Author Guidelines
Journal of Sport Medicine and Physiotherapy (JoSMPt)
The Journal of Sport Medicine and Physiotherapy (JoSMPt) welcomes high-quality manuscripts in the fields of sports medicine, physiotherapy, exercise science, rehabilitation, human performance, and related disciplines. Manuscripts must be original, scientifically rigorous, and not under consideration by another journal.
- Types of Manuscripts
JoSMPt accepts the following manuscript categories:
Original Research Article
Reports original findings from quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, experimental, observational, or clinical research.
Recommended structure:
- Title
- Author(s)
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments (optional)
- Conflict of Interest
- Author Contributions
- Funding
- References
Review Article
Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, narrative reviews, or meta-analyses.
Recommended structure:
- Title
- Author(s)
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Conflict of Interest
- Author Contributions
- Funding
- References
Systematic reviews should preferably follow the PRISMA Statement.
Case Report
Reports unusual or educational clinical cases relevant to sports medicine and physiotherapy.
Recommended structure:
- Title
- Author(s)
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Introduction
- Case Description
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Conflict of Interest
- Author Contributions
- Funding
- References
Patient consent and ethical approval must be clearly stated where applicable.
- Language
All manuscripts must be written in clear and grammatically correct English.
Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to obtain professional English editing before submission.
- Manuscript Formatting
The manuscript must be prepared using the official JoSMPt template.
General formatting requirements:
- Paper size: A4
- Margins: As provided in the template
- Main text font: Baskerville Old Face
- Body text size: 12 pt
- Line spacing: 1.5
- Text alignment: Justified
- Title font: Helvetica 20 pt
- Tables and figures: 10 pt captions
Authors should not modify the predefined styles in the template.
- Title
The title should:
- be concise and informative;
- accurately reflect the manuscript content;
- avoid abbreviations whenever possible;
- use sentence case.
- Author Information
Include:
- Full author names
- Institutional affiliations
- Country
- Corresponding author
- Email address
Each affiliation should be clearly identified.
- Abstract
The abstract should not exceed 250 words.
For Original Articles, use the following headings:
- Background
- Objectives
- Methods
- Results
- Conclusion
For Review Articles and Case Reports, authors may adapt the abstract according to the study type while maintaining clarity.
- Keywords
Provide 3–5 keywords.
Keywords should:
- not duplicate words already appearing in the title whenever possible;
- follow MeSH terminology where appropriate.
- Introduction
The Introduction should explain:
- background of the study;
- current scientific evidence;
- research gap;
- novelty;
- objectives of the study;
- contribution to science or clinical practice.
- Methods
Methods should provide sufficient detail to enable replication.
For Original Research, include:
- Study design
- Participants
- Sampling methods
- Research instruments
- Data collection
- Data analysis
- Ethical approval
For Review Articles, include:
- Research question
- Inclusion criteria
- Search strategy
- Study selection
- Data extraction
- Quality appraisal
- Data synthesis
- PRISMA flow diagram (when applicable)
For Case Reports, include:
- Patient characteristics
- Clinical history
- Diagnostic assessment
- Intervention
- Follow-up
- Ethical approval
- Patient consent
- Results
Results should be presented objectively.
Use:
- tables,
- figures,
- graphs,
- photographs,
only when they improve clarity.
Do not duplicate the same data in both tables and figures.
Each table and figure must be cited in the text.
- Discussion
The Discussion should:
- interpret the findings;
- compare findings with previous studies;
- explain similarities and differences;
- discuss theoretical and clinical implications;
- acknowledge study limitations;
- provide recommendations for future research.
Avoid repeating numerical results.
- Conclusion
The Conclusion should:
- directly answer the research objectives;
- summarize the main findings;
- avoid introducing new information.
- Tables
Tables should:
- be editable (not images);
- use Arabic numbering;
- have titles above the table;
- include explanatory notes below the table if necessary.
- Figures
Figures should:
- have high resolution (minimum 300 dpi);
- use Arabic numbering;
- include captions below the figure;
- be cited sequentially.
- Ethical Approval
Studies involving humans or animals must include:
- name of ethics committee;
- approval number;
- informed consent statement (where applicable).
Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki.
- Conflict of Interest
Authors must declare whether any conflicts of interest exist.
If none exist, state:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Author Contributions
Authors should specify individual contributions using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) whenever possible.
Examples include:
- Conceptualization
- Methodology
- Investigation
- Formal Analysis
- Writing – Original Draft
- Writing – Review & Editing
- Supervision
- Funding
Authors must disclose all funding sources.
If there is no funding, state:
This research received no external funding.
- References
JoSMPt uses APA 7th Edition for citations and references.
Authors are encouraged to use reference management software such as:
- Mendeley
- Zotero
- EndNote
Reference requirements:
- Minimum 25 references.
- At least 80% should be primary research articles.
- Preferably published within the last 10 years, unless citing seminal works.
- Include DOI whenever available.
- Plagiarism Policy
All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software.
Similarity Index should generally not exceed 20%, excluding references, quotations, and standard methodological descriptions.
Manuscripts with excessive similarity may be rejected without peer review.
- Submission Checklist
Before submission, authors should ensure that:
- The manuscript follows the official JoSMPt template.
- The manuscript is written in English.
- The title page is complete.
- The abstract complies with the journal format.
- Keywords are provided.
- Tables and figures are correctly numbered.
- References follow APA 7th Edition.
- Ethical approval has been stated (if applicable).
- Conflict of Interest statement is included.
- Author Contributions are provided.
- Funding statement is included.
- The manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere.
