Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology

About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Artefactos is a diamond open-access, continuously published electronic scientific journal, managed by the University Institute for Science and Technology Studies (ECYT) at the University of Salamanca (Spain) and published by Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. Its primary aim is to provide a rigorous and critical platform for the philosophical analysis of both established and, most importantly, emerging issues in Science and Technology Studies. The journal welcomes contributions in the following thematic areas:

• General Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Technology
• Philosophy of the Life Sciences and Medicine
• Philosophy of the Social Sciences

Peer Review Process

Artefactos accepts unpublished scientific articles, reviews, and interviews that align with the journal’s formal and thematic criteria. All submissions considered for publication undergo a double-blind peer review process by at least two external experts who independently assess the scientific rigor of the submitted manuscript. The final decision—acceptance or rejection—is made by the Editorial Board.

Authors should carefully consult and adhere to the criteria stated in the “Guidelines for Authors”. Manuscripts that do not meet them will be sent back without revision to the authors.

The first decision, consisting of a check of the technical and thematic suitability of the manuscript, will be communicated by the Editorial Board within 5 to 7 days after submission.

Following reports based on an external peer review process, the editors will inform the author of one of the following decisions: 1) Acceptance without revisions, 2) Acceptance under Minor Revisions, 3) Revise and Resubmit, or 4) Rejection. Authors are allowed 7 days to submit the revised manuscript.  The editor will verify whether the requested modifications have been made and, if necessary, send the revised version back to reviewers. Failure to meet the revision deadline will be interpreted as withdrawal. In cases of conflicting reviews (one positive and one negative), the editors will request a third evaluation from a member of the Scientific Advisory Board. The review process typically takes between 30 and 60 days.

Manuscripts may be submitted at any time during the year and will be published in the order of acceptance, depending on the number of articles scheduled for each annual issue. Online publication on OJS will take place within 15 to 30 days of final acceptance.

Note: While the editorial team is committed to meeting these timelines, they ultimately depend on reviewer availability, the initial quality of the manuscript, and the willingness of both reviewers and authors.

Publication Frequency

Artefactos follows a continuous open-access electronic publishing model, ensuring immediate dissemination of accepted articles. This model significantly accelerates visibility, enhances impact, and ensures timely access to research advances.

Journal Sections

Artefactos publishes original scientific articles, book reviews, interviews, and an annual thematic issue titled “Intersections” curated by the editorial team. The journal also accepts and strongly welcomes proposals for Special Issues that fit within the thematic scope of the journal and aim to explore emerging issues (interested guest editors should contact the editorial team).

Open Science

Committed to Open Science principles, Artefactos is a Diamond Open-Access journal with no Article Processing Charges (APCs) or submission fees.

The journal represents a publishing initiative that is led, governed, and sustained by the scientific community, and it embodies the University of Salamanca’s commitment to open-access to knowledge and to the principles of Open Science.

This commitment is reflected in the University’s endorsement of the Berlin Declaration (signed on 27 February 2009) and is currently upheld through its alignment with the DORA Declaration, the COARA Coalition, the Spanish Law on Science, Technology and Innovation (2022), and the National Strategy for Open Science (ENCA) 2023–2027.

Artefactos adapts its editorial policies following this framework, promoting responsible, transparent, and accessible practices in scholarly communication.

Support for Early-Career Researchers and Underrepresented Groups

Artefactos actively supports research conducted by early-career researchers, research teams from developing countries, and underrepresented groups within academia. The journal maintains inclusive editorial practices to encourage global and diverse scholarly contributions.

Copyright and Licensing

Artefactos publishes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain full copyright of their work, granting the right for reuse, adaptation, and distribution, provided appropriate credit and citation are clearly indicated.

All supplementary materials and datasets linked to published articles must be archived in institutional or discipline-specific open-access repositories. These materials must be connected to the published articles via a unique and persistent identifier r (see the “Guidelines for Authors” section below).

Content Dissemination

Artefactos allows the publication of preprints, provided they are explicitly identified as unreviewed versions and hosted in recognized repositories. Upon acceptance, authors must clearly indicate manuscripts as unreviewed versions and update preprints with full citations and DOI. Postprints (accepted manuscripts prior to typesetting) may be publicly disseminated once officially published and assigned a DOI.

The editorial and technical work carried out by Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca ensures the stability and continuous development of the OJS platform, which incorporates interoperability protocols that allow metadata harvesting through the OAI-PMH protocol.

Interoperability Protocol

The journal uses the OAI-PMH protocol, available at the following endpoint:
https://revistas.usal.es/cinco/index.php/Artefactos/oai/

Ethical Commitment and Editorial Best Practices

Artefactos strictly adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and other internationally recognized standards of scholarly publishing. Authors, reviewers, and editors must uphold these principles to guarantee integrity and transparency.

For further information, consult COPE’s principles: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

Authors’ Responsibilities

-Submit an original, unpublished manuscript not under consideration elsewhere and ensure it is free of plagiarism or self-plagiarism.

-Cite all sources accurately and acknowledge any external contributions.

-Disclose any financial, institutional, or material support received during the research or writing process.

-Accept full responsibility for the submitted content and notify the journal of any significant errors identified after submission or publication.

-Ensure that all listed authors meet academic authorship criteria and that there are no disputes regarding authorship or author order.

-Designate a single corresponding author for all editorial communications; all co-authors share joint responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Editorial Team Responsibilities

-Ensure an objective, impartial, and confidential evaluation of all submitted manuscripts, regardless of the authors’ origin, affiliation, or status.

-Apply rigorous criteria for scientific quality and thematic relevance, as defined in the journal’s scope.

-Oversee compliance with the double-blind peer review process and safeguard the confidentiality of manuscripts throughout.

-Detect and manage conflicts of interest or ethical misconduct in accordance with COPE protocols.

-Publish corrections, retractions, or clarifications when appropriate, to uphold scientific transparency and reliability.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

-Evaluate manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and within the established deadlines.

-Identify potential conflicts of interest and abstain from reviewing when personal or professional relationships with the authors exist.

-Notify the editorial team of any sign of misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data manipulation, among others).

-Provide clear, respectful, and scientifically grounded comments to support their evaluations.

Plagiarism Detection Tool: Turnitin Ephorus

Artefactos uses Turnitin Ephorus software, complying with the institutional policies of the University of Salamanca, to detect plagiarism and ensure academic integrity

Generative AI

At the time of manuscript submission, authors must declare any use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, excluding standard utilities such as spell-checkers, grammar-checkers, or reference managers. If no generative AI was employed, no statement is necessary.

Important: To protect copyright and research confidentiality, Artefactos does not permit reviewers or editors to use generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT, DALL·E) during peer review or manuscript evaluation, in accordance with our AI policy.

It is recommended that contributors consult the relevant policy in the IA section. This policy may be updated in the future.

*Note: Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) refers to technology capable of producing original content—such as text, images, audio, or code—based on existing data using machine learning models.

Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all external funding sources, including project codes, in the Acknowledgments section. The corresponding author must also enter these metadata into the eUSAL Revistas submission form.

Gender Equality Best Editorial Practices: Inclusive Language and Gender Perspective

Gender-Inclusive Language

Gender-inclusive language is defined as language that avoids discriminatory expressions relating to any sex, social gender, or gender identity, as well as the perpetuation of gender stereotypes. Authors must use gender-inclusive language that avoids discrimination and stereotypes related to sex, gender identity, or social gender. Writing should be free of bias, jargon, or culturally normative assumptions.

Recommended resources:

• United Nations: Gender-inclusive language
• European Commission: Gendered Innovations 2

Sex and Gender-Based Analysis (SGBA)

If research involves human subjects, animals, or eukaryotic cells, or if sex and gender may affect outcomes, authors must integrate Sex and Gender-Based Analysis (SGBA) into their methodological design and interpretation of results. This integration should comply with the requirements of funding agencies and the best practices of the relevant research field.

Recommended references:

• Gender in Research, European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/23655
• SAGER Guidelines (Sex and Gender Equity in Research): https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-016-0007-6

Artefactos is committed to promoting real gender equality in academia. More than 50% of its Scientific Advisory Board members are women.

Author Guidelines for Manuscript Submission

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors should ensure that their manuscript meets the following requirements. Submissions that do not adhere to them will be returned to the author without revision.

Authors must ensure that their submission:

• Has not been previously published nor is under consideration by another journal (or a justification has been provided in the “Comments to the Editor” field).
• Includes two separated files: (1) an anonymized version of the manuscript, and (2) a version including full author details.
• Is provided in both Microsoft Word (.docx) and PDF formats for each file.
• Complies with the formatting and bibliographic standards described in the “Guidelines for Authors.”
• Acknowledges and accepts the journal’s policies regarding Copyright and Licensing and Ethical Commitment and Editorial Best Practices.

Guidelines for Authors

Artefactos accepts original articles, book reviews, and interviews in Spanish and English. Authors must register on the platform and create an account as “Author.” Once registered, they must log in to proceed with the submission.

Important: During the registration process, authors must enter their personal information in both Spanish and English, including full name, detailed institutional affiliation (Department, Faculty, University, and Country), email address, short biography, and ORCID iD. This information must also appear in the non-anonymized version of the manuscript:

Corresponding Author

For multi-author submissions, the corresponding author must list each contributor’s role using the CRediT taxonomy. This information should be included at the end of the article, before the references, under the heading “Author Contributions.” Full names (no abbreviations) and the roles performed should be listed and separated by commas.

All manuscripts undergo external peer review according to the process described above.

Important: Manuscripts that fail to comply fully with these guidelines may be returned or desk-rejected prior to peer review.

Format, Style, and Structure of Manuscripts

• Authors must submit two versions of the manuscript: one including the authors’ full personal and institutional information, and another fully anonymized. Important: All identifying metadata must be removed from the anonymized file. In Windows, this can be done by accessing the file’s properties. Go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document, then click Inspect (ensure all boxes are checked). Review the results and click Remove All where necessary. In some versions of Word, this function is found under: Microsoft Office button > Prepare > Inspect Document. Save the cleaned file before submission. In some Word versions, this option is found under: Microsoft Office button > Prepare > Inspect Document. In IOS, this can be done by accessing the file’s properties. Go to File > Properties > Summary > Author.
• File formats: Manuscripts must be submitted in both Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) and PDF formats.
• Length: The total length of the manuscript must not exceed 10,000 words, including the abstract, footnotes, and references.
• Page setup: A4 size, 1.15 line spacing, single-sided.
• Required structure and order:

Typography and Formatting Guidelines

Authors must adhere to the following typographic and formatting standards. Non-compliance may result in the return or rejection of the manuscript prior to peer review

1. Title in Spanish: Garamond, 17 pt, single line spacing.
2. Title in English: Immediately following the Spanish title, Garamond, 15 pt, italics.
3. Main text and references: Garamond, 12 pt, single spacing.
4. Abstract and keywords (in both languages): Garamond, 12 pt, single spacing.
5. Abstract length: Maximum 200 words.
6. Headings: Numbered and in bold. Subheadings: numbered and in italics.
7. Within the text: Do not use bold or underlining.
8. Footnotes: Garamond, 10 pt, single spacing. They must be numbered consecutively and kept to a minimum. Footnotes should be concise and should not include bibliographic references or citations. Endnotes are not accepted.
9. Paragraphs: Do not indent the first line. Standard margins must be maintained throughout the document.

• Tables and Figures: embeded each table and figure in the text, numbered sequentially, with a descriptive title and caption (Garamond, 10 pt). Each figure or table must also be submitted as a separate high-resolution file in PNG, TIFF, or JPG format (minimum 300 dpi). Images of insufficient quality may be excluded from publication at the editors’ discretion. Any externally sourced visual material must include appropriate citation and reproduction permissions, when applicable.

1. Supplementary Materials and Datasets: Authors may submit additional materials (e.g., images, videos, datasets) provided they are deposited in open-access repositories.
2. Accepted file types: Images (JPG, TIFF), videos (MP4, max 500 MB), datasets (CSV, XLSX, JSON).
3. Maximum size: 500 MB per file.
4. Citation and permissions: All materials must include source attribution and necessary reproduction rights if not the author’s own.
5. Recommended repositories: Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad, or institutional open-access repositories. The corresponding repository link must be included in the manuscript.

Book Reviews—Format, Style, and Structure

• Artefactos welcomes reviews of scholarly books or edited volumes released in the current or preceding two calendar years and that fall within the journal’s thematic scope. Books may be written in any language. Each review should critically assess the work’s academic significance, originality, relevance, and usefulness for scholars, researchers, and professionals in the field.
• Authors may structure their review as they deem appropriate—by chapter, theme, or argument—so long as the critique remains focused, coherent, and analytically rigorous.
• Bibliographic Header: The review must begin with full bibliographic information formatted according to APA style.
• Author details: Reviewer’s name and institutional affiliation must appear on the final page of the manuscript.
• Length and style: Up to 1,500 words. Garamond, 12 pt, single spacing.
• Important: Reviews that do not comply with the journal’s formatting and editorial standards may be returned or rejected prior to peer review

Interviews—Format, Style, and Structure

This section highlights current debates and reflections in the fields of philosophy of science and technology. They must address topics of theoretical or methodological relevance within the journal’s scope and may take the form of dialogues, structured conversations, or reflective exchanges with leading figures in the field. Submissions to this section should be made via the "Interview" category on the platform.

Editorial Process

1. Manuscript Submission

The editorial workflow is conducted exclusively through the OJS (Open Journal Systems) platform, which facilitates the management, documentation, and auditing of all editorial stages—from manuscript receipt to final publication.

To begin the process, authors must register on the platform and upload the following two files:

• A complete version of the manuscript including the authors’ full details and institutional affiliations.
• A fully anonymized version, with all identifying information removed (names, affiliations, acknowledgments, metadata).

Estimated timelines:

• Manuscript submission
• First Decision by the Editorial Board: 5 to 7 days
• Double-blind Peer Review: 30 to 60 days
• Author revisions: 7 days
• Online publication on OJS: 15 to 30 days after final acceptance

Note: These timelines are indicative. Actual processing times may vary depending on reviewer availability, manuscript quality, and the willingness of both reviewers and authors.

2. Review Process

Artefactos adheres to a double-blind peer review process, which ensures an independent, unbiased, and evidence-based evaluation of the scientific quality of submitted manuscripts

The editorial team first assesses thematic and technical suitability. Suitable manuscripts are sent to two external reviewers for detail evaluation. In cases of significant disagreement between reports, a third review will be solicited.

3. Acceptance and Rejection Criteria

Final acceptance or rejection decisions are made by the Editors-in-Chief and Section Editors, based on reviewers’ reports and editorial judgment.

Possible editorial decisions include:

• Acceptance without revisions
• Acceptance with minor revisions
• Revise and resubmit
• Reject

In all cases, authors will receive a reasoned decision with comments and recommendations from the reviewers.

4. Editorial Policies on Impartiality and Appeals

Editors do not take part in decisions on manuscripts that:

• They have authored themselves
• Have been authored by relatives or individuals with whom they maintain a direct professional relationship

In such cases, Artefactos guarantees standard manuscript handling, with evaluation by external reviewers independent of the involved editor and their research group.

Authors may submit a single formal appeal to an editorial decision by contacting Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca at: revistas@usal.es. Only one appeal per manuscript is allowed, and the resulting decision is final.

5. Peer Review Process

Artefactos employs a double-blind review model, in which both authors’ and reviewers’ identities are concealed throughout evaluation. This approach ensures unbiased, constructive feedback and maintains confidentiality.

Reviewers use a common evaluation template based on the following criteria:

• Originality and relevance of the topic
• Analytical rigor and clarity of presentation
• Updated and pertinent bibliography
• Proposed or suggested revisions
• Overall assessment

The review template comprises two distinct sections: comments for authors, offering substantive guidance to improve the manuscript, and confidential notes to the editors, providing additional context or concerns to inform the final editorial decision.

Sponsors

Artefactos is supported by the University Institute for Science and Technology Studies (ECYT) – University of Salamanca.