Ethical Policy

Dearq has a series of ethical guidelines that outline the responsibilities and proper conduct of editors, authors, and peer reviewers.

Editorial Team

The Editorial Team oversees and fully complies with the standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Throughout the editorial process, it implements equality, confidentiality, plagiarism control, review mechanisms, authorship rules and disclosures, and manages conflicts of interest. Furthermore, it follows COPE's guidelines for identifying, preventing and dealing with research misconduct.

The editorial team:

• Confirms receipt of content sent through the content management platform.
• Promptly informs authors of the process the article is undergoing.
• Ensures an efficient evaluation process.
• Selects reviewers considering their academic trajectory, knowledge, and scientific production within the article's subject matter.
• Identifies and acts on any conflicts of interest that may arise.
• Guarantees the anonymity of authors and reviewers during the evaluation process.
• Makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject an article considering the recommendations derived from the evaluation process. The selection will be based on the article's quality, importance, relevance, originality, and contribution to architecture and urbanism. In this sense, when an article is rejected, the justification given to the author is oriented through these aspects.
• When Dearq members submit content, they are excluded from the reception, evaluation and selection processes.
• Respects the academic positions and ideas presented by the author in their article.
• Does not use information from the article for their benefit or the benefit of third parties before it is published.
• Responds to any request for retractions, corrections, objections and clarifications. If the claim warrants it, the editorial team ensures that the appropriate investigation is carried out to solve the problem promptly.
• Makes corrections and includes clarifications on the digital version of the journal when inaccuracy, omission or erratum of published content is acknowledged.
• When a third party detects plagiarism, previous publication, unethical conduct or error, they should declare it by contacting the Editor via email at dearq@uniandes.edu.co. If confirmed, it is the obligation and responsibility of the author to retract publicly, which will proceed immediately to the removal of the article or public correction. The correction will be made in its digital version and the next printed issue of the journal.
• Periodically defines and reviews the journal's editorial and ethical policies to guarantee compliance with academic and editorial quality criteria.
• Guarantees timely publication of each issue and dissemination of published contents among authors, reviewers, and contributors. Ensures the journal's contents are updated in the national and international repositories, databases and indexing systems.
• Likewise, it covers digital and physical publications diffusion by updating editorial management platforms and active channels to disseminate content.
• The dissemination of published material through social media, email and publication platforms should not be detrimental to the integrity of the article's content. 
• Complies with the exchange agreements established between Dearq and other publications and institutions.
• When the Editorial Team is interested in publishing an article that has been published, it commits to request the corresponding authorization and indicate the original publication's data.

Authors

• Must present an original and unpublished article, not in a parallel evaluation process or editorial commitment to another publication.
• Responsible for the ideas expressed in the contents they send to Dearq.
• Guarantee that the content is of their authorship and that they safeguard the intellectual property rights of third parties.
• Request permission to use, reproduce and print material that is not of their property or authorship (charts, graphs, maps, diagrams, photographs, etc.)
• They can technically improve images for readability and to comply with the requirements described in the 'Publication Guidelines'. However, where research data is presented as images, authors should avoid modifying images when this leads to the falsification, fabrication or alteration of their results.
• Accept responsibility for using material accompanying the article or any other content published in the journal.
• Authorize the use of the authors' property rights (reproduction, public communication, transformation and distribution) to include their article in a specific issue of Dearq.
• When using third parties' ideas, they must acknowledge and credit the author by making the correct citation and reference. Otherwise, the author will be considered to have committed plagiarism.
• Prepare their contents based on authentic sources and verifiable data, and undertake not to delete or alter the information used.
• They become guilty of ethical misconduct when they use fragments of their published content without citing the original publication or offering advances on what has already been published.
• Give credit to all those who participated in the study. Those who made significant contributions to the investigation should be regarded as co-authors. Nevertheless, authors who have not directly contributed to the drafting of the manuscript should not be included.
• If the article is part of a research project, the authors should declare the institution at which the research was conducted, supported or approved. If the article is not affiliated with an institution, the authors must list their current institutional affiliation. If the authors don't have a relevant institutional affiliation, they should state their independent status.
• Declare all funding sources for their research and the group or institution from which it is derived.
• Pledge not to make any personal criticism. In case of disagreement, these must be strictly academic.
• Agree to submit their texts to anonymous evaluations of two peer reviewers and take their observations and the adjustments requested by the Editorial Team. The author must make these modifications and corrections to the article within the period established by the Editorial Team.
• If the author detects substantive errors in a published article that threaten its scientific quality, he may request the removal or correction.
• Comply with ethical protocols in research involving living beings and have the corresponding informed consent, as the case may be.
• If another journal or publication wishes to incorporate an article already published in Dearq, the author or publisher must request authorization from the Editorial Team. The publication must clearly and visibly indicate the data of the original publication in Dearq.

Peer Reviewers

• Accept to review an article when they consider they have the academic strengths to issue a comprehensive concept about the contributions of the content and the aspects that need to be improved.
• Inform the Editorial Team in case of identifying a personal or professional conflict of interest that could affect the evaluation of the article.
• Dearq has a downloadable Peer Review Format available on the website's homepage through the Peer Reviewers section. It contains questions with defined criteria, which the reviewer must answer regarding the article under evaluation.
• Review the article in an objective, neutral and impartial manner.
• Inform the Editorial Team if they detect similarities between the reviewed article and another article in the process of publication or already published.
• Notify any suspicion that the article under review contains plagiarism or false data so that the Editorial Team can carry out the appropriate investigation.
• Agree not to use the article under evaluation for their benefit or the benefit of third parties before it is published.
• They should support and clearly explain their doubts about the investigation under evaluation so that the author will have sufficient guidelines to strengthen the article.
• Suggest that the article be accepted, rejected, or approved with modifications within the agreed deadlines with the Editorial Team.