Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

                                                                                                                                             Last revised: 31 January 2026

The Research in Physical Education, Sport, and Health (RPESH) journal is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in all stages of the publication process. RPESH adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Declaration of Helsinki, and other relevant ethical frameworks. This statement outlines the duties and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

Originality and Ethical Conduct:

• Authors must ensure that their submissions are original, have not been published elsewhere, and do not contain plagiarism or duplicate content.
• Manuscripts involving human subjects must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and provide approval from an institutional ethics committee or relevant body. An Ethical Clearance Letter must accompany submissions.
• Authors must ensure participant anonymity and obtain informed consent for any identifiable data in images or text.

Authorship and Disclosure:

• Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to the manuscript, including study design, data analysis, or writing.
• Authors must declare all potential conflicts of interest, whether financial or personal, that could influence their work.

Corrections and Retractions:

• Authors are obligated to promptly report errors or inaccuracies in their work and cooperate with the editor to issue corrections or retractions when necessary.

Withdrawal Policy:

• Authors may withdraw their manuscript at any point prior to acceptance by submitting a formal statement to the editorial office.

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer Review Process:

• All submissions undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Reviewers must assess the manuscript objectively, provide constructive feedback, and identify relevant uncited works.
• Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential and refrain from using content for personal gain or research.

Conflict of Interest:

• Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest before accepting assignments and recuse themselves if necessary.

Timeliness:

• Reviewers are expected to complete reviews within the agreed timeframe. Delays should be communicated promptly to the editorial team.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Editorial Independence:

• Editors are responsible for the final decision on whether to accept, revise, or reject manuscripts. Decisions are made based on academic merit, originality, and relevance without bias.

Fair and Ethical Practices:

• Editors must ensure a fair and transparent peer-review process, maintain confidentiality, and manage conflicts of interest.
• Submissions from editors or staff undergo independent processing by associate editors to avoid bias.

Corrections and Retractions:

• Editors will publish corrections, retractions, or clarifications when errors or misconduct are identified.

Plagiarism and Misconduct Policy

RPESH strictly prohibits all forms of academic misconduct, including:

• Plagiarism (verbatim or paraphrased copying).
• Duplicate publication.
• Data fabrication or falsification.

The Journal applies similarity checking as part of its editorial screening process prior to peer review.

Misconduct Handling
RPESH follows the COPE Flowcharts and COPE Retraction Guidelines when concerns arise regarding plagiarism, duplicate submission, authorship disputes, data manipulation, or other forms of research or publication misconduct. Suspected cases are investigated according to COPE procedures, and authors may be asked to provide explanations, original data files, or supporting documentation. Confirmed misconduct may result in rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, or notification of the authors’ institution.

Data Integrity and Availability

RPESH requires authors to retain all original research data and to provide it to the journal upon request for verification. Fabricated, falsified, or manipulated data constitute serious academic misconduct and will result in rejection or retraction in accordance with COPE guidance.

The journal may request additional documentation, raw data files, or supporting materials where concerns arise regarding the validity or integrity of reported results.

Authors are encouraged, where appropriate, to deposit datasets in reputable open repositories and to include a clear Data Availability Statement in their manuscript indicating where and how the data can be accessed.

Policies for Research on Human and Vulnerable Populations

• Research involving human subjects must be approved by an ethics committee, and authors must include a statement of approval.
• Informed consent must be obtained from all participants, and identifying information must remain confidential.
• Special considerations are required for vulnerable populations, such as children, elderly persons, or individuals with disabilities. Researchers must ensure additional safeguards are in place.

Conflict of Interest Policy

• Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their work or decisions.
• Conflicts of interest are reviewed during the editorial workflow to ensure transparency and integrity.

Editorial Workflow and Publication Process

• Submission: Authors submit manuscripts with all required documents.
• Screening: The editorial office screens manuscripts for plagiarism, ethical compliance, and adherence to submission guidelines.
• Peer Review: Manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review.
• Reviewer rounds depend on the quality of the article and on the authors’ responses to the reviewers’ requests.
• Decision: Based on reviews, editors make decisions on acceptance, revisions, or rejection.
• Publication: Accepted manuscripts are finalized, proofed, and published online as open-access articles.

Publication Advertising Policy

RPESH maintains strict boundaries between editorial content and advertisements. Advertisements must:

• Be clearly identified and approved by the journal.
• Not imply endorsement by the editors, publisher, or journal.
• Be free from misleading claims.

RPESH is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record and ensuring ethical, fair, and transparent publication practices. For further information, please contact the editorial office.