Editorial Policy

1. Article Processing and Publication Charges

The journal does not charge any fees for article processing or publication.

2. Funding Policy

Arquitectura + is funded, edited, and published by the National University of Engineering (UNI), Nicaragua.

3. Open Access Policy

The journal prioritizes open access to the information it publishes, enabling the fulfillment of its mission to generate new knowledge and foster debate within the academic, professional, and scientific communities specializing in architecture and urbanism at national and international levels.

Arquitectura + uses the OAI-PMH interoperability protocol for metadata exchange:
http://www.revistas.uni.edu.ni/index.php/arquitectura/oai

All published material is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 License, which allows copying and redistribution in any medium or format, provided that explicit credit is given to the journal, the author, and the work; distribution is non-commercial; and no modifications are made to the content.

4. Archiving Policy

Arquitectura + adopts a digital preservation policy based on the LOCKSS initiative, integrated within OJS.

  • Self-archiving is permitted at the time of publication
  • Authors may archive pre-print and post-print versions, including the publisher’s PDF
  • DOI is assigned per article and issue for archiving purposes

Third-Party Repository Policy

Deposit in personal or institutional repositories
Authors are allowed to deposit versions of their articles in institutional, thematic, or personal repositories, provided that:

  • The original publication in the journal is clearly cited
  • The DOI is included
  • The version type (preprint, postprint, or final published version) is specified

Non-institutional third-party repositories
Deposit in commercial academic platforms is allowed only if it does not violate the terms of the Creative Commons license and proper acknowledgment of the original source is maintained.

Citation and traceability requirement
In all cases, traceability and proper citation of the officially published version must be ensured.

5. Authorship Policy

Arquitectura + considers an author to be an individual who has made a significant intellectual contribution to the work. In accordance with COPE guidelines, authorship requires meeting the following criteria:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation
  • Drafting the work or critically revising it for important intellectual content
  • Final approval of the version to be published
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved

Those who do not meet these criteria may only be acknowledged in the acknowledgments section. To prevent authorship disputes or misconduct, all authors should agree on their contributions and authorship order prior to submission.

Author Contributions

Authors are encouraged to specify contributions using the CRediT taxonomy (Contributor Roles Taxonomy):
Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Visualization, Writing.

Authorship Order

Authors may adopt one of the following conventions:

  • FLAE (First-Last Author Emphasis): First and last authors have equal importance; intermediate order reflects decreasing contribution
  • SDC (Sequence Determines Credit): Order reflects level of contribution
  • EC (Equal Contribution): Alphabetical order used when contributions are similar

Changes in Authorship

Any addition, removal, or reordering of authors must be completed before manuscript acceptance and only with the approval of the journal editor, following COPE flowcharts.

Conflicts of Interest

Arquitectura + will adopt and follow COPE flowcharts in cases involving conflicts of interest:
(a) undisclosed conflicts of interest in a submitted manuscript, and
(b) undisclosed conflicts of interest in a published article.

If authors declare a conflict of interest arising from any financial or personal relationship with a public or private entity that could (intentionally) influence the results of their work, it must be disclosed at the time of manuscript submission.

6. Ethics Policy

Arquitectura + adheres to the highest editorial standards, following COPE guidelines, and is committed to promoting best practices in academic research and evaluation.

Editorial Team

The Editorial Team includes: Editor-in-Chief, Scientific Committee, Technical Board, and UNI Authorities.
The Editor-in-Chief provides full names, affiliations, and updated contact information on the journal website, including email, phone, and mailing address.

Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Common unethical practices include plagiarism, inappropriate authorship, and redundant publication:

  • Plagiarism: All submissions are screened using similarity detection software (Turnitin)
  • Inappropriate authorship: Authorship and order are the responsibility of the authors; changes are not allowed once the editorial process begins
  • Redundant publication: Duplicate or fragmented publications are not accepted; violations are handled according to COPE guidelines

Fair Evaluation

All submissions are evaluated impartially, regardless of gender, institutional affiliation, nationality, or other biases.

Timeliness in Peer Review

Reviewers must complete evaluations within the deadlines established by the Editorial Team. If unable to do so, they must notify the journal promptly.

Double-Blind Peer Review

The journal employs an external, confidential, double-blind peer review system. Reviewers are selected based on expertise, academic merit, and professional experience.

Conflict of Interest Handling

Authors must explicitly declare the absence of any conflicts of interest that may have affected the results obtained. To do so, they must comply with the statement included in the submission preparation checklist.

If conflicts of interest are not declared, the manuscript will be rejected. If a conflict of interest is identified after publication, Arquitectura + will act in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Complaints and Appeals

Complaints from readers, authors, or reviewers should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief via email (revistarq.mas@uni.edu.ni). All cases are reviewed and resolved following COPE procedures.

Post-Publication Review

Published content remains valid and unchanged unless exceptional circumstances require correction, retraction, or removal, following COPE standards.

Errata

Issued for errors introduced by the journal that do not compromise academic integrity. Corrections are documented and linked to the original article.

Corrections

Issued for author errors that do not invalidate the work. A correction notice is published and linked.

Retractions

Issued when major errors or misconduct invalidate findings. Conditions include unreliable data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, fraudulent authorship, or compromised peer review.

Retraction procedures include:

  • Watermarking the article as “Retracted Article”
  • Updating the title accordingly
  • Publishing a signed retraction notice with DOI

Article Removal

Occurs only in exceptional legal or ethical cases (e.g., defamation, legal orders, health risks). Metadata is preserved, and the text is replaced with a removal notice.

Resubmission Within the Same Institution

A manuscript previously rejected by another institutional journal may be resubmitted if:

  • A formal rejection was received
  • Substantial revisions were made
  • Prior submission is disclosed

Research Involving Human Subjects

Manuscripts involving human participants must include an ethics statement confirming informed consent, privacy protection, and anonymity. The journal may request supporting documentation.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

Authors must explicitly disclose the use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini), specifying:

  • Tool name
  • Sections where it was used
  • Type of generated or assisted content
  • Justification for its use

AI tools must be properly cited. Their use does not replace authors’ ethical and academic responsibility.

7. Acknowledgments Policy

Authors may include acknowledgments to individuals or institutions that contributed to the research but do not meet authorship criteria. Contributions must be clearly specified, and consent must be obtained.

8. Social Media Dissemination Policy

To increase visibility, Arquitectura + uses UNI’s official Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Responsible Use

  • Ethical dissemination of content
  • No defamatory, discriminatory, or inappropriate content
  • Respect for copyright

Identification

  • The journal will be clearly identified as the source
  • Links to indexed platforms will be included
  • Tags and mentions related to the journal will be used

Content Approval

All posts are reviewed and approved by the editorial team and include article title, authors, affiliation, country, and abstract.

Engagement

  • Timely and constructive responses to comments
  • Promotion of knowledge exchange and constructive dialogue