Publication Ethics

Journal of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (JoPES) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. Preventing publication malpractice is a shared responsibility among authors, editors, peer reviewers, and the publisher. JoPES adopts the ethical principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and adheres to Scopus title evaluation standards.

1. Duties of Authors

  • Originality & Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that submitted work is entirely original. Plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, and duplicate submissions are strictly prohibited.

  • Authorship Attribution: Authorship must be limited to individuals who made significant contributions to the study's conception, design, execution, or interpretation.

  • Disclosure of Conflicts: Authors must disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could influence the study's findings or interpretation.

2. Duties of Editors and Peer Reviewers

  • Fairness & Objectivity: Manuscripts are evaluated solely on academic merit, scientific validity, and scope alignment, without regard to the authors' race, gender, institutional affiliation, or citizenship.

  • Confidentiality: All submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, and editorial communications must be kept strictly confidential and cannot be used for personal advantage.

Generative AI Policy

JoPES recognizes the growing role of Generative AI (GenAI) technologies in academic writing. To preserve transparency, publication ethics, and scholarly trust, JoPES enforces the following guidelines aligned with STM, WAME, and COPE recommendations:

  • Authorship Restrictions: Generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) cannot be listed as an author or co-author. AI systems cannot satisfy authorship criteria because they cannot assume legal or ethical accountability for submitted work.

  • Mandatory Disclosure: Authors using GenAI or AI-assisted software for manuscript drafting, language editing, data processing, or code creation must explicitly state this in the Methods or Acknowledgments section, specifying the tool name, version, and purpose of use.

  • Reviewer & Editor Guidelines: Reviewers and editors are strictly prohibited from uploading confidential manuscripts or review files into AI platforms or chatbots to safeguard intellectual property and confidentiality.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

In cases of alleged or proven publication misconduct (such as plagiarism, data falsification, or undisclosed conflicts of interest), JoPES follows formal COPE flowcharts to conduct thorough investigations, issue corrections, or publish formal retractions when necessary.