Submissions

Author Guidelines

Submission of papers

Revista Costarricense de Psicología accepts for publication original, unedited papers and those that have not been submitted to consideration for publication in other published media. The manuscript will be delivered in Microsoft Word format, by E-mail to the Journal’s editorial board (editorial@rcps-cr.org) copying the Director (director@rcps-cr.org) for pre-approval. The following manuscript guidelines will be strictly observed for Manuscript Format.

Upon approval for entry into the peer review process, a curriculum of no more than two pages, a signed letter on motives directed to the Journal Director and an Affidavit attesting that the article is original and unpublished, that it complies with international ethical standards and follows the format recommended by the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association, (APA, 2020, 7^th ed.). In the latter, the principal author will transfer the author’s rights (copyright) to the Journal, in the event that the manuscript is accepted for publication.

The editorial board will assign an identification number (ID) to the manuscript, as soon as delivery is complete, pursuant to the editorial board’s requirements. To see a flow-chart of the editorial process, please click here and to see the Journal’s Regulations, please click here.

Revista Costarricense de Psicología accepts several types of articles for publication according to the parameters and format provisions from the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association, (APA, 2020, 7^th ed.), for the purposes of editorial evaluation, these are:

• Empirical Study: Based on the IMRD format (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) according to APA standards. These must clearly present a formulation of the problem, the objectives, the design and the methodology employed, the main study results and a discussion of the findings, ending with the most relevant conclusions. Empirical studies include experimental, quasi-experimental and qualitative studies.
• Literature Review: Including synthesis and meta-analysis, they are critical evaluations   of already published material.
• Theoretical Articles: Based on existing investigational literature, to promote advances in theory (APA, 2020). These articles will examine the internal consistency and external validity of a theory. To see an example click here
• Systematic review: It is a structured and rigorous synthesis of research on a singular aspect of Psychology. To see an example click here.
• Methodological Article: Articles drafted to contribute new methodological approximations or modifications of already existing methods, as well as commentaries on quantitative approaches and data analysis (APA, 2020).
• Case Studies: Reports obtained from work with one individual, group, community or organization. Centered on presenting a problem and the means or lines of research required to resolve it.
• Other Types of Articles: Short reports, book reviews, comments or replies to articles published in previous issues, essays and monographs fall in this category. They may access the section on “Manuscript Format” for a description of the structure that our journal requests for this type of articles.

Our journal will accept articles from different theoretical approaches, as long as they rigorously comply with each proposition; furthermore they are expected to be robust both theoretically and methodologically. If you desire greater detail on the characteristics of the different types of manuscripts and their specific structures, you are invited to revise the section on Manuscript Format on the following page.

Review process

The Editorial Board submits the manuscript to review by two external referees (peer review), who assist in determining the suitability of the article to the journal’s goals. In the case of contradictory judgments, the Board may request the criterion of a third external referee. Anonymity is maintained for all of the evaluators and authors (double blinding). The evaluators are professionals outside of the journal’s editorial entity.

In the event that the judgments of the external peers were to indicate a partial acceptance with restructuring of the manuscript, the author(s) are requested to deliver the restructuring within a 30-day term. The editorial board will review the restructured manuscript and after a term not to exceed three months, the Editorial Board will communicate its acceptance or rejection, the authorship has the right to appeal.

If the Editorial Board considers in necessary, it may send the article for review to other referees. Independent of its acceptance or rejection, the documentation delivered will not be returned.

External reviewers

The arbitration system uses evaluators external to the College of Professionals in Psychology of Costa Rica, the publishing entity of the Costa Rican Journal of Psychology.

Paper format

All articles must strictly follow the format in the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2020, 7^th ed.). The information is to be presented in the following order:

• Cover page (Running head, title, author, date and author’s notes)
• Abstract
• Corpus of the article
• References
• Appendices, tables, figures, on separate pages and in this order (with only one table or figure per page) and numbered sequentially.

Manuscripts of up to a maximum of 30 double-spaced pages including references, tables, images, appendices, etc., typed on letter-sized pages with at least one inch (2.5 cm) margins all around, with left-aligned text in 12 point Times New Roman.

The title and abstract (Abstract Guide) for the article must be submitted in Spanish and English. The title to be composed of 12 words and the abstract of between 150 and 250 words drafted in a single paragraph, followed by five to eight keywords.

The manuscript must be prepared cleanly and with care, and closely follow APA Guidelines for headers, paragraphs, numbering, tables, abbreviations, spelling, math and statistics or units of measure, etc. Special emphasis is placed on manuscripts strictly following the APA format for literal quotes, references in the text and list of references.

Revista Costarricense de Psicología accepts for publication those types of articles according to the parameters and provisions for formats in the American Psychological Association Manual for Publications (APA, 2020, 7^th ed.):

Empirical Articles. Based on the IMRD format (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion), according to APA standards. These must clearly present the problem proposed, objectives, design and method employed, the main study results and discussion of the findings, terminating with the most relevant conclusions.

This type of paper includes experimental and quasi-experimental studies, which must be composed of the following sections: introduction, Method (Design, Participants, Instruments, Procedure and Statistical Analysis), Results, Discussion and Conclusions, References. The tables and figures will follow APA format. In this type of articles, the sections on Participants and Results must be presented with greater care.

Empirical papers also include qualitative studies; these will follow the IMRD format based on APA, but following appropriate techniques for studies of a qualitative nature, such as observational studies, those with focus groups, interviews (for example), for data collection or triangulation for data analysis (Álvarez-Gayou, 2003), among others.

Systematic Reviews. A systematic review corresponds to a synthesis of research on a singular aspect of Psychology, which should be current and about which there should be sufficient qualitative or quantitative information to construct the review. Special attention should be given to databases employed to compile the studies. It should consist of a critical evaluation that organizes, integrates and evaluates the published material. The problem must be defined, prior research summarized, interrelations, contradictions, lacunae and inconsistencies identified, and future lines of research suggested. The sections that a systematic review contains are: Introduction, Methods (Criteria for selection of the studies, Search procedures and Variable coding), Results, Discussion and Conclusions, References.

Theoretical Articles. These will be papers dealing with a substantial topic in some area of Psychology. It will be highly relevant for its currency or for the practice of professionals in Psychology. A theoretical study is one proposing a new theory regarding a particular topic, effecting a review of existing theories and laying out the consistencies and inconsistencies found. This type of paper is generally structured as: Introduction, (proposition of the topic object of the review), Development of the theoretical contents, Conclusions and References.

Systematization of interventions and experiences. Papers with systematic rigorousness that seek to share information that is relevant and pertinent for professionals in Psychology. The systematization is based on the organization and ordering of existing information with the objective of explaining changes undergone during a project or intervention, the intervening factors, results, and lessons learned from the process. In general these papers should have a structure that follows these guidelines:

-Approach and proposal: Theoretical framework of reference and presentation of the problem that motivated the intervention and its objectives.

Discussion of interventional studies on the problem under study or those relating to similar objectives.

-Methodology: Description of the context, as well as the place and time of the intervention. Details of the procedure for intervention as a function of the problem and the objectives, as well as the analytical procedures for the information collected.

-Results, discussion and conclusions: Presentation of the results and synthesis of the most relevant conclusions. Limitations of the intervention and exposition of alternate proposals.

-References: Bibliographic references following the APA bibliographic format.

Clinical Cases. Presentation of a clinical case study from a psychological point of view, that due to its relevance or importance it is considered necessary for the Psychology community in general. This type of article must respect the following considerations for the presentation of the manuscript:

-Abstract: Expressly indicate that it is a clinical case. Include data on the evaluation, criteria followed in treatment selection, type of treatment, number of sessions, results obtained and follow-up.

-Introduction: Briefly, the status of the question regarding the type of problem that the case refers to. Special emphasis will be given to the evidence used to derive the hypotheses.

-Patient’s personal data: Age, sex, marital status, number of children, profession, level of studies, socioeconomic status, geographic origin and persons with whom s/he lives.

-Reference and objectives: Motive for the consultation and objectives proposed by both the person referring the case, if applicable, as well as the subject him or herself and family members. Problem description as posed by the patient. Analysis of factors that might be associated with resistance to change.

-Initial evaluation: evaluation techniques and application procedure. Description of the evaluation techniques and application procedure.

-Results: biographic information. Origins and evolution of problem or problems that have motivated the consultation. Patient history information relevant to the problem situation. Information on patient characteristics and their milieu that are related to problem at the time of evaluation. Integration of results. Formulation of hypotheses about the case. The hypotheses must be justified as based on previously collected information.

-Intervention: description and justification of the changes sought through the treatment. Description and justification of the aspects to be intervened. Criteria applied to select the intervention. The intervention process: description of the sessions, number and duration, possible difficulties; techniques utilized, sequence of application of the techniques or combined application.

-Evaluation of the intervention: selection and application of the evaluation techniques and analysis of the results obtained in this phase. Explain if the foreseen changes have been produced and, if not, propose possible explanations and recommendations on how to achieve the aforesaid changes. Information on the follow-up period: in the event that changes occur with regard to the moment in which the intervention terminated, the motives must be explained.

-Conclusions: general considerations regarding the case. Theoretical reflections derived from the case.

-Furthermore, there should be an indication that a written informed consent has been obtained from the patient for publication of the case.

Other Articles:

-Monograph: is an informative and critical text where data on one topic are organized, after reviewing different bibliographic sources (Vara-Horna, 2010). It will be articulated as follows:

• Introduction: presents the objective sought (to wit, what the monograph is about), the corresponding chapters are presented and some conclusions obtained are mentioned (briefly)
• Body of the monograph: develop the objectives outlined, organizing the monograph in chapters. Use as many chapters as necessary. However, the document must not extend beyond 30 pages
• Conclusions: enumerate the main conclusions from the bibliographic study
• References: according to the APA format.

-Essay: it is a type of academic article written as prose, which briefly analyzes, interprets or evaluates a topic (Gamboa, 1998); it is important that it consists of presenting knowledge on the topic dealt with in the most complete form possible, focusing on offering it to the reader, who does not necessarily have an in-depth awareness of the topic. It is articulated in a general form in (Gamboa, 1998):

• Introduction: author’s purpose, approach to the topic and organization that will be followed in the essay; basically elaborating ideas and a thesis based on questions that orient the article delimiting and specifically focusing it.
• Crux or body: develop the points included in the introduction; here the argument is organized with regards to the topic to be dealt with.
• Conclusion: recapitulation of the ideas developed in order to close for the reader with the fundamental aspects of the topic dealt with in the article.

Furthermore, as with other types of manuscripts published in the journal, include, according to the stipulations of the APA Publications Style Manual (2010), an abstract and key words, as well as the references and corresponding footnotes.

-Book review: an article that summarizes or describes the most important aspects of a book, which is expected to deal with a topic or area relevant to Psychology.

-Replies to articles: a paper carried out on some article published previously in our journal. Based on a targeted and pertinent discussion on a topic included, oriented as a commentary on some part of the discussion in the article replied to.

The rules and grammatical constructions proper to the Spanish language must be respected using a format of universal Spanish. In doubt, you may consult the following book: Real Academia Española & Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010). Nueva gramática de la lengua española.

Bibliography Consulted:

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Álvarez-Gayou, J. (2003) Cómo hacer investigación cualitativa. Fundamentos y metodología. México: Paidós.

Buela-Casal, G. y Sierra, J.C. (2002).  Normas para la redacción de casos clínicos. Revista Internacional de Psicología Clínica y de la Salud, 2, 525-532

Botella, J. y Gambara, H. (2006). Doing and reporting a meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 6(2), 425-440.

Carretero-Dios, H. y Pérez, C. (2005). Normas para el desarrollo y revisión de estudios instrumentales. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 5, 521-551

Gamboa, Y. (1998) Guía para la escritura del ensayo. Florida: Florida Atlantic University.

Rodríguez, G., Gil, J. y García, E. (1996) Metodología de la investigación cualitativa. Granada: Aljibe

Vara-Horna, Arístides (2010). ¿Cómo hacer monografías de investigación? Manual práctico para los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Recursos Humanos. Lima: Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Recursos Humanos de la Universidad de San Martín de Porres.

Withdrawal of Articles

To effect a withdrawal of articles from the editorial process, you must send an e-mail specifying that request to the Revista Editorial Board (editorial@rcps-cr.org), with a copy to the Director (director@rcps-cr.org). This will become effective as soon as the e-mail is received by the Revista, indicating a manuscript withdrawal from the editorial process.

RCPs Regulations

Regulations for the Revista Costarricense de Psicología were drafted in 2014. A text of the Regulations was prepared by the Editorial Team of the Revista and the Editorial Board. It was then sent to the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican College of Psychology Professionals, for revision by their legal advisor. Then the Regulation was put to consultation by the members. After this process, a final version was prepared, which was later was submitted to a vote by the members, being unanimously approved by General Assembly Nº 90-2014 of the Costa Rican College of Psychology Professionals, held on 27 September 2014. The approved Regulation was published in the Official Journal, La Gaceta Nº. 225 (p. 77), on 21 November 2014.

• Revista Costarricense de Psicología Regulations