Conflict of Interest and Competing Interests Policy

Conflict of Interest and Competing Interests Policy

The JSES: Journal of Sport and Exercise Science is committed to ensuring that research, peer review, editorial evaluation, and publication are conducted with complete transparency, objectivity, independence, and scholarly integrity.

 

A Conflict of Interest (COI) or Competing Interest arises when secondary financial, professional, personal, institutional, or commercial ties could influence—or could reasonably be perceived by readers, reviewers, or editors to influence—the design, execution, interpretation, peer review, or editorial handling of a manuscript in sport and exercise science.

 

This policy applies to Authors, Reviewers, and Editors and adheres to recommendations from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and national accreditation standards (ARJUNA).

 

  1. Authors

All authors submitting to JSES must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived competing interests relevant to the subject matter of their manuscript. In the context of sport, exercise, and physical performance research, relevant interests include, but are not limited to:

  • Financial and Commercial Ties: Grants, honoraria, consultancies, employment, royalties, stock ownership, or sponsorships from sports equipment manufacturers, nutrition/supplement brands, athletic apparel companies, pharmaceutical firms, or private fitness organizations.
  • Institutional and Professional Affiliations: Serving as a paid or unpaid coach, team physician, performance consultant, or advisory board member for a sports club, federation, or athletic entity examined in or directly impacted by the research.
  • Non-Financial / Personal Interests: Personal relationships with editors, advocacy positions in athletic governance bodies, or intellectual affiliations that may bias data reporting or interpretation.
  • Direct Research Support: Provision of free equipment, testing apparatus, specialized facilities, supplements, or training software from external commercial vendors.

Declaration Requirements:

  • Every manuscript must include an explicit Declaration of Competing Interest positioned immediately before the References section.
  • If no conflict exists, authors must state:

"The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."

  • Sources of all external funding, grants, or equipment donations must also be detailed in the Funding Statement or Acknowledgment section.
  • The Corresponding Author must confirm this disclosure when uploading the signed Statement of Manuscript Authenticity and Ethical Compliance.

 

  1. Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers must declare any potential conflict of interest that could compromise—or reasonably be perceived to compromise—their objectivity in assessing a manuscript. Reviewers must decline review invitations and alert the Editorial Office if they:

  • Have published, collaborated, or shared grant funding with any of the authors within the past 3 years;
  • Belong to the same department, direct research center, or athletic organization as the authors;
  • Have a direct financial stake or commercial competition involving the testing methods, nutritional products, recovery gear, or protocols evaluated in the manuscript;
  • Have personal or mentoring relationships that preclude an unbiased evaluation.

If a reviewer discovers a potential conflict after accepting an assignment (e.g., recognizing author data or laboratory protocols during single-blind or double-blind review), they must immediately contact the Handling Editor.

 

  1. Editors and the Editorial Board

Editorial decisions must remain independent and insulated from conflicts of interest:

  • Editors and Editorial Board members will not handle, evaluate, or assign reviewers to any manuscript authored by themselves, family members, direct colleagues from their department, or close academic/industry collaborators.
  • If a Handling Editor has an actual or potential conflict, the manuscript must be reassigned to another qualified editor.
  • If the Editor-in-Chief submits a manuscript or has a declared competing interest with an author or study, the entire handling, peer review, and final decision-making process will be delegated entirely to an independent Associate Editor or guest handling editor without the Editor-in-Chief's access to the submission files.

 

  1. Editorial Independence and Zero Fee Bias

Disclosing a competing interest does not automatically imply misconduct nor does it guarantee manuscript rejection. The editorial team evaluates the nature and magnitude of the declared interest and may request additional disclosures, independent methodological audits, or supplementary data validation.

 

JSES operates under a Free APC (no submission or publication fees) policy. Editorial determinations are strictly grounded in scientific rigor, ethical validity, methodology, and relevance to sport and exercise sciences. Commercial sponsorship, institutional stature, regional prestige, or the absence of fees never influence acceptance or rejection decisions.

 

  1. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Transparency is essential to scholarly credibility. If an undisclosed competing interest is discovered:

  • During Peer Review or Processing: The editorial process will be suspended while the editorial office requests written clarification and documentation from the authors. Failure to provide a satisfactory explanation may result in manuscript rejection.
  • Post-Publication: The case will be handled under the JSES Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policyand COPE flowcharts. Appropriate actions include issuing a formal Correction / Corrigendum to declare the interest, an Expression of Concern, or, in cases of severe deliberate deception that invalidates study conclusions, an official Article Retraction.

 

  1. Policy References
  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): Handling Competing Interests Guidelines
  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest
  • Pedoman Akreditasi Jurnal Ilmiah Nasional (ARJUNA)