Aims & scope

Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles (ISSN 0212-9426) is a scientific journal published since 1984 by the Spanish Association of Geography. It publishes original research papers and review papers. The journal aims to drive the theoretical, conceptual and/or empirical advancement of the field of Geography. Another of the aims of the journal is to spur the academic debate on current topics and especially on public policies that concern the fields of Human Geography, Physical Geography and Regional Geography. Likewise, it promotes papers on data processing and cartographic representation, which constitute a key element of the field of Geography.

Originality

The Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles publishes original research papers that have not been published before and are not in the process of evaluation or publication in any other journal or publication.

Language

Papers can be submitted in Spanish or in English.

Peer review process

All authors will receive an acknowledgment of receipt via e-mail after the submission of their paper has been registered in the OJS platform.

Firstly, the paper will be reviewed within two weeks by a member of the Editorial Board, who will assess the suitability of the topic to the scope of the journal, and its fulfillment of the requirements of originality, relevance, methodological and scientific quality and compliance with the Submission guildelines. If the manuscript does not fulfill the requirements set by the journal, the paper can be rejected (Decline Submission). Authors will receive a justified decision explaining why the paper cannot proceed for external evaluation. The Chief Editor can request from authors to implement necessary changes before the paper can be peer-reviewed (Resubmit for Review). If authors fail to submit these changes, the journal assumes the withdrawal of their paper from the evaluation process.

Papers that successfully pass this first selection will enter a double-blind peer review process. The Editorial Board will select two experts in the field of the paper that will produce a report following a standard form. Reviewers will have one month to complete the evaluation. In the case that the reviewers disagree, the paper will be sent to a third expert, whose opinion will be decisive.

Once a decision has been reached by the evaluators, the Chief Editor will communicate the decision to the author(s) in a justified manner. The decision could be:

1. Accept submission:

-- accept submission

-- minor revisions required

-- major revisions required

2. Decline Submission

Papers that are accepted on the basis of major changes will be reviewed again at least by one expert before publication. This expert could be the same one from the first round or a different person.

When authors send an updated version of their paper, they must include:

1. The text with the changes highlighted with the option “Track changes”
2. A document with a detailed answer to the reviewers
3. The final text without any highlighted changes and the “Track changes” option deactivated

We have elaborated detailed instructions on how to upload an updated version of a paper. Never send the new version by e-mail or as a new submission.

The Editorial Board will ensure that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process.

Articles submitted to other sections of the journal will be reviewed by the Chief Editor, who can ask the opinion of the members of the Editorial Board or the Scientific Board. These texts will not undergo a blind peer-review process. The justified decision will be notified to the authors and changes might be demanded before publication.

The papers and book reviews accepted for publication will be sent to the authors after they have been formatted for a final verification of typos and minor mistakes. Any final change to the text should be communicated in the timeframe that will be indicated. If the deadline passes without notification from the authors, the Chief Editor will be the one taking the decisions regarding the publication.

A diagram of the review process can be found here.

Code of conduct

BAGE follows the Code of Conduct and the Best Practices Guidelines for Journals Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

Publication frequency

The BAGE publishes four issues per year (March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15), and articles are published continuously. Starting in 2019, the last issue of the year will be a special issue.

All articles are published by a strict order of acceptance.

Communication with the authors

Communication with authors (acknowledgment of receipt, confirmation of acceptance, submission of documents, etc.) will take place through the online OJS platform. If you have a request that cannot be solved through the platform, please, contact the Editor’s Assistant at bage@age.geografia.es

Privacity notice

According to the EU Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 27 April 2016, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and the implementation of the new General Data Protection Regulation, the BAGE commits to abide by the principles of treatment of personal data.

The BAGE editorial team might use your data for the following:

1. In the editorial process.
2. To prepare invoices in relation to the publication fee or membership fee (if applicable).
3. To e-mail information about publications and editorial news.
4. To elaborate annual and bi-annual editorial reports, ensuring your anonymity.
5. To include your name in the annual list of reviewers.

Interoperability protocols

BAGE currently uses the Dublin Core schema metadata and it can be exported in the following formats: METS XML, PubMed XML, mEDRA, CrossRef XML. The interoperability program is OAI 2.0, available at https://bage.age-geografia.es/ojs/index.php/bage/oai