Guidelines for Authors

PanAmerican Journal of Digital Humanities & AI is the official journal of the Pan-American Center for Digital Humanities, Culture & Artificial Intelligence (PAC-DHCAI). It is a peer-reviewed, fully open-access journal with no fees for authors or readers (Diamond Open Access), and its articles are published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. American English is the main language of publication.

1. Article types

The journal accepts original, unpublished contributions in the five thematic areas of the PAC-DHCAI. Submissions are made to one of the following sections:

Section	Structure	Authors	Length (words)	Figures/tables	References
Research articles (including case studies)	Introduction, theoretical framework, methodology, results, discussion and conclusions	Up to 6	5,000–8,000	Up to 6	25–40
Academic essays (including critical reflections)	Problem statement, argumentative development, conclusions	Up to 4	3,000–6,000	Up to 4	20–35
Systematic literature reviews	Protocol, inclusion criteria, synthesis, conclusions (PRISMA recommended)	Up to 3	4,000–10,000	Up to 5	30–60
Digital art and digital humanities projects	Project description, theoretical grounding, documentation (with an academic statement)	Up to 3	2,000–4,000	Up to 8	10–20

2. Language and equity

American English is the main language of publication. A Spanish title and abstract are required. The journal accepts manuscripts originally written in Spanish, Portuguese or French provided that the author supplies the English version at submission.

Element	Language
Title	American English, plus a Spanish title (required)
Abstract (maximum 250 words)	American English and Spanish (required)
Abstracts in French and Portuguese	Required for publication. Authors who need support should write to the editorial team before submitting
Keywords	5–8 in English and 5–8 in Spanish
Body of the article	American English
References	In the original language of each source

Using AI tools to translate or improve academic English is Level 1 use under the journal’s AI Use Policy and requires no declaration. This provision expresses the journal’s commitment to Pan-American epistemic equity.

3. Format of the manuscript

File: Microsoft Word (.docx).
Font and spacing: Times New Roman or Arial, 12 pt, double-spaced throughout.
Margins: 2.54 cm (1 inch) on all sides.
Page numbers: bottom right corner.
Headings: APA 7th edition levels, without manual numbering.
Order of elements: title and abstracts; keywords; body; AI Use Statement (if Level 2 or 3); acknowledgements (optional); conflict of interest statement; references; appendices (if any).
Title: 12–20 words; sentence case; no unnecessary acronyms; the Spanish title must be an accurate translation.
Abstract: 250 words at most; state the purpose, method, main findings and conclusions; no undefined abbreviations and no citations.

Anonymous manuscript and title page. The manuscript file must not contain any information that identifies the authors. Author data go in a separate title page that includes: full title in English and Spanish; full name of each author; institutional affiliation (institution, department, city and country); ORCID iD of the corresponding author (required; strongly encouraged for every author); email of the corresponding author; conflict of interest statement; and funding sources, if any.

4. Authorship and participation limits

Authorship follows the journal’s Authorship Policy. Contributions are described with the CRediT taxonomy. Each person may take part, per calendar year, as lead author in one manuscript and as co-author in up to two additional manuscripts. Requests for exceptions must be made in writing to the Editorial Team before submission. No artificial intelligence system may be named as author or co-author.

5. Style, citations and references

Citations and references follow the APA Publication Manual, 7th edition. Quotations of fewer than 40 words go in double quotation marks within the text; longer quotations go in an indented block without quotation marks.
References are listed alphabetically. At least 60% should be from the last five years and at least 50% from indexed sources (Scopus, Web of Science, Redalyc, SciELO). Non-indexed sources (theses, institutional reports, websites of recognized bodies) should not exceed 30%, and self-citations should not exceed 15%. Include DOI or URL when available.
Tables and figures are numbered consecutively and cited in the text. Figures must have at least 300 dpi (600 dpi for diagrams). Authors must credit the source of any material taken from other works.

6. Similarity and academic integrity

All manuscripts are checked with Turnitin or equivalent software. Authors must attach the similarity report to the submission, generated excluding the reference list, properly marked quotations and continuous strings of up to 20 words. The preliminary review applies these ranges:

Similarity index	Decision
0–20%	Acceptable. The manuscript continues to the editorial review
21–30%	Review zone. The Editorial Team examines the report and may ask the author for clarification
Over 30%	Rejection without peer review, except in exceptional circumstances

The index is an indicator, not an automatic verdict. In cases of plagiarism, the journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

7. Use of artificial intelligence

The journal regards AI as a legitimate methodological tool, and declaring its use as an act of scientific rigor. It applies three levels: Level 1 (assistive use, such as grammar, style or translation) needs no declaration; Level 2 (methodological use) is declared in the methodology section, naming the tool, version, task and validation method; Level 3 (collaborative use) requires a dedicated section titled “Artificial Intelligence Use Statement” before the references. In every case, the author is solely responsible for the content. Personal data of human participants must not be entered into AI tools without prior anonymization, and any factual information produced with AI must be independently verified. Undeclared Level 2 or 3 use violates the editorial policy. See the AI Use Policy for details.

8. Ethics

The journal follows the COPE guidelines. Manuscripts must be original, unpublished and not under simultaneous review elsewhere. Authors must declare any conflict of interest (or its absence), obtain permission for any copyrighted material, and, if the research involves human participants, state the approval of the relevant ethics committee and the informed consent obtained. See the Code of Ethics for the full text.

9. How to submit

Submissions are made through this platform. Authors must register and upload:

The anonymous manuscript in Word format.
The title page, as a separate file.
The similarity report.
The Similarity and AI Form, completed. It includes the AI use declaration, or a statement that no AI was used. The form can be downloaded from this page.
A cover letter to the editor with a summary, a declaration of originality, a statement that the manuscript is not under review elsewhere, and a conflict of interest statement.
The CRediT contribution statement.

10. Editorial process and timelines

The Editorial Team acknowledges receipt within 3 business days and completes a formal preliminary review (compliance, topic and similarity) within 15 business days. Manuscripts that pass are sent to double-blind peer review, which typically takes 6–8 weeks. The author is notified within 3 days after the reviewers’ reports are received. Revised versions are due within 30 days. After acceptance, copy-editing and layout take 2–3 weeks, and articles are published in open access as soon as the process is completed. These timelines are estimates. Possible decisions are: accept without changes; accept with minor revisions; major revisions (a new round of review); or reject. All decisions are communicated in writing with reasons.

For questions, contact the Editorial Team through the Contact page.