Editorial Policy (Focus & scope)

Editorial Policy of Bordon Journal

 Bordon accepts scientific articles from multidisciplinary backgrounds related to the field of education. Articles submitted for publication may use any scientific method considered valid within their own discipline. Bordón and SEP foster non-empirical research (theoretical, philosophical or historical) whenever it stands out for its scientific rigor.

  1. Independently of its scientific discipline, any article submitted for publication must include an up-to-date review of the subject under study, including an international perspective (as a guidance and with the exceptions justified by the topic of study, at least 30% of the references should proceed from the last five years. In addition, a significant percentage of the citations must proceed from international impact scientific journals) and a detailed description of the methodology applied. It must also highlight significant findings, evaluate the limitations of the study, and provide a general interpretation of the results within the context of its own field of study.
  2.  The abstract must provide a summary of the abovementioned aspects that conforms to the IMRD format[1] (Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion), as stated in the guidelines for authors. The Editorial Board of Bordón Journal has decided to adopt the IMRD format because, by relying on an international multidiscplinary format to communicate its research findings, it standardizes the abstracts of all the articles found within this publication.  It also facilitates referencing specific articles and the journal as a whole, as well as responding to the recommendations of FECYT for publications – such as ours –  that have been awarded the Seal of Excellence.
  3. Articles submitted for publication may include empirical studies, reviews of literature, and meta-analysis of research related to a specific field or discipline. Comparative, historical and philosophical studies are also welcome. These works should keep in mind the following guidelines:
    1.  Comparative, historical or philosophical studies must be rigorous and systematic in their methodology, as is characteristic in this type of  research.
    2. Reviews of Existing Literature must adopt the conventional standards of a systematic review which is reproducible. As far as possible, they should:
      • Justify the review in terms of what is already known about the subject.
      • Explictly state the research question(s) they  wish to address.
      • Describe the methodology applied – sources, such as databases,  eligibility criteria for studies included, search strategies, and criteria for including or excluding sources.
      • Theoretical works which merely provide summaries of the available  literature in a field of inquiry without being guided by a specific objecive or methodology will not be accepted.
    3. Empirical studies (be they quantitative or qualitative) should clearly identify the sample used and the criteria for its selection, the instruments of measurement used and their psychometric characteristics whenever they are relevant, as well as the sources used. Whenever it may be of significance, the magnitude of the effect, as well as the statistically relevant figures, will be indicated. Descriptive or correlational studies of a quantitative nature based on biased, limited, or local samples (i.e. university students from a single field of study or a single university) are less likely to be accepted for publication. In this case, in order to be considered for publication, the study must provide a convincing justificiation for why such a limited sample contributes to the subject  or field being studied – otherwise it will be rejected. Studies which merely replicate existing research will likewise be rejected, unless they convincingly justify the need for their research and the added value their conclusions provide to their field.

[1] The Editorial Board is aware that, due to their nature and tradition, not all research methods conform to this abstract format, and consequently is flexible in applying this criteria to specific cases. Nonetheless, all research, regardless of its research method and epistemological grounding, begins with a research question or objective in order to arrive at conclusions or results are not necessarily quantifiable, but can be articulated by relying on some method (which might not necessarily correspond directly with the scientific method or with statistical analysis, as is the case with fields such as History, Philosophy or Theory, which have their own characteristic research methods). We can therefore say that in every field field of inquiry, the  INTRODUCTION will define the subject under study, and the research questions or objectives which guide its approach, the METHOD will describe the methodology, sources, instruments or procedures used to advance the research questions or objectives, the RESULTS will provide the most significant findings that may be of interest to a potential researcher who is looking for relevant bibliographical sources in a database, and the DISCUSSION will contrast conclusions and findings with those of other authors, researchers, theories or schools of thought, highlighting the study´s own contributions and limitations within this broader context.