About the Journal

The University of Cienfuegos “Carlos Rafael Rodríguez”, with the purpose of disseminating the scientific-pedagogical work generated in Cuba and the world, has created the electronic journal “Conrado”. The publication profile of this journal is related to works dedicated to Educational Sciences. Its first issue was published in January 2005, with a quarterly frequency. Since 2020 the journal is published bimonthly in the months: January, January-February; March, March-April; May, May-June; July, July-August; September, September-October; and November, November-December. The journal's web platform displays all volumes and articles published since 2012, the period in which OJS was implemented as the editorial management platform.

As of 2025, the journal maintains the bimonthly publication, but under the philosophy of continuous publication, in such a way that each time an article is ready it proceeds to publication, the issue is closed at the end of the bimonthly period and a new issue is started.

Its publication has been possible thanks to the efforts of teachers, researchers and prestigious Cuban specialists. The intention of each issue is to show scientific results aimed at improving the teaching-learning process, pedagogy and other areas of Education Sciences, from primary to university level.

The scientific advisory board is composed of professors who hold the scientific category of Doctor of Science; they have experience in the different areas of knowledge taught in Higher Education and direct important research projects.

The Journal is recognized in the National Registry of Serial Publications (Havana, Cuba). RNSP: 2081, volume III, folio 94 and indexed in directories, catalogs and international databases such as: Latindex, Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico (REDIB), the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) of the Web of Science.

This journal provides immediate open access to its content, based on the principle that providing the public with free access to research helps to increase the global exchange of knowledge.

As steadfast followers of those educators who preceded them, its authors carry the light of truth with their letters far and wide.

Focus and scope

To disseminate the scientific-pedagogical work generated in Cuba and other parts of the world.

Editorial process

Conrado Journal uses the Open Journal System (OJS) for the management of the editorial process, which automates this procedure.

It is developed as follows:

1. The author sends the manuscript to Conrado Journal. It must always be sent through the platform:

• You must register on the Conrado Journal website: https://conrado.ucf.edu.cu/index.php/conrado/user/register
• Before uploading the article, the author is asked to make certain confirmations (declaration of authorship and originality, declaration of exclusivity, conflicts of interest, approval of its publication as Open Access, etc.).

2. Before submitting the file definitively, authors must check that they have entered the metadata properly placed on the platform.

Note: Files uploaded to the platform should not exceed 3Mb in size. If this is the case, authors should send them via email to: conrado@ucf.edu.cu, indicating the article to which they belong. The editor will be in charge of notifying its reception and incorporating it to the article's documentation.

3. The author will receive confirmation of receipt of his/her article within 5 days of sending it. Within one month of receipt, the Conrado Journal is obliged to give a response to the authors in relation to:

• Admission of the work and submission for evaluation by experts.
• If there is a rejection by the Editorial Board before the article is sent for evaluation, if it is considered that it presents formal or thematic deficiencies important enough to not continue with the procedure.
• Necessity of making essential formal changes before the article is sent to the experts for evaluation.

Conrado Journal is committed to strictly follow the recommendations made by its evaluators.

4. Regarding the positions of the reviewers, the following criteria will be followed:

• If both reviewers agree on the appropriateness of publication, the authors will be so informed, in a single document.
• If both experts issue a negative judgment, the article will be rejected.
• If there is a discrepancy, a third reviewer will be called upon to decide on its approval or the editor will decide.
• If the reviewers consider that changes are necessary, a second version will be requested from the authors. The decision on this version will be decisive in making a final judgment.

Once its publication has been confirmed, Conrado Journal may issue certificates to the authors about the publication of their article if they so request. Otherwise, they will be issued after the publication of the corresponding issue.

5. The article will go through the correction and style process. The proofreader will send the galley proofs to the author in .pdf format.

Once the modifications have been made by the authors, they may send it via e-mail, in a Word document.

When there is more than one author, the corrected article will be sent only to the person who indicated the group when sending the original version and the communication will be with this one, unless otherwise indicated to the Director and/or Editor. The proofreader will receive back a single document with all the requested changes. In no case may the article be modified in a way that changes the final version approved by the peer reviewers.

Peer review process

All articles published in the Conrado Journal are previously submitted for review by its director and editor. They are then sent to two content experts, depending on the subject matter, who evaluate them using the Open Peer Review method, in order to comply with the philosophy of the Open Science movement. See the journal's policies.

An open review process is carried out, the selected reviewers are not part of the journal's editorial team, nor of the Universo Sur publishing house, and the selection of reviewers from the University of Cienfuegos “Carlos Rafael Rodríguez” is limited and enhances the selection of experts from other institutions in Cuba and the rest of the world.

Review guarantee

Authors must submit their article with their personal information (name and surname, e-mail address, ORCID code, academic affiliation and country).

Phases of the article evaluation process

Phase 1: submission of the original article.

Phase 2: evaluation by the journal's editorial team. The pertinence of the subject matter of the submission and its adjustment to the objectives and scope of the journal are analyzed. Subsequently, it is analyzed with anti-plagiarism software (Turnitin) and a decision is made as to whether the work will be reviewed by experts or whether it will be discarded, either for formal or content reasons.

Phase 3: evaluation of the original by two experts in the corresponding subject area.

The editor or director sends the original to two content experts, with a copy to the authors, who will know who their reviewers are. The experts are asked to consider the following: appropriateness of the work to the subject matter; presentation and writing of the text; originality and interest of the content; description of the central theme of the research; presentation of the theoretical-conceptual framework; appropriateness of the methodology used; presentation and analysis of the results and conclusions; pertinence of the bibliographical references; and appropriateness of the tables and figures.

The journal offers instructions and a form that allows reviewers to evaluate the quality and relevance of the articles.

Phase 4: exchange and consensus among authors and/or reviewers.

The reviewers will exchange with the author(s) during this phase. They will offer suggestions and evaluate the criteria issued by the authors. They will also be able to exchange with each other.

Phase 5: sending the result of the evaluation to those responsible for the journal.

The reviewers will issue a single document with the opinion and send it to the editor of the journal and to the authors, who, in correspondence with the information given, will make the decision and decide whether to send the work to a third reviewer, when it is rejected by one of them; in this case the editor has the power to accept or not the article.

Acceptance: an article is approved if the result of the evaluation is positive and the editorial team considers that no changes should be requested from the authors.

Non-acceptance: an article is rejected if the result of one or both evaluations is negative.

Modifications are required: the author must correct the suggested changes in order to be published with the required quality. Authors will have up to 15 calendar days to return it with the corrections; otherwise, a new submission must be made and the process will begin again.

In case the author suggests a possible reviewer for his/her article, the journal reserves the right to consider such recommendation or not.

The editorial team is committed to give a verdict on the evaluation process within 90 days.

Other details of the open peer review can be consulted in the journal's policies section.

Phase 6: socialization of the issue.

The issue is made available to the scientific community and the readers and other authors will issue criteria about the published articles. This will be taken into account for the publication of other contributions; from the same or other authors.

Ethical statement and good practices

The editorial team of the Conrado Journal is committed to the scientific community in guaranteeing the ethics and quality of the articles published, based on the code of conduct and good practices that the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) defines for editors of scientific journals.

Authors' commitments

• Originality and plagiarism: Authors submitting manuscripts to the Conrado Journal must guarantee that the work is original and that it does not contain, in whole or in part, content from other authors. In addition, they should confirm that the empirical data obtained to verify the hypothesis have not been modified.
• Multiple and/or repetitive publications: The author may not publish articles in more than one scientific journal showing the same results. Simultaneous submission of the same contribution to other journals is considered ethically incorrect.
• List of sources: the author must correctly cite the sources and contributions mentioned in the article.
• Authorship: authors should ensure the inclusion of those who have made a contribution to the work. It is also necessary to rank the authors according to their level of responsibility and involvement in its elaboration. Use the CRediT taxonomy
• Access and retention: Authors of articles should make available to editors, if necessary, the sources or data used in the research, which can be retained for a period of time and made accessible.
• Conflict of interest and disclosure: All authors are required to declare that there are no conflicts of interest that may have influenced the results obtained. Authors should also indicate any funding received for the development of the research.
• Errors in published articles: When an author identifies an error or inaccuracy in his/her article, he/she should immediately inform the editors of the journal and provide them with all the necessary information for corrections.
• Responsibility: all authors must accept responsibility for what has been written and that they have carried out a review of the most important scientific literature on the subject analyzed, using all the most current currents of knowledge.

Commitments of the reviewers

• Contribution to the editorial decision: Peer review helps editors to make decisions on proposed articles. It also allows the author to improve the work submitted for publication. The reviewers assume the commitment to make a critical and constructive analysis of the scientific quality of the contribution, in the field of their knowledge and skills.
• Respect for deadlines: the reviewer who does not feel competent in the subject matter of the article sent to him/her or who is unable to complete the evaluation in the scheduled time should immediately notify the editors. The reviewers undertake to evaluate the papers within the stipulated time.
• Confidentiality: each assigned manuscript should be considered confidential. Therefore, these texts should not be discussed with others without the express consent of the editors. Thus, it will only be analyzed, from the Open Peer Review, by the assigned reviewers and the authors.
• Objectivity: Peer review will be conducted in an objective manner. No personal judgment on the authors of the contributions is considered appropriate. Reviewers are obliged to give reasons for their assessments. The reviewers will deliver a complete critical report with adequate references according to the review protocol established by the Conrado Journal and the established regulations. They are obliged to warn the editors if substantial parts of the paper have already been published or are under review for another publication.
• Text display: Reviewers undertake to indicate the bibliographic sources of important works that have not been used by the author. They must also inform the editors of any similarity of the manuscript with other works published by the author or other authors.
• Conflict of interest and disclosure: information obtained during the peer review process should be considered confidential and may not be used for personal purposes. Reviewers only review a manuscript if there is no conflict of interest.

Commitments of the editors

• Publication decision: the editors will guarantee the selection of the most qualified reviewers to issue a critical appraisal of the papers, with the least possible biases. Conrado Journal chooses to select between 2 and 3 reviewers for each paper in order to guarantee greater objectivity in the review process; it also implements the Open Peer Review method, to comply with the philosophy of the Open Science movement.
• Honesty: editors evaluate articles submitted for publication on the basis of scientific merit. No discrimination of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, nationality and political opinion of the authors.
• Confidentiality: the editors and members of the working group undertake not to disclose information on articles submitted for publication to anyone other than authors, reviewers and editors. The editors and the Editorial Committee are committed to the confidentiality of the manuscripts, their authors and reviewers.
• Conflict of interest and disclosure: the editors undertake not to use the contents of the articles submitted for publication without the consent of the authors.
• Respect for deadlines: the editors are responsible for complying with the time established for the reviews and publication of accepted papers, in order to ensure a rapid dissemination of their results. Likewise, papers will not remain unpublished beyond the time required for their publication.