Trabajo Social

Author Guidelines

Focus and Scope

The journal Trabajo Social is an editorial project founded in 1998 by the Department of Social Work at the National University of Colombia with the objective of strengthening the academic community of the discipline, both nationally and internationally, through the dissemination of research and reflections related to social problems, social policy, and intervention strategies.

Trabajo Social is a biannual, thematic, and peer-reviewed publication that disseminates articles derived from research and innovation projects, unpublished and original, as well as other reflective products from an analytical or review perspective. Additionally, it publishes bibliographic reviews that account for the theoretical and methodological advances related to Social Work. In this sense, academics, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals from both Social Work and Human, Social, and Health Sciences are invited to submit their writings in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

The journal is funded by the Faculty of Human Sciences at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá campus, and adheres to open access policies. Therefore, it does not charge for any step of the editorial process. The authors, in turn, grant patrimonial rights to the National University of Colombia so that, in case of approval, they are published and reproduced in any printed or digital medium (see Copyright).

Peer Review Process

Calls for papers are opened biannually and the editorial process, after the call is closed, lasts one year until the publication of the issue. The journal Trabajo Social exclusively receives unpublished and original texts in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, which must remain so until their appearance in the journal, in case they are accepted for publication. Likewise, manuscripts cannot be submitted or simultaneously evaluated by other journals or editorial bodies. The journal does not accept translations, presentations, or parts of works already published in any other medium. All material is subjected to plagiarism detection software.

The Editorial Committee reserves the right to approve or reject submitted material, both in initial review instances (before being sent for peer evaluation) and final instances (after the peer review process). Every decision will be determined based on academic arguments related to the content of the articles and the editorial policies of the journal.

Selection Filters

In the first filter, the formal criteria of the submission are evaluated, such as thematic relevance (according to the editorial policies of the journal), originality, length, writing, contributions, academic rigor, and compliance with a minimum standard of academic quality.

In the second filter, the editorial committee nominates at least two anonymous academic evaluators, preferably external to the institution that publishes the journal and to the institution to which the author belongs. The academic peers must issue an opinion according to the Article Evaluation Format with the verdict of "approved", "approved with major changes", "approved with minor changes", "rewrite", "not approved", or "send to another publication".

The editor will promptly inform about these opinions. In case the text is approved with corrections, the author(s) must make the adjustments within a maximum period of ten business days and specify them in a memo of changes in relation to the comments submitted by the reviewers. Failure to send the adjustments by the author(s) will result in the disqualification of the text. It is emphasized that the Editorial Committee is the last instance of the evaluation process; therefore, it will determine if the article meets the conditions to be approved and published.

Once the article is approved, the completion of the originality declaration, compliance with ethical principles, and the license format will be requested, in which the publication of an unpublished article is guaranteed, under the ethical policies of the journal. Subsequently, the articles and other selected contents are adjusted to the journal's style sheet and sent to the Editorial Center to begin proofreading and layout. (To see the timeline of each phase of the editorial process, click here)

As part of the editorial policy, the journal states that when receiving articles resulting from thesis work, it seeks original documents and not a partial or total copy of the final work to qualify for the degree. The article should not have the same title as the thesis, and this is precisely in addition to the fact that it must be a new product that emerges from the thesis.

If the article is published, the author must wait two (2) years to submit another text for consideration by the journal.

For the submission of reviews, it should be taken into account that they should correspond to titles published preferably in the last three years. It cannot have an extension of more than 1700 words or 8000 characters with spaces. Reviews are expected to not be summaries but to critically review the selected text and develop a discussion about it in light of the historiography on the subject. Citations to works other than the one being reviewed should go as footnotes, following the journal's citation format.

Formal Characteristics of Contributions

Texts should be sent to the journal Trabajo Social through the OJS platform in (.doc) format by entering through the following link: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/tsocial/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions

Every text must include on a separate sheet the academic profile of the author: "pen name" (full name with which the academic production is usually signed), academic training, institutional affiliation indicating the country of affiliation (current position), email, and ORCID registration.

Open Topic or Dossier Articles

The length of the manuscripts should range between 40,000 and 50,000 characters with spaces, including the properly cited bibliography. They should appear in letter size, Times New Roman font (12 points at 1.5 spacing) and should contain, in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, the title, a scientific abstract of a maximum of 100 words, and 6 keywords. Texts written by more than three authors are not accepted.

If the article is the product of any research, project, or if it corresponds to a research work of master's or doctoral studies, it is essential to inform in a footnote the name of the entity that funded it and the project code.

Reviews

In the case of reviews, they should preferably be made on a recently published book (last 3 years), related to the theme of the current call for papers. It cannot have an extension of more than 1700 words or 8000 characters with spaces. Reviews are expected to not be summaries but to critically review the selected text and develop a discussion about it in light of the historiography on the subject. Citations to works other than the one being reviewed should go as footnotes, following the journal's APA citation format.

Format of Figures, Tables, and Images

All included graphic material must be titled and numbered within the text, along with the source from which it was obtained or the data from which it was prepared. For example: "Aldana, 2023" or "own elaboration". The files must be sent in a digital folder containing the originals or editables of the graphic component to be published (files in Excel for tables or graphs; in Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, or PDF for vector files; and in Photoshop, JPG, TIF, or PDF, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, for flat images).

Style and Reference System

It is recommended to take into account the following basic writing standards:

Use italics to mention titles of books or serial publications, foreign words, or words that require emphasis.
Use double quotation marks to differentiate the titles of articles and chapters, verbatim quotes, or to emphasize any word or expression. The journal Trabajo Social does not use single quotation marks or guillemets.
Properly cite and consecutively number the graphic material (maps, graphs, tables, photographs, etc.) in the body of the text as follows: Figure 1, Figure 2...
Use and differentiate up to three levels of titles to subordinate sections.
Strictly speaking, the original content of a verbatim quote must be preserved. However, the use of ellipsis in square brackets [...] is reserved to indicate the omission of a word or a fragment in a verbatim quote, like this: "The symbolic distribution of bodies [...] divides them into two categories: those who are seen and those who are not seen" (Rancière 2007, 37-43), or to omit the beginning of the original statement: Politics "[...] breaks the sensible configuration where the parts are defined" (Rancière 2007, 45).
The first mention of a recurring acronym or initialism in the text must be accompanied by the extended proper name; for subsequent mentions, only the acronym will be maintained, as follows: "Colombian Institute of Family Welfare hereinafter, ICBF".
Footnotes in the article should be restricted to offering substantial, clarifying, or conceptual comments or information.
The indication "see" is used only to expand the reference to a specific author's work and not to clarify a concept, like this: (see Carballeda, Alfredo 2006 and 2007).
Bibliographic Referencing System

Trabajo Social uses the seventh edition of the APA standards as a referencing system:

Book

Contreras Santos, M. (2022). Polifonía confinada, desobediente e invencible [Confined, Disobedient, and Invincible Polyphony]. Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Book Chapter

Bello Albarracín, M. N. (2013). Acompañamiento psicosocial a las víctimas en contextos de impunidad [Psychosocial Accompaniment to Victims in Contexts of Impunity]. In M. H. Ramírez (Comp.), La investigación y la práctica en Trabajo Social [Research and Practice in Social Work] (pp. 85-108). Colección general, biblioteca abierta, serie Trabajo Social, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Article from Serial or Periodical Publications

Paiva, C. (2009). Transferencia de ingresos dirigida a los más pobres: la experiencia brasileña con el Programa Bolsa-Familia [Income Transfer Targeted to the Poorest: The Brazilian Experience with the Bolsa-Familia Program]. Trabajo Social, 11, 9-24. https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/tsocial/article/view/14541

Puyana, Y. & Rojas, A. (2011). Afectos y emociones entre padres, madres e hijos en el vivir transnacional [Affections and Emotions between Parents and Children in Transnational Living]. Trabajo Social, 13, 95-110. https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/tsocial/article/view/28368

Note: For a book with three or more authors, the first is mentioned followed by the abbreviation et al., both in the body of the text and in the reference list.

Unpublished Academic Documents (Theses)

Mojica, J. (2023). Significados familiares en torno al arte como referente de socialización en jóvenes del sector de Tiguaque, Usme, Bogotá [Family Meanings around Art as a Reference for Socialization in Young People from the Tiguaque Sector, Usme, Bogotá]. [Master's Thesis in Social Work, National University of Colombia].

Online Material (Internet Entries)

Gutiérrez, J. A. & Mosquera, G. (2017, September 7). La Batalla de Argelia, Cauca: la disputa por el territorio en clave del Post-acuerdo [The Battle of Argelia, Cauca: The Dispute for the Territory in the Key of the Post-agreement]. Prensa Rural. https://prensarural.org/spip/spip.php?article22007

Revista Trabajo Social Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2024, March 9). ¡Cierre de convocatoria! Configuraciones sociales de los vínculos subjetivos e intersubjetivos: desafíos contemporáneos [Call for Papers Closure! Social Configurations of Subjective and Intersubjective Bonds: Contemporary Challenges] [Post]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095401999379&locale=lt_LT

Law, Plan, Decree or Project

ASCAMTA. (2017). Plan de Desarrollo Integral y Campesino – Argelia Soberana [Comprehensive and Peasant Development Plan - Sovereign Argelia]. ASCAMTA.

Congress of the Republic of Colombia. (2018). Law 1930 of 2018. By means of which provisions are dictated for the integral management of páramos in Colombia. https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=87764

Subscriptions and Contact

If you wish to subscribe as a reader of the journal, please go to the reader information section, through the following link: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/tsocial/login For questions, comments, and suggestions, please contact the Editorial Committee of the journal Trabajo Social using the following contact information:

Revista Trabajo Social

Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Facultad de Ciencias Humanas,
Departamento de Trabajo Social,
Unidad Camilo Torres, Bloque A1, oficina 502
Telephone: 3165000 ext. 10256.
www.revtrabajosocial.unal.edu.co
Email: revtrasoc_bog@unal.edu.co