Ethics Committee Approval

In accordance with the ethical standards determined by the Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) and internationally recognised research ethics principles, Ethics Committee Approval is mandatory for all research articles submitted to the Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Journal of Sports Sciences that involve human participants, animals, personal data, surveys, interviews, experiments, or observational procedures.

However, the following study types are exempt from the requirement for ethics committee approval:

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Narrative (traditional) review articles

Bibliometric and scientometric studies

As these studies do not involve direct intervention or data collection from human or animal subjects, ethics committee approval is not required. Nevertheless, authors must clearly state this exemption in the Methodology section of their manuscripts and confirm that the study complies with academic integrity, citation, and referencing standards.

Journal Ethics Principles and Responsibilities

The journal adopts internationally accepted publication ethics standards and expects authors, reviewers, and editors to comply fully with these principles in all stages of the publication process.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are expected to ensure that:

Submitted manuscripts are original, have not been published previously, and are not under consideration elsewhere.

All individuals who have made significant scientific contributions to the study are listed as authors, and those who did not contribute are not included.

All sources are properly cited, and plagiarism in any form is strictly avoided.

Any financial support, sponsorship, or potential conflict of interest is clearly disclosed.

Ethical approval information (if required) is accurately reported.

Research data are stored securely for at least five years after publication and made available upon reasonable request when necessary.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

Evaluate manuscripts objectively, impartially, and confidentially.

Decline the review and inform the editor if any conflict of interest exists.

Provide constructive, clear, and scientifically grounded feedback aimed at improving the quality of the manuscript.

Avoid using any information obtained during the review process for personal or professional advantage.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

Evaluating manuscripts solely on the basis of scientific merit, originality, and relevance, without discrimination.

Ensuring a fair and transparent double-blind peer-review process.

Declaring any potential conflict of interest and assigning the manuscript to another editor if necessary.

Making final publication decisions based on reviewers’ reports and academic standards.

Taking appropriate action in cases of suspected ethical misconduct.

Ethical Violations and Sanctions

In cases where ethical violations are identified, including but not limited to:

Plagiarism

Fabrication or falsification of data

Duplicate or redundant publication

Manipulation of the peer-review process

the manuscript will be rejected or withdrawn, and the relevant institutions may be formally notified. Authors found to have violated publication ethics may be barred from future submissions, and legal or institutional procedures may be initiated where appropriate.

Suspected ethical violations should be reported via email to:
📧 sporbilimleridergisi@mehmetakif.edu.tr

All reported cases will be reviewed by the journal’s editorial management, and necessary actions will be taken in accordance with ethical guidelines.

Journal Publication Principles

Manuscripts must be scientific, original, and ethically sound.

Submissions must comply with internationally recognised research and publication ethics.

Manuscripts must not have been previously published or submitted elsewhere.

The journal is published biannually (June and December). Articles may be assigned to an issue based on editorial scheduling.

Author names, affiliations, and contact information must be accurately provided in the designated submission fields.

Submission and acceptance dates are stated on the first page of published articles.

A Turnitin or iThenticate similarity report with a similarity rate not exceeding 20% must be submitted with the manuscript.

All manuscripts are evaluated through a double-blind peer-review process.

All submission, revision, and correction procedures are conducted exclusively through the journal’s online system.

Authors are given one month to complete requested revisions. Failure to do so results in automatic rejection.