Submissions

Author Guidelines

Scope and Purpose

Universitas Psychologica accepts articles in English and Spanish related to psychology in all its areas, derived from original and unpublished research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the discipline and/or in society, according to the judgment of the Editorial Committee and assigned peer reviewers. The general evaluation criteria include accuracy, completeness, clarity, coherence, simplicity, and relevance for the journal.

Manuscripts must not exceed 8,000 words and must fully comply with the recommendations of the APA Manual (American Psychological Association, 2019, 7th edition).

Required Information

Manuscripts submitted for double-blind peer review must indicate one of the following article types and follow the corresponding basic sections:

Research Articles: Documents that present in detail the original results of completed research projects. The minimum structure must include: introduction (including conceptual frameworks), methodology, results, discussion, and conclusions. In the case of studies aimed at validating psychometric tests or scales, the Editorial Committee will verify that the article rigorously analyzes and discusses their theoretical or practical implications. The mere validation of a test or scale, without sufficient problematization, conceptual analysis, or interpretive contribution, will not be considered sufficient for publication.

Review Articles: Documents that present state-of-the-art reviews or comprehensive analyses of advances and trends in a field of knowledge, a topic, or a specific problem. They are characterized by rigorous bibliographic work and by including a sufficient and pertinent number of references to empirical and theoretical works. Systematic reviews or meta-analyses that employ internationally recognized methodologies (e.g., PRISMA) are prioritized. The Editorial Committee will verify that the article rigorously analyzes and discusses the results obtained and their theoretical or practical implications. A mere review of the literature, without adequate problematization, conceptual analysis, or interpretive contribution, will not be considered sufficient for publication.

Theoretical Articles: Meta-research documents presenting theoretical developments, critical interpretations, epistemological contributions, or methodological proposals derived from completed research by the authors.

Manuscripts will be accepted only if they meet the following formal requirements:

a) Mandatory cover page. Authors must submit a separate file (not included in the anonymized manuscript) containing: full names of the authors, one institutional affiliation per author, ORCID, email address, identification of the corresponding author, funding statement (if applicable), and conflict-of-interest declaration. This information must not appear in the manuscript submitted for blind review.

b) Abstracts (in both languages) must be between 150 and 200 words. They must state the purpose of the study, the main methodological elements, the results, and the conclusions, following APA (2019) recommendations, without subtitles.

c) The journal publishes titles, abstracts, and keywords in a second language, in line with international standards; the use of recognized thesauri—especially the APA Thesaurus—is encouraged. Authors must provide certified translations of these three components. Additionally, 5 keywords must be included, each with fewer than four words.

d) Articles written in English must demonstrate clear, adequate, and academic language use. When authors are not native English speakers or do not have advanced proficiency, they must include a certificate of professional translation or language editing. In all cases, authors are responsible for the quality of the English text.

e) The total length of the article must not exceed 8,000 words, including citations, tables, figures, and references. Citations must follow APA 7th edition. As a general guideline, most references should correspond to publications from the last five years, except for seminal works essential to the theoretical foundation.

f) Manuscripts must be submitted in .doc or .docx format, using Times New Roman 12, double spacing, letter size (21.5 × 28 cm), 2.5 cm margins, and vertical orientation. Figures, tables, and formulas must be inserted directly into the text at the appropriate location, following consecutive numbering and including a clear, descriptive title. Additionally, a single complementary file containing all figures, tables, and formulas in order must be submitted. Images must be provided in TIF, JPG, or PNG formats with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

g) Decimals must include a leading zero (0.25), and whole numbers must not include a decimal point (2 instead of 2.0).

h) There must be strict correspondence between in-text citations and the references listed at the end of the document.

i) Footnotes must appear at the end of the document, numbered using Arabic numerals. They must serve a complementary function and must not include bibliographic references. Their use is generally discouraged.

j) Direct quotations exceeding 40 words must use a smaller font size and be left-indented, in accordance with APA 7th edition.

k) Each reference must include its DOI, or when unavailable, the corresponding URL.

l) Authors must indicate whether the article received funding from any institution. If so, the institution must be specified.

Submission, Evaluation, and Withdrawal of Articles

The reception of a manuscript will be confirmed immediately with an ID number for tracking. The author will be informed of the status of the process on an ongoing basis, but in all cases will receive formal communication regarding the initiation or rejection of the editorial process within less than one month.

During the initial editorial evaluation, the Editorial Committee will verify:

• Strict compliance with the journal’s editorial guidelines;
• The originality of the manuscript through anti-plagiarism software;
• The explicit declaration of the use of artificial intelligence, indicating how it was used, which will be reviewed using specialized software.

The journal may request the datasets used for statistical analyses to verify the results reported. Final acceptance may depend on fulfilling the modifications requested by the Editorial Committee.

To withdraw a submission, the author must write to the Editor indicating the assigned ID and the title of the manuscript, formally requesting its withdrawal. Before submitting the manuscript to another journal, the author must wait for the official withdrawal confirmation from Universitas Psychologica.