SciELO XML Requirements: A Guide for Journal Editors

SciELO —Scientific Electronic Library Online— is one of the most influential open access repositories in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. For journals indexed in its national collections, meeting XML technical requirements is not an afterthought to publication: it is the condition that enables visibility, positioning in academic search engines, and interoperability with other scientific information systems.

This guide translates the technical requirements of the SciELO Publishing Schema (SPS) into language that journal editors and directors can act on, without assuming prior XML development experience.

The SPS framework: JATS with its own rules

SciELO did not invent a standard from scratch. Its SPS schema extends JATS Archiving (NISO Z39.96) with additional rules adapted to the Latin American context. This means an SPS-compliant article is, in essence, a JATS XML file with enriched metadata and specific constraints on structure and content.

For editors, the practical implication is clear: if your journal produces valid JATS with complete metadata, you already have the foundation for SciELO. The remaining work consists of adjusting SPS-specific details and requirements from your national collection coordinator.

Editorial admission requirements (before XML)

Before addressing XML, SciELO requires journals to meet editorial criteria of the network:

• Open access policy with a Creative Commons license.
• Documented peer review process.
• Identified editorial board with declared conflicts of interest.
• Valid ISSN (preferably electronic).
• Stable and maintained publication frequency.
• Digital preservation of content.

These requirements are not technical, but they condition admission. A journal rejected in editorial evaluation will never reach the XML validation phase.

Mandatory journal metadata

In each article, the <journal-meta> block must identify the journal precisely:

<journal-meta>
  <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">JSR</journal-id>
  <journal-title-group>
    <journal-title>Journal of Scientific Research</journal-title>
    <abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">J. Sci. Res.</abbrev-journal-title>
  </journal-title-group>
  <issn pub-type="epub">1234-5678</issn>
  <publisher>
    <publisher-name>National University</publisher-name>
  </publisher>
</journal-meta>

Errors in these fields affect every article in the batch and are grounds for immediate return.

Article metadata: the core of indexing

The <article-meta> block is where SciELO extracts the information that feeds its index, Google Scholar, and other aggregators. Critical fields include:

Identifiers

• DOI: Registered with Crossref or another registrar; present in <article-id pub-id-type="doi">.
• Publisher ID: Internal journal identifier for the article.

Authors and affiliations

Each author (<contrib contrib-type="author">) requires:

• Structured name (<surname>, <given-names>) or full name per policy.
• Affiliation linked via <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">.
• ORCID in <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid"> when provided.
• Corresponding author marked with <xref ref-type="corresp">.

<contrib-group>
  <contrib contrib-type="author">
    <name>
      <surname>Rodriguez</surname>
      <given-names>Carlos</given-names>
    </name>
    <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
      <sup>1</sup>
    </xref>
    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1234-5678</contrib-id>
  </contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="aff1">
  <institution content-type="orgname">University of Chile</institution>
  <country country="CL">Chile</country>
</aff>

Abstract and keywords

• Abstract in the article's primary language with xml:lang attribute.
• Abstract translation to English (or Portuguese, per collection policy) when required.
• Keywords (<kwd-group>) with a minimum of three and maximum per journal guidelines.

Editorial history

Received, accepted, and publication dates document the editorial cycle:

<history>
  <date date-type="received">
    <day>15</day><month>01</month><year>2026</year>
  </date>
  <date date-type="accepted">
    <day>20</day><month>05</month><year>2026</year>
  </date>
  <date date-type="pub">
    <day>10</day><month>07</month><year>2026</year>
  </date>
</history>

Inconsistent dates (acceptance before receipt) trigger quality control alerts.

Article body structure

SciELO expects <body> to reflect the logical structure of the article with labeled sections (<sec>). Loose paragraphs without a containing section are not accepted in standard research articles.

Typical sections and their tagging:

• Introduction (sec-type="intro" or title "Introduction")
• Methodology / Materials and methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions

Tables must appear in <table-wrap> with a unique identifier, label (Table 1), and footnotes. Figures in <fig> with <graphic> and minimum resolution per collection specifications.

Bibliographic references

SciELO favors structured format (<element-citation>) over free-text citations. Each publication type has expected elements:

References without year, without identifiable source, or with malformed DOI are the most frequent in rejection reports.

License and open access

Every SciELO article must declare its license:

<permissions>
  <license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
    <license-p>This article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.</license-p>
  </license>
</permissions>

The license URI must be valid and match the policy declared by the journal to SciELO.

Packaging and delivery

SciELO receives packages that include:

• XML files for each article.
• Images in specified formats and resolutions.
• Article PDF (AAM or VOR versions per policy).
• Issue metadata (volume, number, publication date).

Folder structure and file naming follow conventions defined by the national coordinator. Always consult your collection's current guide before the first delivery.

Differences between national collections

Although SPS is a common standard, each SciELO collection (Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, etc.) may apply nuances in:

• Mandatory languages for abstracts and metadata.
• Title translation requirements.
• Preferred image formats.
• Delivery deadlines and procedures.

Maintain direct communication with your national coordinator and document editorial decisions to avoid inconsistencies between issues.

How to prepare your editorial team

1. Train the team on basic JATS concepts (front, body, back).
2. Document a reference XML template for your journal.
3. Validate each article before integrating it into the issue.
4. Audit a pilot article with the SciELO coordinator before the first full batch.
5. Outsource XML production when volume exceeds internal capacity.

Validate continuously with the JATS validator and review our step-by-step SciELO preparation guide for a complete workflow.

SciELO preparation service

If technical complexity exceeds your journal's resources, EditorialXML's SciELO preparation service manages the complete conversion: from approved manuscript to validated SPS package ready for delivery.

It includes metadata normalization, reference conversion, validation against current rules, and support through iterations with your collection coordinator.

Conclusion

SciELO XML requirements are not an immovable barrier: they are a clear specification that, once understood, allows Latin American journals to compete for international visibility with standards equivalent to those of major global publishers. The key is treating XML as first-class editorial product, not as a technical step relegated to the end of the process.

For journals starting their path to SciELO or facing recurring returns, investing in XML preparation —internally or with specialized support through SciELO preparation— is the editorial decision with the highest return in visibility and sustainability.