Author Guidelines

Authors submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (JoPES) are required to follow the guidelines below. These guidelines are intended to ensure that submitted manuscripts meet the journal's academic, technical, and ethical standards. Authors are encouraged to read the journal's About the Journal and Focus and Scope information before preparing their submissions.

1. Types of Manuscripts

JoPES accepts original research articles and, on a selective basis, review articles relevant to physical education and sport pedagogy.

Original Research Articles should present original findings based on appropriate research methods, rigorous analysis, and a clear contribution to knowledge or practice in physical education and sport pedagogy.

Review Articles should provide a critical, systematic, or integrative examination of relevant literature and demonstrate a clear contribution to the development of knowledge in the field. Review manuscripts are considered selectively based on their relevance, methodological rigor, and scholarly contribution.

Submitted manuscripts must be original, must not have been published previously in substantially the same form, and must not be under consideration for publication by another journal. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions comply with applicable publication ethics requirements.

2. Manuscript Preparation and Formatting

Manuscripts must be written in clear academic English and submitted as a Microsoft Word (.docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file.

Authors should follow these formatting requirements:

Paper size: A4 (21 × 29.7 cm).
Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides.
Font: Century Gothic.
Font size: 10 pt.
Line spacing: 1.5 throughout the main text. Single spacing should be used for the title, author information, abstract, and references.
Length: Research manuscripts should contain at least 4,000 words and should not exceed 20 pages, including tables, figures, photographs, and references, in accordance with the journal's prescribed format.
Tables and figures: Tables, charts, photographs, and other figures must be numbered consecutively, clearly titled or captioned, and referred to in the main text.

Headings should follow the format below:

Heading 1: UPPERCASE, bold, and left-aligned.
Heading 2: Title Case, bold, and left-aligned.
Heading 3: Title Case, bold, italicized, and left-aligned.

Headings should not use numbered or bulleted prefixes unless numbering is necessary for a specific technical or methodological purpose.

Authors should present the introduction and research methods concisely while providing sufficient space for the results, discussion, and references. The manuscript should prioritize the clarity of the research argument, the adequacy of the methods, and the interpretation of findings rather than unnecessary length.

Authors are strongly encouraged to use the official JoPES Article Template when preparing their manuscripts.

3. Manuscript Structure

3.1. Original Research Articles

Original research articles should generally follow this structure:

Title: Concise, informative, and representative of the study's main focus.
Author Information: Full names of all authors without academic titles, institutional affiliations, institutional addresses, and email addresses. The corresponding author should be clearly identified.
Abstract: A structured or unstructured abstract of 150–200 words, as appropriate to the study.
Keywords: Five relevant keywords that represent the principal concepts and subject areas of the manuscript.
Introduction: The research background, relevant literature, research gap, rationale, objectives, and, where appropriate, research questions or hypotheses.
Theoretical Framework or Literature Review: The theoretical concepts and relevant previous research underpinning the study, where appropriate.
Method: The research design, participants or data sources, instruments, procedures, ethical considerations where applicable, and data analysis methods.
Results: The principal findings, presented clearly and supported by appropriate tables, figures, or other evidence where necessary.
Discussion: Interpretation of the findings in relation to the research objectives, previous studies, theoretical perspectives, and implications for physical education and sport pedagogy.
Conclusion: A concise synthesis of the main findings, contributions, implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research where appropriate.
Acknowledgements: Recognition of contributions, institutional support, or funding, where applicable.
References: Complete bibliographic details of all sources cited in the manuscript.

The structure may be adjusted when justified by the research design and the nature of the study, provided that the manuscript remains coherent and meets the journal's requirements.

3.2. Review Articles

Review articles should have a clear purpose, transparent literature selection or review procedures, an appropriate analytical framework, and a synthesis that advances understanding of physical education and sport pedagogy.

Depending on the type of review, the manuscript may include an introduction, review methodology, findings or thematic synthesis, discussion, implications, conclusion, and references. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should report their methods transparently and follow relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.

4. References and Citation Style

JoPES uses the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th edition, citation and reference style.

Authors are required to ensure that all in-text citations correspond to entries in the reference list and that all references are cited appropriately in the manuscript.

Authors are encouraged to use reference management software, such as Mendeley, EndNote, or Microsoft Word's citation tools, to improve consistency and accuracy.

The reference list should prioritize current, relevant, and credible scholarly sources, particularly articles published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. As a general recommendation, approximately 90% of references should be drawn from reputable scholarly journal articles, where appropriate to the research topic. Seminal theoretical works, authoritative books, official reports, and other primary sources may also be cited when necessary.

Authors should verify the accuracy of all bibliographic information and provide DOI links in URL format when available.

5. Research Ethics and Publication Integrity

Authors must ensure that their research and manuscript preparation comply with recognized principles of research ethics and publication integrity.

The following requirements apply:

Originality: Submitted work must be original and must not involve plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inappropriate reuse of previously published material.
Authorship: All listed authors must have made meaningful contributions to the research or manuscript and must approve the final version submitted for publication.
Human participants: Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements. Ethical approval or an exemption statement should be provided where required. Informed consent must be obtained where applicable.
Privacy and confidentiality: Authors must protect the privacy, confidentiality, and rights of research participants and ensure that identifying information is handled appropriately.
Research integrity: Data, methods, analyses, and findings must be reported accurately. Fabrication, falsification, and misleading reporting are unacceptable.
Conflicts of interest and funding: Authors should disclose relevant competing interests and acknowledge funding or institutional support where applicable.
Use of third-party material: Authors must obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material when required and provide appropriate attribution.
Concurrent submissions: A manuscript must not be submitted simultaneously to another journal.

Research involving human participants should follow the applicable institutional ethics requirements and relevant professional standards, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Code of Ethics or equivalent standards appropriate to the study.

6. Submission Procedure

Authors must submit their manuscripts through the JoPES online submission system.

Before submitting, authors should:

Review the journal's Focus and Scope to confirm that the manuscript is relevant to the journal.
Read these Author Guidelines and use the official article template.
Check the manuscript for language quality, formatting consistency, citation accuracy, and compliance with research ethics requirements.
Ensure that all authors have approved the manuscript and that the information provided during submission is accurate.
Register for an account through the JoPES registration page. Authors who already have an account may log in and initiate a new submission.

All submissions are subject to an initial editorial assessment to determine their relevance, completeness, and suitability for further review. Manuscripts that meet the initial requirements may proceed to peer review in accordance with the journal's published editorial policies.

Submission does not guarantee acceptance or publication. Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript's relevance, academic quality, methodological rigor, originality, and contribution to physical education and sport pedagogy.