Ethical Policy

Click here to see the Portuguese version

H-ART. Revista de historia, teoría y crítica de arte is committed to ensuring that its publications meet high standards of academic quality and research rigor, make meaningful contributions to knowledge, and are accessible to all readers. Upholding these standards requires editorial processes that are transparent, reliable, and publicly available, as well as clearly defined ethical guidelines for authors, peer reviewers, members of the editorial board and scientific committee, the editorial team, and the Universidad de los Andes as publisher.

In several of the sections below, the journal follows the ethical principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM) in the International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication document.

Authors

Guidelines for Reporting Research Results

• Authors are responsible for the ideas expressed in their work, as well as for ensuring the ethical integrity of their article.
• All sources of research funding must be disclosed, along with the research group or institution from which the work originates.
• Any use of artificial intelligence tools must be clearly reported, including an explanation of how they were used.
• The deliberate inclusion of false or inaccurate statements in an article constitutes unethical conduct and is unacceptable.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism can take many forms, ranging from submitting another author’s work as one’s own, to copying or paraphrasing substantial portions of someone else’s work without proper acknowledgment, to appropriating research results developed by others. It also includes recycling one’s own previously published texts (self-plagiarism) without appropriate citation or presenting them as original work.

Any form of plagiarism constitutes unethical conduct and is unacceptable.

Originality and Proper Attribution of Sources

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the work submitted to the journal is original and unpublished, is not simultaneously under review elsewhere, and is not subject to prior editorial commitments with another publication. If a manuscript is accepted, H-ART expects its publication to precede any full or partial republication of the article. Should an author later wish to include the article in another publication, the venue in which it appears must clearly acknowledge the original publication in H-ART, following prior written authorization requested from the journal’s editor. Likewise, if H-ART seeks to publish an article that has already appeared elsewhere, it will obtain the appropriate authorization from the editors responsible for the original publication.

Authors must sign the Authorization for the Use of Intellectual Property document, explicitly declaring that the text is their own and that it respects the intellectual property rights of third parties. Authors are also responsible for ensuring that they hold the necessary permissions to use, reproduce, and publish any material not of their own authorship (including images, tables, graphs, illustrations, maps, diagrams, photographs, etc.). Authors assume full responsibility for the use of such materials in the publication.

All sources used must be properly cited and referenced. Authors are required to acknowledge the publications that informed their research and that situate the article within its academic field. In the case of oral sources, information obtained through private conversations may not be included in an article unless the individual has provided explicit authorization (in writing or by another verifiable means).

Authorship

An author is understood to be a person who has made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, interpretation, and writing of the article. All individuals who have made a substantial contribution must be listed as co-authors. In manuscripts with two or more authors, the specific contribution of each must be clearly stated.

A note may be included to acknowledge individuals who provided support in the preparation of the article (for example, an external reader, a language reviewer, an editor, etc.).

In the case of co-authored articles, authors must agree from the outset on the list of authors and the order in which their names will appear before submitting the manuscript to the journal. Any changes to the original list must be approved by all manuscript authors.

All authors share collective responsibility for the article and each is obliged to ensure that any questions regarding the validity or accuracy of the text are properly examined and resolved.

Research Involving Human Participants

In studies involving human participants, authors must state in the manuscript that all procedures were carried out in accordance with applicable laws and relevant institutional guidelines, and that the research received approval from the appropriate institutional review body. The manuscript must clearly indicate that informed consent was obtained from all participants. The privacy rights of individuals involved in the research must always be respected.

In cases involving research with minors or persons with disabilities, written informed consent must be obtained from the legally authorized representative.

Corrections and Retractions

If authors identify a significant error or inaccuracy in their article after it has been published, they must notify the journal and actively cooperate in issuing a correction or, if necessary, retracting the article.

Editorial Team

Publication Decisions

The editorial team holds final responsibility for deciding whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected. In reaching this decision, it considers the recommendations resulting from the peer review process and the editorial assessment of the article, applying criteria of quality, significance, relevance, originality, and contribution to the field.

The editorial team also determines the issue in which an accepted article will appear. The scheduled publication date will be maintained provided that authors submit all requested documentation within the established timeframe. The journal reserves the right to make stylistic edits whenever necessary.

Errata, Retractions, and Corrections

The editorial team will respond to any request for retraction, correction, clarification, or complaint submitted to the journal. When warranted, it will ensure that an appropriate investigation is conducted in order to resolve the matter promptly.

If an inaccuracy or error is identified in published content, the necessary corrections and/or clarifications will be made on the journal’s website. In cases involving more serious issues, the content will be withdrawn, and a public notice will be posted on the website.

Peer Review

The editorial team is responsible for ensuring that the peer review process is conducted in a fair, objective, and timely manner. To that end:

• Each article must be evaluated by at least two academic peer reviewers. When necessary, the editorial team may request a third review or consult a member of the board to support the final publication decision.
• Potential conflicts of interest arising during the review process must be avoided.
• Reviewers are selected on the basis of their academic trajectory, expertise, and scholarly production in the subject area under evaluation.
• The anonymity of authors and reviewers, as well as the confidentiality of the peer review process, must be guaranteed until the manuscript is either published or rejected.

Editorial Decision-Making

In cases where peer review reports are contradictory, the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection rests with the editor or guest editor. This decision is made in light of the recommendations emerging from the review process and the editorial assessment of the manuscript, and with reference to criteria of quality, significance, relevance, originality, and contribution to the discipline.

Editorial evaluation of manuscripts must focus exclusively on the content and the ideas presented, without regard to the authors’ race, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, citizenship, or political affiliation.

The editorial team must not use information contained in manuscripts received or under review or consideration for the benefit of their own research until the content has been formally published.

Journal Metrics

The editorial team must not attempt to improve H-ART. Revista de historia, teoría y crítica de arte rankings or performance indicators by manipulating citation metrics. In particular, it is inappropriate and unacceptable to request that journal content be cited or included in manuscript references unless there are legitimate academic reasons for doing so. Likewise, it is improper to require authors to cite publications by the journal’s editors in their reference lists.

Conflict of Interest

Members of the editorial team, the editorial committee, and the scientific committee may not participate in decisions regarding content they have authored, nor in content written by family members, colleagues, or other members of the editorial team. Any such submission must undergo all standard editorial processes of the journal; moreover, the member concerned must be excluded from managing the evaluation process and from any decision regarding publication.

Responsibility for Published Content

To safeguard the integrity of published content, the editorial team must review and assess any reported or suspected cases of research misconduct, irregularities in the preparation of content, the peer review process, or the editorial process. This review and evaluation must be carried out in coordination with the University in its role as publisher.

Preservation of Published Content

The editorial team ensures the digital preservation of published content through the OJS publishing platform. To guarantee long-term and permanent access to its articles and issues, the journal participates in the PKP Preservation Network, which uses the LOCKSS program for this purpose.

H-ART allows authors to share their published articles in institutional repositories and academic networking platforms (for example, Academia.edu or ResearchGate).

Reviewers

Role in Editorial Decision-Making

Peer reviewers play a central role in the journal’s decision-making process. Their reports should offer clear, well-founded assessments that allow the editorial team to determine whether a manuscript should be accepted, revised, or rejected. At the same time, constructive feedback is expected to help authors refine and strengthen their work. As a cornerstone of scholarly communication, peer review remains essential to the production and dissemination of knowledge.

Responsibilities and Ethical Commitment

Experts invited to review a manuscript must carefully consider whether they are able to undertake the task. If the topic falls outside their field of expertise or if they lack sufficient time to complete a thorough evaluation, they should decline the invitation promptly and inform the editorial team. Reviewers who accept the assignment commit to maintaining confidentiality and to refraining from using any part of the manuscript—whether ideas, data, or arguments—for their own benefit or that of others prior to its publication.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews must be conducted with integrity, fairness, and impartiality. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate under any circumstances. Reviewers are expected to articulate their assessments clearly and support them with reasoned arguments, while respecting the intellectual position and scholarly perspective presented in the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

Members of the editorial team, the editorial board, and the science committee must not participate in decisions concerning manuscripts they have authored, or manuscripts written by family members, colleagues, or other members of the editorial team. Such submissions must undergo the journal’s full editorial process, and the member concerned must be excluded from managing the review process and from any decision regarding publication.

Careful Engagement with the Literature

Reviewers are expected to identify relevant published work on the subject that has not been cited in the manuscript. If they determine that an observation or argument presented in the submission has already appeared elsewhere, they must inform the editorial team and indicate the original source. Likewise, reviewers should report any substantial similarities between the manuscript under review and other published works of which they are aware.

Universidad de los Andes as Publisher

Editorial Independence

As publisher, the Universidad de los Andes must uphold the principle of editorial independence. Decisions regarding whether or not to publish a manuscript rest solely with the journal’s Editorial Team.

Published Content

If the University becomes aware of reliable evidence indicating that content published in H-ART contains errors, it will coordinate with the journal’s editorial team to ensure that an appropriate correction, retraction, or clarification is issued promptly, as warranted.

Institutional Endorsement

In its role as publisher, the University provides institutional support to the journal and ensures that best editorial practices are implemented and upheld.

Preservation of Published Content

The University is responsible for ensuring the conservation and long-term preservation of its publications by providing technological infrastructure capable of safeguarding both published content and material pending publication.

Edited in April 2026.