The Revista de Treball Social, released by the Official Association of Social Work of Catalonia, is a specialist journal that has been published since 1960 and is currently released every six months. The goals of the publication are as follows:

• To contribute to the advancement of the practical, theoretical and scientific knowledge of social work and other related scientific disciplines.
• To firmly establish the professional development of social workers through the contribution of conceptual theoretical content, practical experiences and other methodological tools to encourage analysis and reflection on the various areas of action of social work.
• To disseminate professional experiences and scientific knowledge generated on the foundation of the practice of and research in social work.
• To promote critical analysis of the social reality and social policies.

In particular, RTS is addressed to social workers in the academic and professional spheres, and also to university students and any professional linked to the world of social work.

RTS is open to all social workers, university students and any professional linked to the world of social work who wish to submit original papers covering empirical research projects, theoretical articles or bibliographical reviews, descriptions of professional experiences, trials and critical analyses, always concerning the sphere of social work, social policies and social welfare services.

The papers submitted for assessment with a view to be published in RTS must be original and unpublished. The authors must declare that the content presented is original and that no plagiarism whatsoever has taken place.

RTS calls for the assignment of copyright and the assurance that no conflict of interest exists.

The content of papers is the sole responsibility of the individual(s) signing as the authors and if any evidence of plagiarism is apparent, the necessary actions will be undertaken to inform the authors, to remove the unoriginal document from the website and to update readers about the situation.

Within the text of their article, the authors of research papers shall declare that the research process has adhered to the ethical principles applicable to the type of study they are submitting (relevant permits, informed consent from the participants, anonymisation of identification data, suitable citation of authors, etc.).

 

Paper selection process

The Editorial Board will make a preliminary selection of the papers submitted and they will then be assessed according to the double-anonymous peer review procedure (the review team does not know the authors of the papers and the authors are similarly unaware of the identity of the individuals assessing their paper). For this paper review method to be practical, papers shall be submitted in an anonymised format, i.e., in a version that makes it impossible to identify the author.

The individuals signing the paper agree to submit it to review and potential changes to content and style according to the recommendations made by the review panel.

 

Sections and length of the papers submitted

• In-depth. Studies:

Papers that provide a discussion on a topic of interest to social work professionals. Length of between 6,000 and 10,000 words.

These may be research papers on the subject of social work and other related fields, which follow a scientific methodology. They should be structured at least into the following sections: introduction, methodology, findings, discussion or conclusions and only those bibliographical references cited in the text.

• Practices:

Papers that set out best practices and a systematic account of experiences of interest in social work, social services or other systems linked to the advancement of social rights. Length of between 4,000 and 6,000 words.

These papers shall include an introduction, the body of the text with a free structure which should, in any event, include a theoretical, regulatory (if applicable) and methodological contextualisation of the intervention presented, as well as conclusions and only those bibliographical references for the citations referred to in the text.

• Reviews:

Forum for the presentation of publications, theses, conferences, workshops, regulations and other issues of interest for the subject and the professional and academic spheres. Between 500 and 1,500 words.

In all cases, the maximum length includes bibliographical references.

Papers exceeding the number of words specified shall be sent back to the authors for them to reduce the length.

Papers must be submitted in electronic format in an editable text document (.docx or .RTF), Arial (body) font size 12; 1.5 line spacing; 3 cm margins. Literal citations shall be transcribed in Arial size 11, 1.5 line spacing and 4 cm margins.

 

Languages

Papers may be submitted in Catalan, Spanish or English interchangeably. In the online version, each issue of RTS will be published in Catalan and Spanish. Moreover, at least one paper, selected by the Editorial Board will be translated into English for publication. The paper version will compile all the papers in their original language. The titles, abstracts and keywords for each paper will also be published in English.

 

System for the submission of papers

Prior to submitting any paper, the person signing as the lead author must register (unless they have already done so) as a user on the website (www.revistarts.com). Papers shall be uploaded to the platform in accordance with the instructions provided in the “Submissions” section of the web page.

In all cases, the paper must incorporate: a title and sub-heading, if included (40 words at the most); an abstract (250 words at the most) in Catalan or Spanish and English; the keywords (5 at the most) in Catalan or Spanish and English, and the main text, which shall adhere to the rules applicable to the section for which it is submitted.

The main text shall be sent as an attachment in an anonymised manner, deleting any element that directly or indirectly identifies the author. Once the assessment has been conducted, upon notification that the paper has been accepted for publication, a request will be made for the submission of the definitive version that identifies the authors.

 

Figures and tables

Tables: These may be presented in the relevant part of the text and numbered in consecutive order. They should be used solely to clarify pertinent aspects. The titles or captions accompanying tables should explain the content and source. They shall be presented without using colours, in a pre-defined format, using single line spacing with text in Arial.

Figures: figures shall refer to photographs, graphs and illustrations. These may be presented in the relevant part of the text and numbered in consecutive order, identifying each using the term “Figure X”. They should be sketched using suitable contrast so that they are of the same quality as the written text. In the paper edition they shall appear in black and white. The purpose of figures should be to substantially clarify the text and there should be as few as necessary.

 

Bibliographical references

Only bibliographical references cited shall be placed at the end of the text in alphabetic order and in line with the APA standards (7th edition, 2020). The full name of the author (if known) should be included in order to see what gender the individual identifies with. It is also possible, if desired, to include both surnames.

Printed book: Surnames, Full name. (year). Title: Sub-heading (# ed.). Publishing house. Where there is more than one author, all authors should be included. If there are more than 20, the first 19 forenames and surnames should be referenced with the final one preceded by a dotted line. Each name and surname is separated by a semicolon from the others, except for the latter, which is preceded by a comma and the conjunction "and".

Foucault, Michel. (1992). Microfísica del poder (3rd ed.). La Piqueta.

Moreno Luzón, María Dolores; Peris Bonet, Fernando Juan and González Cruz, Tomás Félix. (2000). Gestión de la calidad y diseño de organizaciones. Ed. Prestice Hall.

Corporate author: Name of the institution or organisation. (year). Title: Sub-heading (# ed.). Publishing house.

Observatori del Treball i Model Productiu. (2017). La situació de desigualtat salarial a Catalunya entre homes i dones. Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Families. Government of Catalonia.

Book chapter: Surnames, Full name of the chapter author. (year). Chapter title: Sub-heading. In Name and Surname of the literary book coordinator/publisher (Coord./Ed.), Book title (# ed., p. xx-xx). Publishing house.

García Martínez, Estela Maria and Báñez Tello, Tomasa. (2016). Tejiendo identidades profesionales. Un proceso creativo y transformador. In Gloria Londoño Monroy and José Luis Rodríguez Illera (Comps.), Relatos Digitales en Educación Formal y Social (pp. 295-300). University of Barcelona.

E-book with a DOI: Surnames, Full name. (any). Title. Publisher/website. DOI address

Londoño Monroy, Gloria and Rodríguez Illera, José Luis (Comps.). (2017). Relatos Digitales en Educación Formal y Social. University of Barcelona. https://doi.org/10.1344/105,000003160.

E-book with a URL: Surnames, Full name. (year). Title. Publisher/website. URL address

Londoño Monroy, Gloria and Rodríguez Illera, José Luis (Comps.). (2017). Relatos Digitales en Educación Formal y Social. University of Barcelona. http://www.greav.net/descargas/Actas2016.pdf.

Paper journal article: Surnames, Full name. (year). Article title: Article sub-heading. Journal title: Sub-heading, volume(issue), pp.

Carabaza González, Julieta. (2013). Apropiación de las TIC: apuntes para su operacionalización. Revista Prisma Social, 9, 352-390.

Journal article with a DOI: Surnames, Full name. (year). Article title: Article sub-heading. Journal title: Sub-heading, volume(issue), pp. DOI URL

Hernández-Echegaray, Arantxa. (2019). Reflexiones acerca de las oportunidades y dificultades de la fundamentación teórica y metodológica en el Trabajo Social. Revista de Treball Social, 215, 13-31. https://10.32061/RTS2019.215.01.

Online journal article: Surnames, Full name. (year). Article title: Article sub-heading. Journal title: Sub-heading, volume(issue), pp. Publisher/website. URL address

Deslauriers, Jean-Pierre and Pérez Cosín, José Vicente. (2004). El reto del conocimiento en la práctica del Trabajo Social. Cuadernos de Trabajo Social, 17, 195-210. Complutense University of Madrid. http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CUTS/article/view/CUTS0404110195A.

Web page: Personal or corporate author. (year of latest update). Page title. Publisher/website. URL address

Dialnet Foundation. University of La Rioja. (2018). Dialnet. Dialnet Foundation. http://dialnet.unirioja.es.

Symposia and conference papers: Surnames, Full name. (year). Lecture title. In Full name and Surnames (Literary ed.), Symposium or conference title (pp. xx-xx). Publishing house.

Fernández i Barrera, Josefina. (2006). Trabajo Social con Familias y Mediación. In Cristina Escobar Pérez, Teodoro Andrés López and Gaspar Sánchez Majadas, (Coord.), V Congreso Estatal de Estudiantes de Trabajo Social (pp. 17-30). University of Salamanca.

Thesis: Surnames, Full name. (year). Thesis title (Ph.D. thesis / Master’s degree final project / Unpublished Bachelor’s degree final project). University name.

Parra Ramajo, Belén. (2017). El trabajo social de grupo en la actualidad (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis). University of Barcelona.

Online thesis: Surnames, Full name. (year). Thesis title (Ph.D. thesis / Master’s degree final project / Unpublished Bachelor’s degree final project. University name). URL address.

Cardona Cardona, Josefa. (2012). Definición del contexto de intervención in the trabajo social de casos (Ph.D. thesis, University of the Balearic Islands). http://hdl.handle.net/10803/108691.

Videos: Surnames, Full name. (year, month and date). Video title. [Video]. Website. URL address

Centeno Ortiz, Antonio and de la Morena, Raúl. (2015, March 25). Yes, We Fuck! [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/123177395.

Movie: Surnames, Full name of the production company (Prod.), and Surnames, Full name of director (Dir.). (year). Movie title [Type: DVD, Blu-ray, CHS, television series, etc.]. Studio, distributor or production company name. URL address

Mase, Yasuhiro (Prod.) and Takita, Yōjirō (Dir.). (2008). Despedidas [Movie]. Shochiku Company Limited.

Press releases: Surnames, Full name. (year, month and date). Article title. Newspaper name, p.

Farreras, Carina. (2019, March 19). Pacto de la comunidad educativa contra los guetos en las escuelas de Catalunya. La Vanguardia, p. 26.

Online press releases: Surnames, Full name. (year, month and date). Article title. Newspaper name. Retrieved on, from + URL address

Martínez Torres, Manuela Julia. (2015, February 16). Las comunidades de propietarios se blindan ante Hacienda. El País. Retrieved on 21 January 2021, from http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2015/02/16/vivienda/1424085674_93402....

Act/order/decree: Regulation title, Name of official publication, publication issue, publication section (publication year).

Act 14/2011, of 1 June, on Science, Technology and Innovation. Official State Gazette issue no. 131 § 9617 (2011).

 

These references have been adapted in line with the APA standards (7th edition, 2020). For other document types, please see the website: https://apastyle.apa.org.

 

Citations in the text

Non-textual or indirect citations: These reproduce the idea or concept but reformulate the words when drafting the paper. It is necessary to designate the surnames of the authors and the year. For instance:

· 1 author:

Data compiled by social intervention teams in the public arena for Barcelona City Council over the past decade have been pointing to an increase in the share of people combining sleeping in the street with squalid residential solutions (Sales, 2019).

· 2 authors:

Theories surrounding an abandonment of crime affirm the need for support and backing for prisoners during the criminal and post-criminal process, which revolve around three key areas: labour, personal and social (Cid Moliné and Martí Olivé, 2011).

· 3 or more authors:

Along these lines, Bern-Klug et al. (2001) identify the roles played by social workers during end-of-life support: (...).

· Corporate author with an acronym:

In 2017, in Berlin as many as 30,000 people were counted as being housed in limited-term shelters, 10,000 more than in the previous year (FEANTSA, 2018).

· Corporate author without an acronym:

In Madrid, between 2017 and 2019 the number of people sleeping on the streets or in temporary accommodation on one night rose from 2,059 people to 2,772 (Madrid City Council, 2018).

Textual or literal citations: These reproduce the words from the text precisely. It is necessary to designate the surnames of the authors, the year and the page number. For instance:

· Citation of up to 40 words on one page:

When it comes to democratic participation, Martínez Navarro (1990) points out that firstly “participation is a methodological requirement in social work because social work and democracy share the same basic value: the fundamental freedom of the human being to be the leader of his own life” (p. 69) and secondly (...)

· Citation of up to 40 words over two pages:

(...) as mentioned by Palacios (2020), who underlines the difficulty of establishing a uniform type of family reading owing to its diversity as the understanding of it is “(…) porous in nature and incorporates a social construction and interpretation of frameworks, practices and discourses surrounding sexuality, procreation, coexistence, survival and co-habitation in this social period” (pp. 31-32).

· Citation of more than 40 words:

The activity of supporting families based on European experiences stands in contrast to the circumstances in Catalonia when most organisations explain that:

their relationship with families stems from when a request is made by the very prisoners receiving care and they address practical issues such as the fact that it is impossible to travel to the centres for visits or the difficulties encountered in understanding sentences handed down (Ibàñez Roig and Pedrosa Bou, 2017, p. 19).

Citations of citations: A citation is reproduced for which no direct access to the original has been found. The citation must include the phrase “cited by”. For instance:

“civil society needs to rally around a range of spheres in order to identify, build and change settings for the practice of participatory democracy” (De Souza and Vega, 2001, p. 44, cited by Samperio and Bracaglioli, 2004, pp. 7-8).

 

The authors will receive 2 paper copies of the issue of the journal where their paper is published.

RTS does not charge fees for the publication of papers.

The Editorial Board of RTS accepts no responsibility for the authenticity of papers published or their credibility. The opinions set out in papers are the sole responsibility of the authors and RTS does not necessarily share those views.

Pre-paper submission checklist

The authors should check that papers meet the following requirements; otherwise, they will be sent back.

1. The body of the paper has been anonymised: it does not include the authors or any memberships and any element that may make it possible to directly or indirectly identify the author has been deleted. Confirmation has been provided that the term “author” has been used to indicate references to their work.
2. The manuscript is sent in .docx or RTF format, as are the bibliographical references, tables and figures.
3. The bibliographical references include the DOI or URL address, as applicable, in all possible cases.
4. The text is drafted in Arial body font size 12; 1.5 line spacing; 3 cm margins. Literal citations are transcribed in Arial size 11, 1.5 line spacing with 4 cm margins.
5. The paper includes the full title (40 words at the most) in Spanish or Catalan and English; a brief abstract (250 words at the most) in Spanish or Catalan and English, and the keywords (5 at the most) in Spanish or Catalan and English.
6. The figures and tables appear at the relevant point in the text, are numbered in consecutive order and include the title and the source. They are presented without using colours, in a pre-defined format, using single line spacing with text in Arial.
7. Grants or financial support and their source are declared, where applicable.
8. A declaration states that the paper meets ethical research requirements.
9. The manuscript meets the specifications of the specific section of the journal it is intended for.
10. The bibliographical references have been checked and they are in accordance with the relevant style and format and they meet the APA standards required by the journal.

1. I declare that the document or article submitted has been personally drawn up by the individual submitting it, alone or in cooperation with the other authors specified, and that, in this latter case, I have permission from the other authors to submit the article and indeed they fully accept the terms and conditions for submission, review and publication.
2. I state that the article submitted has not been published either in full or in part in any other medium whatsoever.
3. I state that the article has not been submitted simultaneously to any other medium or publication.
4. I state that I agree for my article to be submitted for review by the RTS review team, and I have likewise been informed that the review team may call for changes in content or style to be incorporated into the article to secure its publication.
5. I assign all copyright to the RTS journal.
6. I state that I have no personal or commercial conflict of interest in relation to the article submitted.
7. I state that all ethical research principles have been adhered to.

RTS only publishes original unpublished papers and uses the double blind peer review procedure (the reviewers do not know the identity of the authors of the papers and the authors do not know the identity of the reviewers). This ensures the review is objective and in keeping with the quality criteria applicable to scientific publications.

All papers processed shall be subject to an initial assessment by the Editorial Board in terms of its alignment with the standards of the journal, the editorial aims and scientific quality.

The external review process, involving a double blind peer review system, begins once the Editorial Board has proposed the respective reviewers to be appointed for each paper, according to their specialist field. Communication with said reviewers shall be conducted through the RTS technical support team and the former shall be given the journal’s review guidelines. The review should take into consideration: the originality of the text, the quality and rigour of the work, the opportunity and relevance for social work and social intervention, presentation and the wording of the text, and the suitability of the bibliography cited. All of these aspects are set out in the review guidelines that will be given to the reviewers, which are also published on the website to assure transparency. In each issue a list of the reviewers involved in its preparation will be published.

The reviewers shall uphold confidentiality with regard to the text and the review. They shall also declare any conflict of interest they may have in personal, academic, research-related or other terms which would disqualify them from reviewing a specific assigned paper.

The authors will be informed about the review process and they will be notified about the outcome of this decision. Moreover, the authors shall incorporate the changes suggested by the external reviewers within the period specified to them.

The duration of the paper review process shall be at least three months, provided no major changes are needed to the text; otherwise, the timeframe of the review process shall depend on the point at which the issue to be published is at in the editorial process, although it shall not exceed six months.

The paper review process shall incorporate the following stages:

1. Receipt of the paper at RTS

The authors shall submit their paper to the journal by registering and filling in the form on the journal website (www.revistarts.com/enviaments):

• The checklist of items requested shall be completed on the web page.
• The paper shall adhere to the RTS rules of submission.
• RTS shall notify the authors that their paper has been received correctly and that the review process is underway.
• The authors shall submit original anonymised papers.
• It is advisable to avoid overuse of self-citations and, if these are used, they shall be sufficiently neutral as to allow the reading of the text during the blind review to not reveal their status as self-citations.

2. Verification of requirements

The technical support team shall verify that the paper meets all the requirements laid down in the rules of submission before forwarding the paper to the Editorial Board for its first assessment. In the event of any incident, it shall be necessary to consult with the management of RTS.

3. Initial assessment from the Editorial Board

a. Two members of the Editorial Board shall be selected (in a meeting or through a decision by the management) to offer an initial assessment.

• The aim of this assessment is to ensure that the content of the paper is in keeping with the goals of the journal, scientific quality and interest for social work.
• Plagiarism check.

b. The timeframe for carrying out this first assessment is 2 weeks.

c. The response following this first assessment shall be:

• ACCEPTED: the members of the Editorial Board will make a proposal for external reviewers according to the specific nature or field and the technical support team shall be notified. A proposal will be made for 4 reviewers (two initial reviewers and two replacements).
• NOT ACCEPTED: the members of the Editorial Board will make a proposal for a reply to the authors setting out the reasons behind the decision.
• Disagreement: if a disagreement were to emerge among the members of the Editorial Board appointed, a third member will be needed to break the tie.

4. First external review via the double blind peer review system

a. The first version of the paper (ART 1) shall be sent to the external reviewers and a maximum timeframe of 3 weeks shall be proposed for it to be returned. The paper shall be anonymised.

b. The external reviewers shall inform the individual responsible from the RTS technical support team that the job has been accepted. If any of the external reviewers is unable to take on the review, the proposal for replacement reviewers shall be used.

c. If there is any disagreement in the review, one of the replacement reviewers proposed by the Editorial Board shall be called upon. A disagreement in the review shall occur when the outcomes of the two external reviews lead to either of the following combinations: publishable/not publishable or re-assessable/not publishable.

d. The potential responses in the review process shall be as follows:

• PUBLISHABLE: the authors will be notified about the outcome of the review and whether any small changes are needed before going ahead with the publication process.
• RE-ASSESSABLE: the authors will be notified about the outcome of the review and the review guidelines along with the recommendations put forward by the reviewers shall be enclosed.
• NOT PUBLISHABLE: the authors will be notified that they have not received a successful review and, consequently, the review process will end.

e. Return to the authors:

• The paper shall be handed back to the authors to be reviewed. If the review is minor in nature the timeframe for this shall be two weeks; if the review is substantial (affecting the whole paper) the maximum timeframe for this shall be three weeks.
• The authors will be told about the type of review that needs to be conducted and the time they will be granted to do it.
• The review guidelines shall always be given to the authors, unless a specific incident is identified; in which case, the Editorial Board will decide how to proceed.

5. Second external review via the double blind peer review system

a, The new version of the paper (ART 2) shall be handed to RTS.

b. The new version of the paper (ART 2) shall be passed on to the previously assigned external reviewers who shall respond within a maximum period of two weeks.

• If one of the reviewers fails to respond or does not accept the task entrusted, the Editorial Board shall take on this function.

c. The outcome of this review shall be:

• PUBLISHABLE: the authors will be notified and, if necessary, they will carry out a brief review for publication.
• REASSESSMENT: the paper is returned to the authors with the necessary remarks and a maximum period of two weeks is granted to incorporate the changes suggested.
• NOT PUBLISHABLE: the authors will be notified that they have not received a successful review and, consequently, the review process will end.

d. In the event of a disagreement in the response from the external reviewers, the Editorial Board shall make the final decision about whether the review and publication process will continue.

e. If the authors fail to meet the deadlines proposed, they will be informed that the paper will be put back to the next issue of RTS.

6. Third external review stage

a. Submission of the new version of the amended paper (ART 3) with the relevant changes.

b. Review of the final changes by the members of the Editorial Board originally assigned (two weeks).

c. The outcome of this review shall be:

• PUBLISHABLE: the authors shall be notified.
• NOT PUBLISHABLE: the authors shall be notified.

7. Acceptance of the paper

Once the paper has been accepted it will then undergo:

a. Proofreading.

b. Layout.

c. Once the paper has been laid out, a PDF copy will be sent to the authors to check that it is correct or see if any changes are needed. Corrections may only be made in relation to the galley layout of the original text. If no response is received within 72 hours, it will be assumed that the paper is ready for publication. It will not be possible to make any changes thereafter.

8. Publication on social media

The authors shall be asked to choose the foremost sentences from the paper so they can be published on social media. A video abstract of the paper of no longer than one minute may also be provided.

9. English translation

During the paper review process, the members of the Editorial Board shall consider the possibility that the paper may be translated into English. The final decision about which papers are likely to be translated shall be made jointly by the members of the Editorial Board taking into consideration the specific issue of RTS being published as a whole. The authors shall be notified about this decision.

10. Incidents

Any incident arising during the paper review process shall be solved by the Editorial Board.