Ethical Guidelines and Publication Policy

Sports Education Journal (SEJ) adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics and adopts the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

1. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Prevention of publication malpractice is the responsibility of every author, editor, and reviewer.

Originality and Plagiarism: SEJ has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate/Turnitin). Manuscripts with a similarity rate above the acceptable threshold (typically 15-20%, excluding references) are rejected immediately.

Duplicate Submission: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript.
Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data.
Conflict of Interest: All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work.
Human and Animal Rights: For research involving human subjects, authors must state that the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval from a relevant Ethics Committee is mandatory and must be clearly stated in the "Methods" section, including the committee name, date, and approval number.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Fair Play: Editors evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher.
Decision on Publication: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, based on the validation of the work and its importance to researchers and readers.

4. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may also assist the author in improving the paper.
Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.
Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

5. Continuous Publication Policy

SEJ publishes articles under a Continuous Publication Model. Articles are published online immediately after final acceptance and production steps are completed, within a single annual volume. This policy ensures rapid dissemination of research findings.