PUBLICATION ETHICS

İnönü University Journal of Physical Education and Sports Sciences aims to adhere to the guidelines and core practices set forth by several organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME). These guidelines and recommendations are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing.

By adhering to these standards, the journal aims to ensure that the research it publishes is of high quality and meets the ethical standards of the scientific community.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY

Ethics Committee Approval and Informed Consent

All research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by an ethics committee (e.g., IRB) prior to being conducted. The name of the ethics committee, the approval number, and the date of approval should be included in the Material and Method section of the manuscript. Authors may also be requested to provide a copy of the approval.

If a study is exempt from ethical approval, authors must submit a statement explaining the exemption. An article submitted without ethical approval will follow COPE's guidelines to evaluate ethical concerns. Articles without ethical approval may be rejected in cases where the issue is significant.

The details of informed patient consent and information related to the research process should be included in the Material and Method section.

For studies involving human subjects, authors must confirm that written informed consent has been obtained from all participants, and the researchers should keep the consent form. For research involving children under the age of eighteen, permission should be obtained from the parents or guardians. In surveys or interviews, consent for the use of data must also be confirmed. Personal information should be anonymized unless explicit consent for identification is given.

Authors are responsible for maintaining the anonymity and confidentiality of participants, particularly in photographs. Signed release forms must be obtained for all images, approval for publication should be secured, and all conditions should be specified. This approval should be clearly stated in the Material and Method section.

PLAGIARISM AND ETHICAL MISCONDUCT

All submissions undergo multiple screenings during the peer review and/or production processes using similarity detection software. When citing previous works, ensure that all material is properly referenced. Copying text, tables, or illustrations from any source (journal articles, books, theses, electronic media, etc.) and presenting them as one's own is considered plagiarism, even if a reference is provided. Listing the source in the 'References' section does not absolve authors of responsibility for plagiarism.

Authors are strongly encouraged to avoid any form of plagiarism or ethical misconduct, as illustrated below:

• Citation Manipulation: Refers to inflating citation counts through self-citation, excessive citation of the same journal, or citation stacking, which distorts academic recognition.
• Self-Plagiarism (Text Recycling): Involves reusing sections or sentences from an author's prior work without proper citation, constituting a form of plagiarism.
• Salami Slicing: The unethical practice of publishing multiple articles using the same data set, hypotheses, and methods from a single study.
  
• Data Fabrication: The creation of false data not supported by actual research or experiments, considered a serious breach of research integrity.
  
• Data Manipulation/Falsification: Involves altering data, such as modifying images or removing outliers, to mislead or misrepresent findings.

In cases of suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification), the Editorial Board will follow COPE guidelines to ensure fair, transparent, and consistent handling of allegations.

ADVERTISING POLICY

İnönü University Journal of Physical Education and Sports Sciences accepts digital advertisements on its website, provided they are approved by the journal's Editorial Board and management. All advertisements must be clearly labeled as such. Advertisers have no influence on editorial decisions or advertising policies.

For advertising inquiries, please contact the Editorial Office (inueditorial@inonu.edu.tr).

PEER REVIEW DETAILS

İnönü University Journal of Physical Education and Sports Sciences conducts a rigorous and transparent double-anonymized peer-review process to ensure the highest standards of academic integrity.

Manuscripts are subjected to this process, where both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to one another. Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers who are experts in the relevant field.

While authors may suggest potential reviewers, the final selection is made by the editor, who is not obliged to follow the author's recommendations. Confidentiality is paramount throughout the review process, and reviewers must keep the manuscript confidential, sharing it only with the editor's consent. Reviewers provide timely, unbiased, evidence-based, and constructive feedback to improve the quality of the manuscript. Any suspected research misconduct must be reported to the editor confidentially to uphold the process's integrity.

The journal ensures transparency by sharing information about the review process, selection criteria, and appeals procedure, as well as publishing key data such as acceptance rates and publication timelines. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript.

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review. All communications between editors and reviewers are confidential.

External editors handle manuscripts submitted by editorial board members to ensure impartiality. They are also required to disclose any conflicts of interest. If the peer review process deviates from standard procedures, the type of review conducted is indicated in the article to ensure transparency and accountability.

REVISION DETAILS

Manuscripts that require "minor revision" or "major revision" will receive a decision letter from the Editor-in-Chief, which includes the reviewers' and editors' comments, along with a deadline for resubmission. Authors must submit a revised manuscript and a detailed "Response to the Reviewers" document, which addresses each comment individually. The response should explain the revisions made and specify the corresponding line numbers in the manuscript. An annotated version of the manuscript highlighting the changes must also be provided. Revised manuscripts must be submitted within the deadline specified in the decision letter. Failure to meet the deadline may result in the rejection of the revision. If additional time is needed, authors should request an extension before the original deadline expires.

AUTHORSHIP CRITERIAS

Authors of submissions reporting research findings must meet all four criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE):

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
  
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
  
• Final approval of the version to be published;
  
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Before submission, authors should determine who qualifies for authorship and in what order authors will be listed. The editors of the İnönü University Journal of Physical Education and Sports Sciences do not resolve authorship disputes. Any changes to the number or order of authors after the initial submission must be explained in writing to the Chief Editor. The editors reserve the right to refer any authorship irregularities to the research officer or appropriate academic ethics authority at the institution or employer of the first or corresponding author.

Authors may use CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to provide information about individual contributions at the time of submission.

Declaration of Interests

Any potential financial or non-financial competing interests, including relationships with editorial associations, commercial editing companies, medical communications companies, or other organizations interested in the submission, must be disclosed at the end of the manuscript, just before the References section.

Funding Information

All sources of funding must be acknowledged at the end of the manuscript. Authors should specify the role of the study sponsor(s), if applicable, in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, report writing, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the funding source had no involvement in these areas, the authors should clearly state this.

GENERATIVE AI AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) USE POLICY

1. Use of AI Tools in Manuscript Preparation
According to the ICMJE recommendations, authors must disclose any use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) in the preparation of their manuscript. This includes specifying the tool's name, version, and purpose in the appropriate section of the manuscript (e.g., Acknowledgments for writing assistance, or Methods for data analysis).

As emphasized by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), AI tools should only be used to improve language or readability under human oversight. Authors remain fully responsible for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of their work. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or cited as such.

2. Authorship and Accountability
In line with COPE’s position statement, authorship implies responsibilities that can only be fulfilled by humans. Every listed author must approve the final version, ensure the originality of the work, and take accountability for all aspects of the manuscript. AI cannot meet these requirements and must not be attributed authorship.

3. Use of AI in Figures and Visual Content
According to Elsevier’s AI policy, AI-generated images or figures are generally not permitted, except when AI is part of the research methodology (e.g., in AI-assisted medical imaging). In such cases, full transparency is required in the Methods section, including tool name, version, and technical parameters. Any AI-generated visual content must be clearly labeled as such.

4. Use of AI by Reviewers and Editors
Reviewers and editors are discouraged from using generative AI tools to evaluate or summarize manuscripts. If AI tools are used, the use must be disclosed, and confidentiality must not be compromised (COPE, 2023).

POST-PUBLICATION CORRECTION REQUESTS AND RETRACTIONS POLICY

All post-publication correction requests are subject to editorial review. The Editorial Board evaluates the necessity and appropriateness of corrections based on the nature of the error, its impact on the article, and the supporting evidence. If approved, the correction will be made in the journal’s archive. The journal follows the COPE guidelines.

Article Withdrawal (Pre-Publication)

Withdrawal applies only to articles in press, which are early versions of articles that may contain errors, accidental duplicate submissions, or ethical violations (e.g., multiple submissions, fraudulent data, or plagiarism). Withdrawn articles will have their HTML and PDF content removed, replaced by a statement indicating the withdrawal and linking to the journal’s withdrawal policy.

Article Retraction (Post-Publication)

Retractions are issued for serious ethical violations, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, authorship fraud, or publication without co-author consent. Retraction notices include:

• A formal retraction note titled “Retraction: [Article Title],” published in a subsequent issue.
• A watermark on the PDF of the original article, marking it as "Retracted."
• A removal of the HTML version, ensuring transparency in corrections while preserving academic integrity.

Article Removal (Legal & Safety Concerns)

In rare cases, an article may need to be permanently removed from the journal’s online database due to legal issues, court orders, defamation, or significant health risks. While the metadata (title and authors) will be retained, the article content will be replaced with a legal notice explaining the removal.

Article Replacement

If an article poses a serious health risk, authors may request a replacement with a corrected version. In such cases, a retraction notice will be published with a link to the revised article, ensuring a transparent record of updates.

Self-Archiving Policy

Authors are permitted to self-archive their published work on institutional or personal websites, as well as in open-access repositories. When sharing their articles, they must appropriately cite the original publication and include the DOI number. Additionally, authors are encouraged to provide a link to the publisher’s official website, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the scientific record. The version published on the publisher’s website is considered the definitive version of record.

DISCLAIMER

The views and opinions expressed in published manuscripts belong solely to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, editorial board, or publisher. The editors, editorial board, and publisher are not responsible for the content of published manuscripts and do not endorse the views expressed within them.

Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their work. While the journal serves as a platform for disseminating research to the scientific community, it does not guarantee the validity of the content.