JOURNAL STATUTES
Preamble
The scientific journal GBTIQ+ Studies, Communication and Culture (e-ISSN 2792-3622) is a biannual research publication edited by the Complutense Research Group “970725 GECA: Gender, Aesthetics and Audiovisual Culture” of the Faculty of Information Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid. It aims to promote transversal and multidisciplinary research into communication and cultural dimensions from the perspective of LGBTIQ+ Studies, while remaining open to broader relevant contributions from LGBTIQ+ Studies across the social sciences, humanities, and arts. It places particular emphasis on the Ibero-American context, while also attending to its relationships and intersections with other geographical and socio-cultural contexts.
LGBTIQ+ Studies, Communication and Culture seeks to provide a platform for publishing original and unpublished scientific research on LGBTIQ+ Studies in relation to communication, culture, thought, and the arts, through academic research articles subject to blind peer review, and accepting texts in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
- Governing bodies
The governing bodies responsible for the scientific coordination and editorial management of the journal are the Editorial Board and the Scientific Council. Each member of these bodies commits to respecting the principles of the Code of Ethics established, where applicable, by the Complutense University of Madrid for scientific journals.
1.1 Editorial Board: structure and composition
- The Editorial Board will be composed of a Director, a Managing Editor (Secretariat), and a group of board members. The Director must be an active member of the academic teaching and research staff at the Complutense University of Madrid and a member of the Complutense Research Group “GECA: Gender, Aesthetics and Audiovisual Culture.” A Deputy Director role may also exist, with functions delegated by the Director. At least one third of the members must belong to institutions other than the Complutense University of Madrid.
- The Editorial Board will assist the Director in all functions, especially in monitoring submissions (receipt, evaluation, acceptance, etc.), defining the journal’s content and style (author guidelines, section design and orientation, etc.), proposing thematic dossiers, and disseminating and promoting journal content in academic platforms and social networks. Candidatures will be proposed and approved for each position: one for the Director, one for Complutense members, and one for external members. The Managing Editor is directly appointed by the Director.
- All Editorial Board members are elected by the GECA Research Group for a five-year term and may be renewed only once for an additional five-year term. After two consecutive terms, members must observe a four-year cooling-off period before reapplying, unless no other candidates are available.
1.1.1 Functions of the Director
- The Director is responsible for the coordination and representation of the journal, and for relations with the Editorial Board, the Scientific Council, and Ediciones Complutense. They are also responsible for relations with other institutions on matters related to the journal.
- They appoint the Managing Editor and, where appropriate, the Deputy Director.
- They convene Editorial Board meetings.
- They must report, when requested, to the Faculty Board on the journal’s functioning and needs.
- They are responsible for ensuring the highest scientific quality of the journal, as well as its indexing and inclusion in national and international databases and its evaluation for quality seals, supported by the Editorial and Scientific Councils.
- They have a casting vote in the event of a tie in board decisions.
- They may delegate functions to the Deputy Director, who assists them in assigned tasks.
1.1.2 Functions of the Managing Editor (Secretariat)
- The Managing Editor is responsible for receiving submissions and managing them throughout the editorial and publication process.
- They handle communication with authors, Editorial Board members, the Scientific Council, and Ediciones Complutense.
- They acknowledge receipt of all submissions via the journal platform.
- They organise the preliminary review process to determine which manuscripts proceed to peer review and which are returned due to non-compliance with journal requirements.
- They send manuscripts to external blind reviewers, together with evaluation guidelines and forms.
- Once editorial decisions are made, they communicate the outcome to authors with justification.
- They oversee the entire editorial workflow of each issue (preparation of manuscripts, sending proofs, proofreading, and publication notification).
- They prepare Editorial Board meetings, take minutes, and are responsible for their safekeeping.
- They issue certificates confirming the work of Editorial and Scientific Council members, peer reviewers, and authors of accepted manuscripts pending publication.
1.1.3 Functions of Editorial Board members
- Board members must attend scheduled meetings. If residing in other cities or countries, remote participation may be enabled.
- They assist in the preliminary reading of submissions to determine which are sent for review and which are rejected.
- They collaborate in identifying suitable external peer reviewers.
- They advise and support the Editorial Board in all tasks necessary for the proper functioning of the journal, including ensuring punctuality and publication regularity.
1.2 Scientific Council
- The Scientific Council is composed of internationally recognised researchers with no institutional affiliation to the journal. Its purpose is to enhance academic rigour, contribute to editorial policy, increase the journal’s international visibility, and support dissemination through academic networks and platforms. It also collaborates in evaluation and audit processes.
- The Council must include members from foreign institutions.
- Members are selected through proposals by the Editorial Board and subsequent voting, organised according to institutional affiliation. Separate votes are held for national and international Scientific Council members.
- The Scientific Council may participate in blind peer review processes as external reviewers, noting that at least one review must always come from outside the Council.
- Characteristics and operation
2.1 Frequency
The Complutense journal LGBTIQ+ Studies, Communication and Culture is published biannually, in July and December. Exceptionally, special issues may be proposed to Ediciones Complutense.
2.2 Structure
The journal includes the following sections:
- Presentation (fixed section): editorial introducing the issue’s content and journal developments, written by the Director or a guest scholar of high academic standing.
- Research articles constitute the core of the journal and are organised into three sections:
- Long research articles (fixed section): unpublished research contributions in LGBTIQ+ Studies across the journal’s thematic scope.
- Thematic dossier (non-fixed section): monographic section dedicated to a topic of particular relevance in LGBTIQ+ Studies, proposed by the Editorial Board or coordinated by external researchers. It may include an introduction preceding the articles.
- Short articles (non-fixed section): shorter academic contributions (1,000–2,000 words) aimed at brief analyses, debates, or discussions, allowing concise scholarly writing beyond traditional article length constraints.
- Relevant Texts (non-fixed section): historically or thematically significant texts, usually previously published, recovered, or translated.
- Reviews (fixed section): book reviews, special issues, or doctoral thesis reviews relevant to the journal’s scope.
- Panorama (non-fixed section): includes news, surveys, calls for papers, exhibitions, conferences, archives, references to other journals, research groups, and related academic content.
The journal may also publish special issues following guidelines established by Ediciones Complutense.
