Publication Ethics and Editorial Policies
The Journal of Sports Research and Innovation (JSRI) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
This page provides an overview of our ethical policies and links to detailed policy documents.
Authorship and Contributorship
JSRI follows the ICMJE criteria for authorship. All listed authors must have made substantial contributions to the work, participated in drafting or revising the manuscript, approved the final version, and agreed to be accountable for the work. Changes to authorship after submission require written approval from all authors and a justification addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. For full details, see Authorship and Contributorship.
Peer Review
All research manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent external reviewers. For full details, see Peer Review Policy.
Conflicts of Interest
All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing their work or judgment. Authors must include a conflict of interest statement in their manuscript. Reviewers must decline to review if a conflict exists. Editors recuse themselves from decisions where a conflict arises. For full details, see Conflicts of Interest Policy.
Research Misconduct
JSRI takes research misconduct seriously. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to: fabrication (making up data or results), falsification (manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data such that the research is not accurately represented), plagiarism (using the words, ideas, or data of others without proper attribution), image manipulation (inappropriate alteration of images that misrepresents the data), citation manipulation, duplicate or redundant publication, and undisclosed conflicts of interest.
JSRI uses plagiarism screening software to check all submitted manuscripts. Suspected misconduct is investigated following COPE guidelines. Outcomes may include rejection of the manuscript, retraction of the published article, notification to the authors’ institution, and a ban on future submissions.
Plagiarism Screening
All manuscripts submitted to JSRI are screened for plagiarism before or during peer review. The editorial team uses plagiarism detection software to identify text overlap. Manuscripts with significant text overlap without proper attribution may be rejected or returned for revision.
Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
JSRI follows recognised publication ethics standards when handling corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions. For full details, see Corrections and Retractions Policy.
Complaints and Appeals
Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision or file a complaint about the editorial process may do so by contacting the Editor-in-Chief in writing. Complaints and appeals are investigated promptly and fairly. For details, see Submission of Complaints and Submission of Appeals.
Ethical Oversight for Human and Animal Studies
Research involving human participants must have been approved by an appropriate institutional ethics committee and must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Research involving animals must comply with institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. Authors must include a statement of ethics approval, including the name of the approving committee and the reference number, in their manuscript.
Informed Consent
Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all human participants (or their legal guardians) before participation in the study. When research involves vulnerable groups (e.g., minors, patients, people with disabilities), additional safeguards must be described.
Data Sharing and Reproducibility
Authors are encouraged to deposit anonymised research data, code, and materials in a trusted repository whenever legally and ethically possible. Data availability statements are required for all research articles. For full details, see Data Sharing Policy.
Intellectual Property
Authors retain copyright of their work. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). Third-party content must be properly attributed and, where necessary, used with permission. For full details, see Copyright Information and Licensing Terms.
Post-Publication Discussion
JSRI welcomes post-publication commentary. Readers who wish to raise concerns about a published article may contact the editorial office at submit.jsri@gmail.com. All concerns are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, investigated following COPE guidelines.
Use of Generative AI and Automated Tools
Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence or automated tools when such tools are used beyond routine language correction, formatting, or grammar checking. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the manuscript. AI tools cannot be listed as authors and cannot be cited as sources. Editors and reviewers must not use generative AI to produce peer review reports or editorial decisions in a way that compromises confidentiality, integrity, or independent judgement. For full details, see AI Policy.
Submissions from Editors and Board Members
Submissions authored by editors, editorial board members, review board members, or publisher representatives are handled by an independent editor who has no conflict of interest with the authors. The submitting editor or board member has no access to the peer review process and does not participate in the editorial decision.
Editorial Independence
All editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, relevance to the journal scope, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and peer review. Revenue sources, sponsorship, institutional support, and organizational relationships do not influence editorial decisions.
Advertising and Revenue
JSRI does not accept advertising. The journal is supported by the publisher and science dissemination funds. For full details, see Advertising and Revenue.