Data and Reproducibility

1. Introduction

Physical Education and Sports: Studies and Research (PESSR) is committed to fostering research that is transparent, robust, and reproducible. We believe that the availability of underlying research data, together with clear descriptions of methods, instruments, interventions, analytical procedures, and measurement tools, is fundamental to the scientific process. These practices enable verification, promote collaboration, facilitate new research avenues, and enhance the credibility and impact of research in physical education and sports sciences. This policy outlines PESSR's expectations for authors regarding data sharing, data citation, reporting standards, and reproducibility, in line with the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

2. Description

  • Research Data: Research Data encompasses any information or materials that are collected, observed, generated, or created to validate original research findings. This may include numerical, textual, and visual data; audiovisual recordings; analytical files; software or digital tools; protocols; and methodological documents. For Physical Education and Sports: Studies and Research (PESSR), research data particularly include data related to physical activity and exercise interventions, sports performance and skill acquisition, biomechanics and human movement analysis, sport pedagogy and physical education learning processes, sport psychology and behavioral studies, physiological, health, and fitness assessments, training programs and evaluation protocols, as well as measurement instruments and observational tools used in sport and physical education research.
  • Reproducibility: Reproducibility refers to the extent to which consistent results can be obtained when a study is repeated using the same or comparable methods, instruments, protocols, and analytical procedures, either with the original data or with newly collected data following the same methodology.
  • Reporting Guidelines: Standardized checklists, flow diagrams, or structured text that guide authors in reporting specific types of research, ensuring completeness and transparency (e.g., guidelines for intervention studies, observational studies, experimental studies, or systematic reviews).

The benefits of open data and reproducible research practices include increased confidence in research findings, opportunities for data reuse and discoveries, reduced duplication of effort, enhanced collaboration, and greater public trust in science.

3. Policy

  • Data Availability and Sharing:

    • PESSR strongly encourages authors to make all research data, code, mathematical models, algorithms, and other materials necessary to understand, verify, and reproduce their research findings publicly available whenever ethically and legally permissible.
    • Authors are required to include a "Data Availability Statement" in their submitted manuscript, which will be published with the article, detailing how and where the underlying data can be accessed.
    • Acceptable methods for data sharing include depositing in recognized public data repositories, including the data as supplementary material with the published article, or providing clear instructions for requesting access under defined conditions.
    • PESSR recognizes that some data cannot be shared publicly due to legitimate ethical concerns (e.g., protecting human subject confidentiality when data cannot be fully anonymized), legal restrictions (e.g., proprietary data from industry collaborations), or intellectual property considerations. In such cases, authors must clearly state these restrictions in their Data Availability Statement and, if possible, provide information on how qualified researchers may request access.

  • Data Citation:

    • Authors must appropriately cite all datasets (whether their own or those created by others) that are used or generated in their research. Citations should appear both in the main text where the data are discussed and in the reference list.
    • PESSR strongly encourages the use of persistent identifiers (e.g., Digital Object Identifiers - DOIs) for cited datasets.

  • Use of Reporting Guidelines:

    • PESSR encourages authors to adhere to established reporting guidelines relevant to their specific study design and research area within physical education and sports. This helps ensure the clarity, completeness, and transparency of their research reporting. Authors should consult resources such as the EQUATOR Network or specific guidelines for their study type.

  • Analytical Tools, Instruments, and Digital Materials

    • For research involving data analysis, measurement instruments, digital tools, software applications, statistical models, biomechanical models, performance analysis systems, or training and evaluation protocols (which are central to the scope of Physical Education and Sports: Studies and Research (PESSR)), authors are strongly encouraged to make relevant materials publicly available whenever possible and ethically permissible.

      These materials may include, but are not limited to:

      • Statistical analysis scripts (e.g., SPSS syntax, R scripts, Python code)

      • Biomechanical or physiological models

      • Motion analysis or performance evaluation algorithms

      • Training programs, intervention protocols, or assessment instruments

      • Questionnaires, observation sheets, or scoring rubrics

      • Digital tools or applications developed for sport or physical education research

      Materials should be shared via trusted repositories such as OSF, Zenodo, Figshare, institutional repositories, and GitHub. They should be accompanied by sufficient documentation (e.g., README files, codebooks, or methodological notes) to enable other researchers to understand, replicate, validate, or adapt the methods.

      All shared materials must be appropriately cited in the manuscript, including repository name, version, and persistent identifier (e.g., DOI or URL).

  • Reproducibility of Results:

    • Authors bear primary responsibility for ensuring that methods, instruments, procedures, and analyses are described with sufficient clarity and detail to allow other researchers to attempt to reproduce or verify the findings.

      For studies in physical education and sports sciences, this includes transparent reporting of:

      • Participant characteristics and sampling procedures

      • Intervention or training protocols

      • Measurement instruments and testing conditions

      • Data collection procedures

      • Statistical analyses and thresholds

      • Reliability and validity considerations

      Where appropriate, PESSR may encourage or request the submission of supporting materials that facilitate reproducibility, such as:

      • Data analysis scripts or syntax files

      • Detailed intervention or training protocols

      • Scoring guides or measurement manuals

      • Observation templates or coding schemes

      • Supplementary methodological appendices

  • Data Integrity and Retention:

    • Authors are expected to maintain the original research data and related documentation for a reasonable period after publication (e.g., 5-10 years, or as per institutional/funder requirements) and to provide access to this data upon reasonable request from the journal, reviewers, or readers, subject to ethical, legal, and confidentiality constraints.
    • Responsible data management practices should be employed throughout the research lifecycle.

  • Registration of Studies (if applicable):

    • Pre-registration is encouraged for specific study designs, such as systematic reviews (e.g., PROSPERO), intervention or training studies, and educational experiments, to enhance transparency and reduce reporting bias.

4. Technicalities to Achieve and Materialise the Policies

  • Data Availability Statement (DAS):

    • A DAS is a mandatory component of all research articles submitted to PESSR. This statement must be included in the manuscript (e.g., after the Conclusions section or before the References).
    • The DAS should clearly explain how and where the data supporting the reported results can be found. Examples include:
      • "The data presented in this study are openly available in [Repository Name] at [DOI/URL/Accession Number]."
      • "The data supporting the findings of this study are available as Supplementary Material with this article."
      • "The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to [specify any conditions, e.g., a data sharing agreement, ethical approvals]."
      • "Data sharing does not apply to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study (e.g., for a review or conceptual paper)."
      • "The data that support the findings of this study are subject to [restrictions, e.g., privacy, proprietary rights]. De-identified data may be available from [contact point] for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data."

  • Selection of Data Repositories:

    • PESSR recommends that authors deposit data and materials in recognized and trusted repositories such as OSF, Zenodo, Figshare, institutional repositories, or discipline-relevant repositories for sport, education, and health research.

  • Formatting and Documentation of Data, Code, and Models:

    • Shared data should be well-organized, commonly used, preferably in open formats, and accompanied by clear documentation (e.g., a README file, data dictionary, codebook) that explains the data structure, variables, units, and any necessary context for interpretation and reuse.
    • Code and software should be commented, including information on dependencies, versions, and how to run the code. Models and algorithms should be described with sufficient mathematical and procedural detail.

  • Citing Data, Code, Software, and Models:

    • These research outputs should be formally cited in the reference list, similar to other scholarly publications. Citations should include, where available: author(s)/creator(s), title, year of publication/creation, repository name, version number, and a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI or direct URL).

  • Peer Review Considerations:

    • Peer reviewers will be encouraged to consider the availability and adequacy of the data and methods described for enabling reproducibility.
    • Where data and code are shared, reviewers may be invited to access and assess these materials as part of their review, if feasible and appropriate for their expertise.
    • Reviewers will also assess the clarity and completeness of the Data Availability Statement.

  • Guidance on Reporting Guidelines:

    • PESSR's Instructions for Authors will provide links to relevant reporting guidelines and encourage authors to follow methodology-specific standards appropriate for research in physical education, sports science, and human movement studies.

      Authors are encouraged to consult established reporting guidelines such as those available through the EQUATOR Network, including but not limited to:

      • CONSORT for experimental and intervention studies (e.g., training or exercise programs)

      • STROBE for observational studies in sports, health, and education settings

      • PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses

      • SRQR or COREQ for qualitative research (e.g., interviews, focus groups, pedagogical studies)

      • TIDieR for detailed reporting of exercise or training interventions

      • TREND for non-randomized intervention studies

      • GRRAS for reliability and agreement studies of measurement instruments

      Following appropriate reporting guidelines helps ensure clarity, completeness, transparency, and reproducibility of research findings and supports high standards of scholarly communication in sports and physical education research.

  • Post-Publication Data Issues:

    • If concerns are raised after publication regarding the availability, integrity, or interpretation of the data, or the reproducibility of the research, PESSR will investigate these issues in accordance with COPE guidelines. This may involve contacting the authors for clarification, requesting access to the underlying data, or, if necessary, publishing a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction.

  • Exceptions and Embargoes:

    • Authors who are unable to share their data publicly due to compelling ethical, legal, or confidentiality reasons must clearly explain these restrictions in their Data Availability Statement at the time of submission. The journal will consider such exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
    • If data are subject to an embargo period before public release (e.g., to allow authors time to file patents), this should also be stated and justified in the DAS.

PESSR believes that adherence to these principles of data sharing and reproducibility will significantly contribute to the quality, transparency, and impact of research in physical education, sports sciences, and human movement studies.

COPE resources