Submissions

Author Guidelines

The journal El Outsider is an annual, free, and open access academic publication of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, founded with the objective of promoting the production, research, and analysis of International Relations and Political Science.

The journal follows rules of format, selection, evaluation, and publication of articles submitted through peer review using the double-blind method. These processes are developed by the Editorial Committee and specialized external reviewers belonging to the Academic Committee, according to the nature of the articles submitted.

Each edition is made up of the following sections:

• Acercamientos Académicos/Academic Approaches:This section includes academic research oriented around the topics of the journal.
• Spot Alumni:This section compiles the profiles of outstanding USFQ International Relations and Political Science graduates.

Guidelines for Authors

Indications on Authorship and Affiliation

Before writing the article, the following aspects should be taken into account:

1. The submission has not been previously published or submitted for consideration by any other journal (or an explanation has been provided in the comments to the editor). However, papers published as theses in institutional repositories or papers presented in academic contexts such as classes or conferences will not be considered as prior publications as long as they comply with the format detailed in this guide.
2. There can be a maximum of five co-authors and only one article, either individual or collaborative, per author in each edition. This requirement may change depending on the decision of the Editorial Committee in each editorial period.
3. Every author must have an institutional affiliation, i.e., the name of the organization to which he/she belongs and his/her country. In case of not having an institutional affiliation, authors may declare themselves as independent researchers.

Preparing the Manuscript

The following guidelines should be followed for the preparation of articles:

1. Written in English or Spanish.
2. File in Microsoft Word format (*.doc or *.docx).
3. Times New Roman font, 12 points.
4. Single spacing.
5. Lateral, top, and bottom margins of 2.5 cm.
6. Do not put the name of the author(s) on the first page of the document since this information is already provided by the Open Journal Systems (OJS).
7. The name of the Microsoft Word file containing the article should be saved only with the name of the article title and the initials of the author's first name and last name separated by an underscore, for example: "Tensions in Southeast Asia_GM." If the article has been written by several authors, only add the initials of one of them.
8. The length of the articles will be measured in the word count of Microsoft Word. For this extension, both the body of the article and its footnotes should be considered, not including references, bibliography, or descriptions of figures, tables, or graphs, so that the word length should be 2500 to 4000 words.
9. Abbreviations should be unambiguous. The meaning of each abbreviation should be indicated the first time it is used.
10. If necessary, symbols should be inserted using the respective Microsoft Word tool.
11. The International System of Units and ISO 4217 should be used for currency codes.
12. The graphs and tables presented in the article should be numbered and cited according to the Chicago/Turabian citation standards.
13. Each table or figure should have its explanatory legend, which should be understandable without reference to the text and should be placed below the respective table or figure.
14. Articles will contain images only if they are a means of supporting the argument. However, it will be at the discretion of the Editorial Committee whether they should be removed.
15. Any words in a different language or Latinisms in the article should be in italics.
16. If the article requires it, sequentially numbered footnotes should be used as a means of clarifying words or concepts.
17. In-text citations and references should follow the Chicago/Turabian citation guidelines, Author-Date format. The manual can be consulted at the following link: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
18. References extracted from general internet searches should be used with caution and only those that are permanently published (i.e., supported by databases or virtual repository archives), usually by institutions or in online journals, and that indicate all the necessary data for citation, including the name and city of the institution, will be accepted. If available, for online journal articles, the DOI or ISSN of the journal should be included.
19. Gray literature will not be accepted among the bibliographic references. Gray literature is academic literature that is not available through regular bibliographic channels such as libraries, databases, indexes, technical reports, proceedings, and unpublished works.
20. Information from e-mails, letters, or documents sent between collaborators may be cited as "in litt." which means "in a letter correspondence," followed by the year of the correspondence.

Organizing the Manuscript

The article must maintain the following structure in the order presented:

1. Title: in bold
   1. It should be concise and direct, indicating the key elements to be covered in the article.
   2. If necessary, it can be divided into a title and subtitle using a colon (:).
   3. The title should be presented in Spanish and English.
2. Resumen (Abstract)
   1. There should be one paragraph in Spanish of no more than 250 words explaining the main arguments of the text.
   2. Citations should not be included.
3. Palabras clave (Keywords)
   1. Maximum ten words or groups of words in Spanish, separated by commas and different from those in the title.
4. Abstract
   1. There should be one paragraph in English of no more than 250 words explaining the main arguments of the text.
   2. Citations should not be included.
5. Keywords
   1. Maximum ten words or groups of words in English, separated by commas and different from those in the title.
6. Introduction
   1. It must contain a hook sentence, thesis, and plan of execution.
7. Body
   1. It must have coherence, fluency, and transition in arguments.
8. Conclusion
   1. It should synthesize the arguments presented in the body.
9. References
   1. Must follow the Chicago Author-Date format.

Article Selection, Evaluation, and Publication Process

Each text is submitted to a review process consisting of the following stages:

1. Each article received will be assigned, anonymously, to a peer-reviewer who will be a member of the Editorial Committee of the journal. Each reviewer will evaluate the corresponding articles following a rubric that will allow him/her to assign a score. Submissions will be considered after obtaining a minimum of 14 points out of 20 on the Article Acceptance Rubric. The rubric is composed of seven components and will evaluate: basal structure, logical structure, source management, format, depth, readability, and style.
   
   1. The reviewers will decide whether each article is a) approved, b) temporarily accepted with corrections, or c) rejected, making sure that the article assigned to them complies with the parameters contemplated in the Author Guidelines and Article Acceptance Requirements.
   2. Articles that are temporarily accepted are sent back to their authors with the pertinent corrections of form and substance suggested by the reviewers. This process is carried out up to a maximum of three times.
   3. The Associate Editors are the ones who decide whether to accept or reject articles in this round based on the reviewers' suggestions.
2. The second stage will be realized by expert reviewers on the subject of the article, these being the members of the Academic Committee of the journal. In case of corrections, especially of substance, the articles will be sent once again to the authors to make the indicated corrections and it will be the Associate Editors who will supervise if the authors executed the corrections, comments, or recommendations issued by the expert reviewer.
3. Subsequently, the articles will undergo a final review by the Editors-in-Chief, who will inform whether the articles are accepted or rejected.
4. The articles, once approved for publication, are submitted to a proofreader selected by USFQ PRESS.
5. Finally, the journal is designed by a designer selected by USFQ PRESS and published on the date established in the institutional schedule.

To ensure the high quality of each article, the Editorial Committee of the journal El Outsider reserves the right to reject articles at any stage of the editorial process, as well as the assignment and reassignment of articles in the different sections of the journal. Failure to substantially comply with the provisions of the relevant guidelines may lead to the non-acceptance of the article if so decided by the Editorial Committee.