Publication Ethics

1. Commitment to Publication Ethics

Physical Education and Sports: Studies and Research (PESSR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct throughout the editorial and publication process. The journal expects authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher to uphold these standards and to comply with internationally recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing.

PESSR follows the recommendations and best practices of the following organizations:

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

  • submit only original work that has not been published or submitted elsewhere;
  • accurately present research methods, data, and findings without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation;
  • appropriately acknowledge the work of others through proper citation;
  • disclose all funding sources and potential conflicts of interest;
  • obtain ethics committee approval for studies involving human participants when required;
  • obtain informed consent from participants prior to data collection;
  • comply with the journal's authorship policy and disclose individual author contributions;
  • cooperate with the journal if errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

  • provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations;
  • maintain confidentiality throughout the peer-review process;
  • declare any conflicts of interest before accepting a review invitation;
  • refrain from using unpublished information for personal advantage;
  • report suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, image manipulation, or other ethical concerns to the Editor.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

  • making editorial decisions based solely on scholarly merit;
  • ensuring a fair, unbiased, and confidential peer-review process;
  • managing conflicts of interest appropriately;
  • protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;
  • investigating ethical concerns according to COPE guidance;
  • issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions when necessary.

5. Publication Misconduct

PESSR does not tolerate any form of publication misconduct, including but not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • data fabrication;
  • data falsification;
  • image manipulation;
  • citation manipulation;
  • inappropriate authorship practices;
  • peer-review manipulation;
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest.

Suspected misconduct will be investigated in accordance with the COPE Core Practices and COPE Flowcharts.

https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts

6. Allegations of Research Misconduct

All allegations of publication misconduct are treated confidentially and investigated fairly.

When concerns are raised, the Editorial Office may:

  • request clarification from the authors;
  • obtain supporting documentation;
  • consult independent experts if necessary;
  • contact the authors' institutions when appropriate;
  • issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Investigations are conducted following the COPE Flowcharts and related ethical guidance.

7. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must:

  • comply with the Declaration of Helsinki;
  • receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) where applicable;
  • obtain informed consent from all participants;
  • obtain parental or guardian consent for minors.

Authors should report the ethics approval committee, approval number, and approval date in the manuscript.

8. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence the editorial or research process.

9. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

PESSR publishes corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern when necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Editorial actions follow COPE recommendations and are undertaken transparently.

10. Reporting Ethical Concerns

PESSR welcomes reports of suspected publication misconduct from authors, reviewers, readers, institutions, and other stakeholders.

Reports may concern:

  • plagiarism;
  • duplicate publication;
  • image manipulation;
  • unethical research;
  • authorship disputes;
  • citation manipulation;
  • peer-review manipulation;
  • conflicts of interest;
  • data fabrication or falsification;
  • other publication ethics concerns.

Reports may be submitted confidentially using the Ethical Concern Reporting Form:

https://forms.gle/XeNBctf4MBMLx2987

All reports will be treated confidentially and investigated in accordance with the COPE Core Practices and COPE Flowcharts.