REIC publishes articles that are based on original research and that are of significant scientific interest. Manuscripts must be no longer than 25 pages, including any tables, figures and bibliographic references. The style of writing must be concise and accessible. Editors will make suggestions as to how to achieve this, along with suggestions about elements that should be added or removed. Our objective is to make the editorial process rigorous and consistent, but not intrusive. Authors may adopt their own style and decide on the best way to present their ideas, results and conclusions.

Articles should, as far as possible, be divided into the following sections: title, authors, affiliations, abstract in Spanish, abstract in English, introduction, methodology (sample, materials, procedure, design), results, discussion and conclusions. REIC recognises that some works do not benefit from using the traditional research article format. If this is the case with your article, please contact the editor-in-chief to discuss what would be the best format to use.

• Title: As a general rule, the title should not exceed 75 characters. It must be specific, clear and concise. It should also, wherever possible, avoid the use of abbreviations.
• Author and affiliations: The names of all the authors must be included, in whichever order is preferred by them. Contact details and affiliation information must be provided for each author. One of the authors must take responsibility for corresponding with REIC.
• Abstract: Manuscripts should be introduced with a succinct abstract. It must include information on the techniques employed and should summarize the most important results, though without going into too much detail. It should not exceed 150 words.
• Introduction: The introduction should place the study in a broad context. When composing the introduction, thought must be given to readers who are not experts in this field. It must include a brief review of the key literature. If controversies or disagreements exist in this field, then these must be mentioned so that the non-expert reader can explore these issues more deeply. The introduction should conclude with a brief discussion of the aim of the study and the extent to which it is original or serves to improve our knowledge.
• Methodology: This section must explain the methods used, including data collection techniques, analysis techniques and the main methods of the most relevant concepts. In addition, it must describe the material or the sample that served as the base for undertaking the study.
• Results: This section should summarize the results of the study and the analysis of the data obtained. Details that are peripheral to and detract from the central theme should be excluded. This section may be subdivided into smaller sections, each with appropriate headings.
• Discussion: The discussion must make clear the conclusions of the work, along with some explanation of, or speculation as to, the significance of these conclusions. How do these conclusions affect the existing assumptions and models in this field? How might future research develop these observations? How can we overcome the methodological limitations of this study? What are the practical and political implications of this study?
• References: Only previously published material, or material that has been accepted for publication should be cited. In accordance with most English language scientific publications, REIC uses the Harvard referencing style. Within the text, references should be included in parenthesis using the following formula for one, two or more authors: (Pérez, 2002), (Pérez y Pérez, 2002) or (Perez et al., 2002). Citations for multiple publications by the same author in the same year can be distinguished between by adding the letters a, b, c, etc.: (Pérez, 2002a), (Pérez, 2002b), etc. The list of references should be in alphabetical order and must include the surname of the lead author. Please find below some examples of how to cite different types of articles:
  

• Acknowledgements: Should the authors wish, they may add a brief note (no more than 100 words), thanking the people or institutions that have financed or made possible the study.
• Author's CV: Articles must be accompanied by a brief (no more than 100 words per author) CV for each author, with details of their areas of interest. For example: "Juan Pérez has a doctorate in criminology from the University of Santiago and has worked as an investigator at the Centre for Criminological Research and as a consultant for the Ministry of Justice. He is currently a professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Valladolid. His main areas of interest are violent behavior, immigration and crime, and alternatives to custodial sentences."

All manuscripts will undergo an initial assessment by the editor-in-chief to determine if it fits the level and editorial policy of the REIC. Once approved for publication by the editor will send the manuscript (omitting its authorship) to two external reviewers, that anonymously will prepare a report. The editor will give this report to the author responsible for the manuscript. This process should not take more than two months.

When submitting a manuscript, all of the authors involved must confirm that they have not sent a similar one to be considered for publication in other journal or publication. If similar material has been sent to another publication, then a copy of this material must be included with the submission so that our editors can assess the level of repetition involved.

If authors have any interests (shares, consultancies, patents, etc) that could be seen as factors that might have affected the presentation of the data or the conclusions of the manuscript, then they must declare this at the time of submission. Any conflict of interest will be kept confidential during the review process, but will be made explicit in published articles.