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 has been published bimonthly in the months: January (January-February period); 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 when OJS was implemented as the editorial management platform.

Starting in 2025, the journal maintains bimonthly publication but under a continuous publication philosophy, meaning that whenever an article is ready, it is published. The issue is closed at the end of the two-month period and a new issue begins.

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

The Scientific Advisory Board is composed of teachers who hold the scientific category of Doctor in Sciences; they have experience in the different areas of knowledge taught in Higher Education and lead 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 international directories, catalogs, and 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 Web of Science.

The Conrado Journal is an open access journal. All its content is published under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. The complete terms for authors and users are detailed in our Policy.

As firm followers of those educators who preceded them, its authors carry with their words, to all places, the light of truth.

Focus and Scope

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

Comprehensive Editorial Process

The journal guarantees quality, transparency, and agility through a systematized editorial process, managed via the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. The complete flow unfolds in the following phases:

Phase 1: Submission and Admissibility Review

  • Submission:Authors must register and submit their manuscript exclusively through the OJS platform. They accept the mandatory declarations of: originality, authorship, exclusivity (no simultaneous submission), absence of conflicts of interest, and authorization to publish the work under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.
  • Initial Editorial Review:The editorial team performs a preliminary assessment of thematic relevance, compliance with guidelines, and formal structure.
  • Originality Check:All submissions are analyzed with the Turnitin semantic similarity software.
  • Decision (Maximum timeframe: 1 month):The author is notified if the work: a) Proceeds to peer review, b) is Rejected due to major formal/thematic deficiencies, or c) requires Pre-submission Corrections to be admitted for evaluation.

Phase 2: External Evaluation

The journal employs an Open Peer Review process

  • Reviewer Selection:The editor assigns the manuscript to a minimum of two external reviewers who are experts in the subject, prioritizing academics from other national and international institutions.
  • Open Model:In line with the Open Science philosophy, the Open Peer Review model is implemented, where authors and reviewers are known to each other, promoting constructive dialogue.
  • Evaluation Criteria:Reviewers evaluate using a standardized form the originality, methodological rigor, clarity, results, and relevance of references. They finally provide an assessment to the editorial committee. (Maximum timeframe 3 months)

Phase 3: Editorial Decision and Version Revision

  • Verdict:The editor makes a decision based on the consolidated reviewer reports: Acceptance, Acceptance with Modifications (Major/Minor), or Rejection. In case of discrepancy, a third reviewer is consulted.
  • Communication:Authors receive a unified document with the result and all observations.
  • Review of Corrected Versions:Authors submit the modified version, which is verified by the editors or original reviewers to confirm that the observations have been addressed. (Maximum timeframe 1 month)

Phase 4: Technical Editing, Layout, and Publication

  • Style Correction and Layout:The accepted manuscript enters the technical editing phase to standardize style and layout it according to the journal's template.
  • Proofreading:PDF proofs are sent to the corresponding author for final review, limited to detecting typographical or formatting errors.
  • Final Publication:The article is published in the corresponding issue on the website, in the journal's display formats.
  • Certification and Dissemination:Upon request, publication certificates are issued. The content is automatically disseminated to indexing databases and academic search engines.
  • Maximum timeframe 2 months.

Commitment to Agility: The journal stands out for offering an agile and transparent process, focusing on providing greater accessibility to documents and greater visibility for authors, eliminating traditional barriers to scientific publication.

Dispute Resolution

The Conrado Journal adheres to international best editorial practices. In the event of disputes arising between authors during the editorial process (e.g., concerning external evaluation, editorial management, as well as authorship, contribution, data, or manuscript content), the journal will promote confidential and respectful dialogue, through official channels, between the involved parties as a first step. If the dispute persists, the journal may offer neutral editorial mediation or, if necessary, temporarily suspend the evaluation of the manuscript until the parties resolve the conflict. Authors are recommended to document their contributions from the outset and, ultimately, the journal reserves the right to reject the submission if the dispute compromises the academic integrity of the work. For this, we follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Editorial Process Timelines

The editorial process may take a period of 6 to 9 months depending on the agility of the evaluation processes and the authors' response to observations and corrections.

Editorial Ethics and Best Practices

The editorial team of the Conrado Journal is committed to scientific integrity and subscribes to the international standards defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We have established detailed commitments for authors, reviewers, and editors, covering originality, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, objectivity, and error correction mechanisms.

The full description of these commitments and the procedures for handling complaints is available in our Editorial Ethics and Best Practices Policy section.

Indexing, Visibility, and Digital Preservation

Recognition and Indexing:
The journal holds the Cuban National Registry of Serial Publications (RNSP: 2081) and is indexed in prominent international directories and databases, ensuring its high level of visibility and positioning:

  • Latindex Catalogue
  • Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)
  • Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) from the Web of Science
  • Certification as a Scientific Journal (Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment "CITMA" CUBA)
  • REDIB (Ibero-American Network of Innovation and Scientific Knowledge)
  • CLASE (Bibliographic database, Autonomous University of Mexico)

Digital Preservation:
The Conrado Journal, under the custody of the Editorial Universo Sur, complies with the Computer Security Policies of the University of Cienfuegos. A rigorous digital preservation protocol is implemented, including daily content backups, guaranteeing the permanence and permanent access to the scientific archive.

For more specific information on submission guidelines, manuscript submission, or direct contact, visit our pages for Policies, Instructions for Authors, and contact, available on the official website.

Author Commitments

Originality and plagiarism: Authors submitting manuscripts to the Conrado Journal must guarantee that the work is original and does not contain, in whole or in part, content from other authors. Furthermore, they must confirm that 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. The 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 must guarantee the inclusion of those persons 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 preparation. Use the CRediT taxonomy.
Access and retention: Authors of articles must make available to the editors, if necessary, the sources or data used in the research, which may be retained for a period of time and made accessible.
Conflict of interests and disclosure: All authors are obliged to declare that there are no conflicts of interest that could have influenced the results obtained. Authors must also indicate any funding received for the development of the research.
Errors in published articles: When an author identifies an error or inaccuracy in their article, they must immediately inform the journal's editors and provide them with all necessary information for corrections.
Responsibility: All authors must accept responsibility for what has been written and that they have conducted a review of the most important scientific literature on the analyzed topic, based on the use of all the most current trends in knowledge.

Reviewer Commitments

Contribution to editorial decision: Peer review helps editors make decisions on proposed articles. It also allows the author to improve the work submitted for publication. Reviewers undertake to conduct a critical and constructive analysis of the scientific quality of the contribution, within the field of their knowledge and skills.
Respect for timelines: The reviewer who does not feel competent in the subject matter of the article sent to them or who cannot complete the evaluation within the scheduled time must notify the editors immediately. Reviewers commit to evaluating the works within the stipulated time.
Confidentiality: Each assigned manuscript must be considered confidential. Therefore, these texts should not be discussed with other people without the express consent of the editors. In this way, it will only be analyzed, based on Open Peer Review, by the assigned reviewers and by the authors.
Objectivity: Peer review will be carried out objectively. Any personal judgment about the authors of the contributions is not considered appropriate. Reviewers are obliged to give reasons for their assessments. Reviewers will deliver a complete critical report with appropriate references according to the review protocol established by the Conrado Journal and established regulations. They are obliged to warn the editors if substantial parts of the work have already been published or are under review for another publication.
Text visualization: Reviewers commit to indicating 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 interests and disclosure: Information obtained during the peer review process must be considered confidential and cannot be used for personal purposes. Reviewers only review a manuscript if there are no conflicts of interest.

Editor Commitments

Publication decision: Editors guarantee the selection of the most qualified reviewers to issue a critical appreciation of the works, with the least possible bias. Conrado Journal opts to select between 2 and 3 reviewers for each work to ensure 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 based on scientific merit. Without discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, or the political opinion of the authors.
Confidentiality: Editors and members of the working group commit not to disclose information about articles submitted for publication to other people, except authors, reviewers, and editors. Editors and the Editorial Committee commit to the confidentiality of manuscripts, their authors, and reviewers.
Conflict of interests and disclosure: Editors commit not to use content from articles submitted for publication without the consent of the authors.
Respect for timelines: Editors are responsible for compliance with the established time for reviews and publication of accepted works, to ensure rapid dissemination of their results. Likewise, works will not remain accepted and unpublished beyond the time necessary for their publication.