Sinop University Journal of Sports Research conducts its publication processes in accordance with the principles of scientific impartiality, transparency, confidentiality, and research ethics. The journal’s ethical policy is based on the core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and relevant national and international publication ethics standards.

Publication Policy

The journal publishes the following article types:

• Research articles
• Review articles
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

The journal adopts a continuous publication model. Accepted articles are published online after the publication preparation process has been completed and are included in the relevant volume and issue of the year.

The evaluation of manuscripts submitted to the journal is conducted exclusively through the DergiPark system.

Peer Review and Evaluation Process

Manuscripts submitted to the journal are first subjected to a preliminary evaluation by the editorial office in terms of compliance with the journal’s aims and scope, article type, author guidelines, scientific adequacy, and ethical principles. Manuscripts found unsuitable may be rejected without being sent for peer review, or revisions may be requested from the authors.

Manuscripts that pass the preliminary evaluation are assessed through a double-blind peer review system in which the identities of the authors and reviewers are concealed from each other. Each manuscript is sent to two reviewers selected according to their fields of expertise.

Reviewers are given 15 days to complete their evaluations. When revisions are requested, authors are expected to complete the necessary changes within 15 days. Additional time may be granted upon a justified request.

If the reviewers’ opinions conflict, the manuscript may be sent to a third reviewer. The final decision regarding the acceptance, revision, or rejection of the manuscript is made by the editorial office. Reviewer recommendations are advisory to the editor.

Authors may appeal reviewer or editor evaluations by providing scientific evidence and justification. Reviewer reports and evaluation records are retained for at least five years.

Similarity and Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts submitted to the journal are subjected to a similarity check before peer review. The total similarity rate must not exceed 20%. However, the similarity rate alone is not sufficient to determine plagiarism; reports are evaluated by the editorial office by considering the content, citation practices, and nature of the similarities.

Manuscripts exceeding the similarity limit or containing ethically unacceptable similarities may be returned to the authors or excluded from the evaluation process.

Plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate salami slicing, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, and the deliberate presentation of research findings in a misleading manner are regarded as violations of publication ethics. Ethical violations identified before or after publication are evaluated in accordance with COPE principles.

Ethics Committee Approval and Research Ethics

Ethics committee approval is not required for every manuscript but is mandatory for studies that require such approval. This includes studies involving data collection from human participants through surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, experiments, or similar methods; studies involving the scientific use of humans or animals; and retrospective studies using personal data.

For studies requiring ethics committee approval:

• The name of the ethics committee, the decision date, and the decision number must be stated on the title page of the manuscript.
• The ethics committee approval document must be uploaded to the DergiPark system during manuscript submission.
• Where applicable, the title page must state that informed voluntary consent, parental or legal representative consent, and relevant institutional permissions were obtained.
• Necessary permissions must be obtained and declared for the use of scales, questionnaires, photographs, images, data, or materials belonging to others.
• Principles of confidentiality and personal data protection must be observed for personal information and images that may reveal the identity of individuals.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must:

• Declare that the study is original, has not been previously published, and is not under consideration by another journal at the same time.
• Ensure that the research data are accurate, reliable, and consistent with the research records.
• Cite all sources used in accordance with scientific standards.
• Include as authors only those who have made scientific and intellectual contributions to the study.
• Read and approve the final version of the manuscript and share responsibility for its content.
• Disclose financial support, institutional contributions, and potential conflicts of interest.
• Inform the editorial office if they identify a significant error during the evaluation process or after publication and contribute to the correction process.

After manuscript submission, the addition or removal of an author or a change in the order of authors may be made only with the written approval of all authors and the decision of the editorial office.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts impartially, with justification, and constructively according to scientific criteria. They must avoid personal criticism, discriminatory language, and comments unrelated to the scientific evaluation.

Reviewers must:

• Decline to evaluate studies outside their field of expertise.
• Inform the editorial office and withdraw from the review process if they have a conflict of interest.
• Keep all information concerning the manuscript and evaluation process confidential.
• Refrain from using unpublished information, data, or ideas contained in the manuscript for personal purposes.
• Confidentially inform the editor if they suspect an ethical violation.
• Complete their evaluations within the specified period.

Objective, constructive, and confidential peer review constitutes the fundamental principles of COPE’s ethical guidelines for peer reviewers.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of scientific quality, originality, and compliance with the journal’s aims and scope, regardless of the authors’ gender, institution, academic title, nationality, or personal characteristics.

Editors must:

• Conduct the peer review process impartially and confidentially.
• Withdraw from the evaluation process if they have a conflict of interest involving the authors, reviewers, or research topic.
• Appoint independent and impartial reviewers with appropriate expertise.
• Carefully investigate allegations of ethical violations before and after publication.
• Ensure that decisions regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection are based on scientific grounds.
• Publish corrections, retractions, or editorial statements when necessary.

Artificial Intelligence Use Policy

Artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-assisted tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. If artificial intelligence was used in manuscript preparation, data analysis, image generation, or any other stage, the name of the tool and its purpose of use must be clearly disclosed.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, appropriateness of sources, and ethical compliance of content generated through artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence outputs cannot be used as primary scientific sources.

Reviewers and editors may not upload confidential manuscript files to artificial intelligence systems that do not guarantee confidentiality without the authors’ explicit permission. 

Publication Fee Policy

Sinop University Journal of Sports Research does not charge authors at any stage of manuscript submission, preliminary evaluation, peer review, language editing, formatting, or publication.

The journal does not charge article processing charges, submission fees, evaluation fees, or publication fees.

Open Access, Copyright, and Licensing

Sinop University Journal of Sports Research is an open-access journal. The full texts of published articles are available without subscription or payment.

For an article to be published, authors must complete and upload the Copyright Form to the DergiPark system. The form is signed by the corresponding author with the knowledge and approval of all authors.

Articles published in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits sharing, reproduction, and adaptation of the work, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and the original source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated. CC BY 4.0 is the most open Creative Commons license type that also permits commercial use.

Authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions to use copyrighted materials belonging to third parties.

Correction, Retraction, Complaints, and Appeals

A correction may be published if an error is identified in a published article that does not invalidate the main conclusions of the study. The article may be retracted if a serious error, plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, or a similar ethical violation undermines the reliability of its findings.

Correction and retraction procedures are conducted transparently. A retraction notice is published in connection with the relevant article, and the reason for retraction is clearly stated. COPE retraction guidelines are followed in these processes.

Authors, readers, reviewers, and other interested parties may submit complaints and appeals concerning editorial decisions, published articles, allegations of ethical violations, or the journal’s operation to susard@sinop.edu.tr, together with their justification and any supporting evidence.

Allegations of ethical misconduct are evaluated, depending on the nature of the case, by the Publisher, Scientific Publication Coordinator, and Editor-in-Chief; individuals with a conflict of interest do not participate in the evaluation process.

Appeals are reviewed by the Editorial Board. Whenever possible, an appeal is evaluated by an editor or Editorial Board member who was not directly involved in the initial decision. Complaints and appeals are considered solely on scientific and ethical grounds.

Confidentiality Policy

Manuscripts submitted to the journal and reviewer reports are treated as confidential documents. Manuscript content, evaluation status, and reviewer information are not shared with third parties other than those involved in the publication process.

Names, email addresses, and other personal information contained in the journal system are used solely for the journal’s scientific and editorial processes and are not used for other purposes or shared with third parties without permission.

Archiving Policy

Articles published in the journal and their associated metadata are stored within the DergiPark infrastructure. The LOCKSS digital archiving system provided by DergiPark is used to ensure the long-term preservation and continued accessibility of the content.

Published articles may be deposited in institutional repositories and on authors’ personal academic webpages, provided that the source and the publisher’s version are clearly identified.