Submissions

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

• We recommend to download the template, which contains concrete instructions.
• Paratextual information: This includes the title and footnote where the author indicates whether the article is based on original research or a thesis. If it stems from a research project, the title should be included, as well as the sponsor, the code number of the project or the contract number. It should also include the name, institutional affiliation and e-mail address of each author (in separate footnotes for each author). Authors’ orcid should also be included.
• Abstract: The abstract should be between 150 and 200 words. Abstracts must clearly show the problem or issue under study, the theoretical perspective(s) under which the problem is examined, the methodology employed and, finally, results and conclusions.
• Keywords: List four to six keywords for the article. Write ‘Keywords’: in italics at the end of your abstract. Do not make bold. We suggest the authors use some Thesauruses optimize their keywords. You can find one here.
• Graphic Aids: Authors are encouraged to submit graphic aids with their articles. Graphic aids could include tables, diagrams, appendices, illustrations, etc. that help the reader understand the article better. They should include the corresponding reference citations or if they are creation of the authors. In addition to appearing in the body of the text, graphic aids should be submitted as separate files, according to the following guidelines:
• If the body of the text contains statistical charts, include original editable files that support these charts with .xls or. xlsx extensions.
• If the body of the text contains other graphics such as photographs, maps, diagrams, include original files with .jpg or .tiff extensions. The optimal resolution of these elements must be 1536 x 1024 pixels or 300 dpi to guarantee the quality of the printed and digital media. Otherwise, they could be asked to be changed or removed.
• In no case should tables be inserted as images; they must be created with a word processor as they need to be editable.
• Each graphic aid should be clearly labelled with number and captions. They should be numbered Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 1, Table 2, etc. These graphics may be modified or left out by the editors attending the needs of publication. Obviously, any changes are discussed with the author before publication.
• Length:Articles should be between 6,500 and 8,000 words (including the abstract, footnotes, references, tables, figures, appendices and all other matter). The length of the manuscript should not exceed 8,000 words, including references.
• Digital Requirements: All articles should be submitted in .docx or equivalent format.
• Languages published: Papers are received in formal academic English or Spanish. Linguistic expressions from other cultural groups (e.g. Spanglish, slang, Cockney, Afro-American, Quechua, etc.) are welcome as samples and objects of research or for specific intentions in the particular articles.
• Permission and Consent: If the article contains extracts from other works, especially figures, tables, etc., please contact the authors and publishers (the holders of the copyright) to seek permission to use their work before submitting the final version. By submitting the article, authors warrant that they have obtained permission from the copyright holder to reproduce (in any printed or electronic format) material not written by the author and that the author has acknowledged the source. If primary data is to be included, research participants should have signed a consent form.

Text Format

• Font: Times New Roman, 12-point. Double space the entire document. Spaces between words or after full stops and colons should be a single space.
• Title: Use lower case, capitalize only the first letter of every word except prepositions and do not extend beyond two lines.
• Headings: No more than two levels of heading below the title. Headings should not be numbered. The first level heading is in bold, and the first letter of every word is capitalized. A second level heading is in italics, and the first letter of every word is capitalized.
• Paragraphs: Do not use a hard return at the end of a line in running text except at the end of a paragraph.
• Page breaks: Do not insert page breaks in the text or extra spacing to avoid widows and orphans as page breaks are different in the typeset proofs. Turn Hyphenation off.
• Proofreading and spelling check of the paper in advance including the reference list.
• Please make sure the references follow APA style.
• Footnotes: These should be kept to an absolute minimum. Citations should appear within the text.
• In-text references: These should appear in the body of the article, not in footnotes, giving the author's last name followed by the year and page number when there is a textual citation. Use double quotation marks for quoted. Any quotation that runs for more than 40 words should be set off from the main paragraph as a block quote and does not need quotation marks. This is a general guidance but refer to APA for more information.

• We recommend to download the template, which contains concrete instructions.
• Paratextual information: This includes the title and footnote where the author indicates whether the article is based on original research or a thesis. If it stems from a research project, the title should be included, as well as the sponsor, the code number of the project or the contract number. It should also include the name, institutional affiliation and e-mail address of each author (in separate footnotes for each author). Authors’ orcid should also be included.
• Abstract: The abstract should be between 150 and 200 words. Abstracts must clearly show the problem or issue under study, the theoretical perspective(s) under which the problem is examined, the methodology employed and, finally, results and conclusions.
• Keywords: List four to six keywords for the article. Write ‘Keywords’: in italics at the end of your abstract. Do not make bold. We suggest the authors use some Thesauruses optimize their keywords. You can find one here.
• Graphic Aids: Authors are encouraged to submit graphic aids with their articles. Graphic aids could include tables, diagrams, appendices, illustrations, etc. that help the reader understand the article better. They should include the corresponding reference citations or if they are creation of the authors. In addition to appearing in the body of the text, graphic aids should be submitted as separate files, according to the following guidelines:
• If the body of the text contains statistical charts, include original editable files that support these charts with .xls or. xlsx extensions.
• If the body of the text contains other graphics such as photographs, maps, diagrams, include original files with .jpg or .tiff extensions. The optimal resolution of these elements must be 1536 x 1024 pixels or 300 dpi to guarantee the quality of the printed and digital media. Otherwise, they could be asked to be changed or removed.
• In no case should tables be inserted as images; they must be created with a word processor as they need to be editable.
• Each graphic aid should be clearly labelled with number and captions. They should be numbered Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 1, Table 2, etc. These graphics may be modified or left out by the editors attending the needs of publication. Obviously, any changes are discussed with the author before publication.
• Length:Articles should be between 6,500 and 8,000 words (including the abstract, footnotes, references, tables, figures, appendices and all other matter). The length of the manuscript should not exceed 8,000 words, including references.
• Digital Requirements: All articles should be submitted in .docx or equivalent format.
• Languages published: Papers are received in formal academic English or Spanish. Linguistic expressions from other cultural groups (e.g. Spanglish, slang, Cockney, Afro-American, Quechua, etc.) are welcome as samples and objects of research or for specific intentions in the particular articles.
• Permission and Consent: If the article contains extracts from other works, especially figures, tables, etc., please contact the authors and publishers (the holders of the copyright) to seek permission to use their work before submitting the final version. By submitting the article, authors warrant that they have obtained permission from the copyright holder to reproduce (in any printed or electronic format) material not written by the author and that the author has acknowledged the source. If primary data is to be included, research participants should have signed a consent form.

Submission process

1. Receipt of the article through Open Journal Systems (OJS) and review of the fulfillment of author guidelines.
2. Blind first evaluation of abstracts by Editors
3. Suggestions from members of the Editorial Committee to define whether the article continues in the evaluation process and whether it is suitable for reviewer assignment.
4. Sending the manuscript to double blind reviews: double blind reviewing means that the author of the manuscript does not know any information about the reviewer, and that the reviewer does not know any information about the author. All reviewers are given a period of three weeks for the first evaluation, one week for the second evaluation and one week for the third evaluation onward. Although this is somewhat flexible as our reviewers do this ad honorem and they are busy scholars.
5. Reception of evaluations through OJS and communication with the author of the evaluation results (if authors are asked for major modifications, they are given three weeks to make the corrections; if they are requested to make minor modifications, the period is one week).
6. Once an article is approved for publication, authors are notified.
7. The document is reviewed for the last time by the editors.
8. The authors are solicited to make changes or notified that the manuscript is accepted.
9. The article is proofread.
10. The authors make the changes or clarifications solicited by the proofreader.
11. The article is uploaded to our webpage and is sent to design.
12. The editorial team generates a DOI
13. The final PDF is published
14. The article is designed in XML or HTML or any format that is best to be indexed
15. The article is indexed in the databases or indexes the journal is included.

Table 1. Submission process

The Journal manages comprehensives review process. Detailed explanation of the main aspects of the process is given below:

Editorial Review. Each manuscript is reviewed by the editor and, if necessary, adjustments are requested before the manuscript is sent to peers. There may be cases in which it is decided not to accept the submission of a manuscript because of problems with its originality or quality of its writing. Also, the manuscript is rejected if there is any ethical issue, or its focus escapes the thematic spectrum of the Journal.

Review System. The Journal has a “double-blind” peer review system. This means that the authors and reviewers’ identity is reserved throughout the process, and the publisher is responsible for preventing probable conflicts of interest and auditing the quality of the concepts.

Review Process. The arbitration process consists of three stages. The first one is the assignment of reviewers, usually two for each manuscript, three when there is disagreement between judgments. The Journal selects reviewers according to their academic degrees, their current lines of research and their most recent publications, usually related to the area developed in the article evaluated.

The second stage is the review and consolidation of concepts by the editor. Manuscripts can be approved without modifications, approved with modifications of form, approved with substantial modifications, or rejected. In case of contradictory concepts, where one reviewer approves with modification of form and another approves with substantial modifications or rejects, a third review will be requested to resolve the conflict.

The third stage is publishing the arbitration results. This may involve closing the manuscript process when the manuscript is rejected by two reviewers or when is approved without adjustments (this occurs in very rare cases).  Another case of this type is when there are adjustments to make and the verification of these changes. Manuscripts which receive concepts where substantial modifications are recommended may be rejected by editorial decision or their final approval depend on the success of the corrections of the identified problems. The verification of the adjustments is usually done by the same peers or with the help of a scientific editor or by a member of the journal’s committee.

If the article requires minor revisions, as suggested by the evaluators, the author(s) are given one week to do so. Articles requiring major modifications are given two or three weeks to be re-submitted. If authors fail to make the modifications or if the changes are not deemed complete enough to make the manuscript publishable, they have one more opportunity to make a new revision. If problems persist in the second verification, the final decision is to reject the manuscript. On the event that an article is not accepted, the assistant also informs the author immediately of the results of the evaluation. From the moment a manuscript is received to the moment the authors are informed about the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript, the process can take from six to ten months.

Table 2. Possible results from the peer reviewing process

Review Times. The review of a manuscript can last four months on average. This is since its submission until the final decision about publication. The editor notifies authors of the decision not to publish their manuscript after the editorial review if some major problems are detected (in quality, originality or ethical conditions or the journal’s thematic spectrum and scientific approach.

Additional information for submissions

• Ready Submissions: The submission should be broken into two types of files: the article and any graphic aids. All articles must be submitted through the Open Journal System, http://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/ojs/index.php/calj/login.
• Waiver: Every article shall be subject to the review of the editorial committee. The editor reserves the right to make formal modifications to articles throughout the editing process.
• Contact: Communicate with the journal at ud@udistrital.edu.co

About the reviewers

Firstly, the reviewers are selected by the expertise on the subject, their activity on the field as they should have publishing background mainly in the subject within a window of 5 years. The process of evaluating consists of an invitation via our platform, if accepted the reviewers get access to the blinded manuscript and our format of evaluation. The response of the reviewers takes up to three because of the reviewer’s busy agenda and because they do it without payment. For second round revisions the reviewers got between one or two weeks.

Conditions for considering papers to publication

In order to consider a paper to be accepted for publication in CALJ, contributions should:

• Be original and genuine. The paper cannot be submitted to another journal simultaneously.
• Interesting in terms in methodology, critical reflection, conceptualization and analytical perspective.
• Be relevant to current research, pedagogy, applied linguistics and theoretical approach.
• Include a careful revision of knowledge of previous research in the same field.
• Be scientifically rigorous and have enough depth of analysis.
• Be precise and clear in the use of concepts and terminology.
• Writing must be academic in content and style.
• Within this context, each paragraph should develop an idea which is coherently supported and language should be appropriately managed for publication. 
• Have correct formatting, style and organization according to American Psychological Association (APA) style.

Types of Articles

• Research Articles: A document that details the original results of a research project. The structure of this type of article typically contains the following sections: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, theoretical framework, methodology, analysis and discussion of results, conclusions, and references. Authors are encouraged to include graphic aids. It must have between 6.500 words to 8.000 words.
• Reflections on Praxis: A paper that presents an innovation with pedagogical implications. This document focuses on the pedagogical core of the teaching profession, namely the pedagogical knowledge of teachers. The authors are expected to include a solid justification, a description of the processes followed in a given educational setting, samples of a pedagogical intervention in specific teaching fields, results of the experiences and conclusions. The authors are also expected to support their manuscript with theoretical and/or research studies and to present analytical perspectives. This type of article may include theoretical considerations, pedagogical context, findings, discussion, etc. Authors are encouraged to include graphic aids and the pedagogical innovation should contain original sources.
• Theme Reviews: A document resulting from a critical revision of literature related to a specific topic. This kind of article is derived from research in which published or non-published research results in a scientific field are analyzed, systematized and integrated in order to inform readers of the latest tendencies and developments. This type of publication must have at least 50 references.
• Book Review: Critical, analytical review that should provide some context for the work under consideration. This does not have to be extensive, no more than 2000 words, but should answer basic questions for an informed reader. Always be specific and provide evidence to back up your opinions.

Documentation of Sources

Please follow APA latest guidelines for appropriate documentation of sources in your paper and for your reference list. You might find the following link useful:

• APA Citation Guide: 

https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf