Research Misconduct

Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy

The JSES: Journal of Sport and Exercise Science is committed to safeguarding the integrity, accuracy, transparency, and preservation of the scholarly record. This policy defines the journal’s operational principles and procedural framework for addressing allegations of research or publication misconduct, substantive errors, ethical dilemmas, and post-publication academic discourse within the fields of sports science, exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports medicine, physical education, and related health disciplines.

 

This policy aligns with standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, national accreditation standards (ARJUNA), and Crossref/Crossmark guidelines.

 

  1. General Principles

All allegations of misconduct and post-publication concerns will be assessed fairly, objectively, proportionately, and under strict confidentiality:

  • Presumption of good faith applies; an allegation is not treated as proven misconduct until an official editorial assessment or investigation is completed.
  • Authors and relevant parties are granted a fair opportunity to provide written clarifications, primary documentation, and original data (e.g., raw testing records, participant consent logs, laboratory motion capture files, instrument calibration data).
  • Editors, editorial board members, or reviewers with relevant Conflicts of Interest are excluded from handling or deciding the case.
  • When necessary, JSES may consult independent reviewers, sports science subject experts, statisticians, research integrity specialists, legal advisors, institutional bodies, research ethics committees, or athletic oversight federations.
  • Editorial decisions depend entirely on scientific validity, available evidence, and the protection of the scientific literature. Financial or business interests never influence these decisions.

 

  1. Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct evaluated by JSES includes, but is not limited to:

  • Fabrication and Falsification: Fabricating or altering athletic performance metrics, clinical assessments, biochemical parameters, physiological readings, or motion analysis imagery.
  • Plagiarism and Redundancy: Text plagiarism, idea theft, self-plagiarism, duplicate submission, or redundant publication (salami slicing).
  • Human Subject and Athletic Ethics Violations: Conducting studies on human participants or athletes without explicit approval from a recognized Institutional Review Board / Ethics Committee, omitting participant informed consent (or parental/guardian assent for minor athletes), or failing to protect athlete safety during maximal or hazardous exercise testing.
  • Inappropriate Authorship Practices: Ghost, guest, gift, honorary, or brokered authorship (paper-mill engagement).
  • Reviewer and Citation Manipulation: Submitting falsified peer-reviewer suggestions or engaging in coordinated, non-relevant citation cartels.

Allegations can be submitted confidentially by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, research participants, or institutions. Reports should clearly identify the manuscript or article, articulate the specific ethical or scientific issue, and provide verifiable supporting documentation to the JSES Editorial Office. Editorial processing, peer review, or final production may be placed on temporary administrative hold while a credible concern is under review.

  1. Publication Status and the Scholarly Record

For the purposes of this policy, an article is formally published once it is made publicly accessible by JSES as an official scholarly work (including Online First, Advance Online Articles, or the final compiled Version of Record). Once published, an article forms a permanent part of the scholarly record. JSES strictly prohibits silent alterations or removals of published content. Any substantive modification, correction, or notice of invalidity must be documented openly through standardized post-publication mechanisms.

 

  1. Corrections: Correction, Erratum, Corrigendum, and Expression of Concern
  • Correction: Issued when a published article contains a substantive error that requires clarification to protect the scholarly record but does not undermine the main findings, and where responsibility is shared or unclear.
  • Erratum: Issued when a substantive error was introduced entirely through journal production processes (e.g., typesetting, copyediting, formatting, metadata registration) without affecting the central scientific conclusions.
  • Corrigendum: Issued when a substantive error originates from the author(s) (e.g., misstated statistical figures, minor equation mistakes, or omissions in funding/affiliation statements) without invalidating the core results or interpretations.
  • Expression of Concern: Issued by the Editor-in-Chief when substantial concerns exist regarding the integrity or ethical validity of a published article, but an institutional investigation is ongoing, inconclusive, or prolonged.

All formal correction notices and Expressions of Concern are published as standalone citable items with unique DOIs and are bi-directionally linked to the original article.

  1. Manuscript Withdrawal

The Withdrawal mechanism applies exclusively to manuscripts that have not yet been publicly published by JSES (i.e., submissions currently under screening, peer review, revision, or pre-production).

  • Withdrawal requests must be submitted in writing by the Corresponding Author on behalf of all co-authors, stating explicit scientific or ethical justifications.
  • Arbitrary withdrawal requests for manuscripts actively undergoing peer review or accepted for publication are strictly discouraged.
  • Once an article is published online as an Advance Article or Version of Record, it cannot be withdrawn; any subsequent concerns must be resolved through Correction, Retraction, Removal, or Replacement.

 

  1. Article Retraction

A Retraction is published when an article's findings or conclusions are deemed fundamentally unreliable, invalid, or compromised by severe misconduct, such as:

  • Proven data fabrication, severe falsification, or unaddressed fatal methodological/computational flaws;
  • Substantive plagiarism or unauthorized duplication;
  • Serious violations of research ethics, sports safety standards, or human participant protections;
  • Compromised peer review or illicit authorship brokerage.

A formal Retraction Notice will be published, assigned its own DOI, and linked directly to the retracted paper. In alignment with COPE guidelines, the original PDF version of the article will remain in the digital archive to preserve the historical record, clearly watermarked on every page with the label "RETRACTED".

 

  1. Article Removal

Article Removal is an extraordinary action reserved solely for extreme circumstances where retaining the article online presents acute legal, regulatory, or safety liabilities:

  • Defamatory content, severe privacy breaches, or issues subject to an enforceable court injunction;
  • Scientifically flawed exercise protocols, training advice, or dietary/supplementation instructions that, if followed, pose direct and catastrophic health risks or severe physical injury to athletes or the general public.

In such cases, the full text will be removed, while the bibliographic metadata, DOI, and an explanatory editorial statement detailing the removal reason will remain permanently accessible on the landing page.

 

  1. Article Replacement

Article Replacement (Retract and Replace) may be considered in rare instances where a severe, honest error invalidates the original paper, but the author team acted in good faith, corrected the error completely, and valid revised conclusions can be verified by independent peer review. The original paper will be formally retracted, and the corrected version published and linked transparently to the previous record.

 

  1. Post-Publication Academic Discourse (Comments and Criticism)

JSES encourages rigorous, evidence-based post-publication dialogue:

  • Readers and researchers may submit formal Comments or Letters to the Editor discussing methodological rigor, statistical interpretations, physiological models, or reproducibility concerns regarding articles published in JSES.
  • Substantive comments undergo editorial review and may be subjected to independent peer review.
  • Authors of the original article will be offered the opportunity to submit an Author Response.
  • Accepted Comments and Author Responses are published alongside one another, issued distinct DOIs, and systematically linked to the original publication.

 

  1. Minor Administrative Changes

Typographical corrections, minor punctuation edits, formatting adjustments, or link repairs that do not alter the scientific meaning, data interpretation, citations, authorship, or conclusions will be corrected directly in the digital file without issuing a formal Correction notice or secondary DOI.

 

  1. Publishing Fees and Zero Administrative Charges (Free APC Policy)

In adherence to the open-access model of JSES:

  • Free APC Policy: JSES operates under a complete Free Article Processing Charge (Free APC) model. The journal charges no submission fees, no editorial processing fees, and no publication fees to authors.
  • No Administrative or Penalty Charges: All post-publication procedures—including the processing and publication of Corrections, Errata, Corrigenda, Retractions, or legitimate manuscript Withdrawals—are executed free of any financial cost or administrative fees.
  • Financial concerns never influence editorial verdicts, ethical investigations, or decisions regarding the correction or preservation of the literature.

 

  1. Crossmark and Record Traceability

JSES implements Crossref Crossmark across all landing pages and published PDF documents. By clicking the Crossmark button, readers can immediately verify the current status of an article and check for official updates, corrections, errata, or retractions.

 

  1. Author Compliance and Declarations

Authors submitting to JSES are required to confirm compliance with this policy and upload a signed Statement of Manuscript Authenticity and Ethical Compliance. A breach of this declaration grants the Editorial Board full discretion to reject submissions, suspend ongoing reviews, initiate retractions, or formally notify the authors’ institutional review boards and disciplinary committees.

 

  1. Policy Review and Governance

The JSES Editorial Board reviews this policy periodically to maintain alignment with updated COPE recommendations, national scientific journal accreditation standards (Pedoman Akreditasi Jurnal Ilmiah / ARJUNA), and national indexation guidelines (GARUDA). The active version hosted on the official JSES portal serves as the authoritative governing standard for all editorial proceedings.