Submissions

Author Guidelines

Subm

Guidelines for Authors
The journal Derecom. Derecho de la Comunicación y de las Nuevas Tecnologías collaborates with nearly one hundred reviewers specializing in different aspects of Information Law or in related areas that qualify them to assess the quality of submitted articles. These reviewers include PhDs in Sociology, Political Science, Computer Engineering, Psychology, Law, and Communication.

Scope
Manuscripts submitted to the journal will be considered only if they are based on original research, meaning they have not been previously published, except if their first publication was in a language not included among the ones accepted by the journal. Additionally, submitted works should explore topics of interest to both academics and professionals in Law and Communication. This means the topics should examine intersections between these disciplines, focusing on relevant and current issues related to Information Law, Communication Law, New Technologies Law, or emerging intersections such as Artificial Intelligence, the Metaverse, or new forms of communication in virtual environments.

Authors who have published in the previous two issues will not be eligible to submit again until two more issues have been released.

Preliminary Requirements
This journal adheres to free-thinking principles, and each author is responsible for the content of their texts. However, authors must ensure their manuscript meets the following requirements:

• The publication must be original and unpublished, with the previously mentioned exception.
• The manuscript must not be under evaluation in other journals.
• The author accepts the international ethical code for responsible scientific publications.
• Authors must complete their profiles, including their academic or professional data, current affiliation, and ORCID number.

Paper Submission
Manuscripts must be submitted through the OJS platform. All authors must be registered, have a profile on the journal's website, and link it to their ORCID before submitting the paper. Additionally, all metadata required from the authors must be completed.

The following four essential files must be submitted:

1. Cover Page
2. Anonymized Version of the Paper
3. Authorship Declaration, Good Practices, and Rights Transfer Agreement
4. Declaration of Each Author's Specific Contribution
   Note: If the paper contains tables or figures, they must be included in a supplementary file.

Cover Page
The first file is the Cover Page, which serves as the manuscript's presentation sheet.

• Title: Maximum 100 characters including spaces.
• The first line should include the title in the original language of the article, written concisely, without question/exclamation marks, quotation marks, or a final period. Use lowercase letters.
• The second line should include the title in English.
• Authors:
• Full Name of each author, in priority order as determined by the authors.
• Institutional Affiliation (only one institution per author).
• Institutional or corporate email.
• ORCID Number (mandatory).
• Short biography (max. 50 words per author).

Anonymized Article
The second file must not contain any authorship information, as the manuscripts will be reviewed under a double-blind peer review system. Self-citations do not need to be anonymized. Any authorship identification must also be removed from the file properties.

The text should be submitted in a Word document, with tables and figures created using Office or Excel. The text must not include automatic formatting (bulleted lists, indentations, footnotes, hyperlinks, colours, linked text boxes, etc.).

• Bold should be used only for paper titles and subtitles.
• Italics should be used for names of journals, newspapers, books, TV/radio programs, and foreign words.
• Avoid unnecessary capitalization in titles.
• The language in all manuscripts must be non-discriminatory. Sexist or racist terms are not permitted.
• Authors are encouraged to use inclusive language.

Paper Length

• 6,000 to 8,000 words (excluding abstract, keywords, and references) for Communication papers.
• Up to 16,000 words for  papers about legal or case-law content.

Paper Structure

The paper should follow the APA 7th Edition guidelines and adhere to the IMRD+C and B format:

• Introduction: Research purpose, structure, objectives, and hypotheses.
• Methodology: Theoretical review and statistical analysis.
• Results: Key observations and data.
• Discussion & Conclusions: Interpretation of findings, research contributions, and future recommendations.
• References: In APA 7 format.
• Acknowledgments/Funding Sources (optional).
• Notes (if necessary, placed before the references).
• Tables & Figures: Included in the text and a separate document, following APA 7th edition.

Authorship Declaration, Good Practices & Rights Transfer Agreement
Each author's specific contribution must be specified using CRediT taxonomy (Contributor Roles Taxonomy).

Paper Evaluation Process

• Submission periods for the two annual issues begin the day after the previous issue is published.
• The Editorial Board reviews submitted papers to assess their alignment with the journal's editorial line.
• If the paper does not align, authors are notified promptly.
• Suitable papers undergo double-blind peer review by experts in the journal’s database.
• Evaluations typically take up to 16 weeks.
• Authors receive two anonymous evaluation reports.
• If both evaluators reject the paper, the author is notified with justifications.
• Authors have 15 days to submit revisions based on reviewer suggestions.
• If revisions are not submitted within the timeframe, the paper will not be published.
• Acceptance is confirmed via an official letter of acceptance.

Copyright Notice
This journal is open access, published by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Papers are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Proper citation is required for any reproduction.

Privacy Statement
For full details, visit: https://www.ucm.es/file/info-adic-servicio-publicaciones