arte: el desafío de la investigación social. En: Minayo MCS, Deslandes SF, Neto OC, Gomes R. Investigación social: teoría, método y creatividad. Buenos Aires: Lugar Editorial; 2007.

» Book on the Internet

Spinelli H, Zunino G, Alazraqui M, Guevel C, Darraidou V. Mortalidad por armas de fuego en Argentina, 1990-2008 [Internet]. Buenos Aires: OPS, 2011 [citado 10 feb 2011]. Disponible en: http://www.ops.org.ar/publicaciones/pubOPS_ARG/pub68.pdf

» Conference publications

Testa M. La salud y la crisis económica. II Jornadas de Atención Primaria de la Salud; 30 abr - 7 may 1988; Buenos Aires, Argentina. Buenos Aires: Grupo Editor de las Jornadas; 1989.

» Conference publications on the Internet

Packer AL. Avances y desafíos en el movimiento de acceso abierto al conocimiento científico en América Latina y el Caribe [Internet]. IIº Encuentro Iberoamericano de Editores Científicos; 11-12 nov 2010; Biblioteca Nacional, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires [citado 10 feb 2011]. Disponible en: http://eidec.caicyt.gov.ar/files/mesa3/01.pdf

» Newspaper Article

Bruschtein L. Jóvenes fanáticos. Página/12. 5 mar 2011:Sec. El País:2(col. 1-3).

Cecchi H. Custodiado por sus torturadores. Página/12. 4 mar 2011:Sec. Sociedad:19(col. 1-4).

» Newspaper Article on the Internet

Bruschtein L. Jóvenes fanáticos. Página/12 [Internet]. 5 mar 2011 [citado 5 mar 2011]:Sec. El País. Disponible en: http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-163503-2011-03-05.html

Cecchi H. Custodiado por sus torturadores. Página/12 [Internet]. 4 mar 2011 [citado 5 mar 2011]:Sec. Sociedad. Disponible en: http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/sociedad/3-163418-2011-03-04.html

» Databases on the Internet

Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos. Tasa de mortalidad por mil habitantes, según grupo de edad y sexo. Total de país. Años 1980/2007 [Internet]. Buenos Aires: INDEC [citado 5 mar 2011]. Disponible en: http://www.indec.mecon.ar/nuevaweb/cuadros/65/q030201.xls

World Economic Forum. Government prioritization of ICT [Internet] World Economic Forum; c2010 [citado 5 mar 2011]. Disponible en:  http://networkedreadiness.com/gitr/main/analysis/showdatatable.cfm?vno=6.2

2.4 ETHICAL RESPONSABILITIES

The publication of articles involving findings from research on human subjects is contingent on compliance with the ethical principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki and any other relevant legislation pertaining to the country where the research was conducted. Compliance with the international standards regarding protection of human subjects shall be included in a paragraph in the Methodology section, specifying the obtaining of the informed consent of participants in the research report and the approval of investigation protocol by the relevant Ethics Committee.

2.4.1 Declaration of Ethical Considerations and conflict of Interests

Authors must submit the form “Declaration of Ethical Considerations and Conflict of Interests,” which seeks to clarify aspects of the article relevant to the evaluation process. The form should be downloaded, filled out, and submitted along with the article. 

» Download form   

2.4.2 Letter to transfer publication rights

A letter must be submitted along with the article stating: "The article titled XXX is an original work which has not been published in whole or in part in any other print or electronic format, has not been sent to another publication simultaneously, and is not currently being evaluated by any other publication. Should the article be accepted for publication, we transfer the publication rights to the journal Salud Colectiva, which will assume the rights to edit, publish, and reproduce the article, to distribute electronic or multimedia copies, and to include the article in national and international indices or databases. In addition, we hereby state that the declarations asserted herein are the sole responsibility of the author/s." The letter must be signed by all the authors. 

Authors may send their collaborations to  revistasaludcolectiva@yahoo.com.ar