Editorial Policies

Section Policies

Original scientific papers are the results of empirically- or theoretically-based scientific research, which employ scientific methods, and which report experimental or observational aspects of sports science and medicine, such as all clinical aspects of exercise, health, and sport; exercise physiology and biophysical investigation of sports performance; sport biomechanics; sports nutrition; rehabilitation, physiotherapy; sports psychology; sport pedagogy, sport history, sport philosophy, sport sociology, sport management; and all aspects of scientific support of the sports coaches from the natural, social and humanistic side. Descriptive analyses or data inferences should include rigorous methodological structure as well as sound theory. Your manuscript should include the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

  • Open Submissions
  • Indexed
  • Peer Reviewed

Review papers should provide concise in-depth reviews of both established and new areas, based on a critical examination of the literature, analyzing the various approaches to a specific topic in all aspects of sports science and medicine, such as all clinical aspects of exercise, health, and sport; exercise physiology and biophysical investigation of sports performance; sport biomechanics; sports nutrition; rehabilitation, physiotherapy; sports psychology; sport pedagogy, sport history, sport philosophy, sport sociology, sport management; and all aspects of scientific support of the sports coaches from the natural, social and humanistic side.

  • Open Submissions
  • Indexed
  • Peer Reviewed

Editorials are written or commissioned by the editors, but suggestions for possible topics and authors are welcome. It could be peer reviewed by two reviewers who may be external or by the Editorial Board.

  • Open Submissions
  • Indexed
  • Peer Reviewed

Short reports of experimental work, new methods, or a preliminary report can be accepted as two page papers. Your manuscript should include the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

  • Open Submissions
  • Indexed
  • Peer Reviewed

Peer review - fair review provides authors who feel their paper has been unfairly rejected (at any journal) the opportunity to share reviewer comments, explain their concerns, and have their paper reviewed for possible publication in MJSSM.

  • Open Submissions
  • Indexed
  • Peer Reviewed

Invited papers and award papers include invited papers from authors with outstanding scientific credentials. Nomination of invited authors is at the discretion of the MJSSM Editorial Board. MJSSM also publishes award papers selected by the scientific committee of the International Scientific Conference on Transformation Processes in Sport.

  • Open Submissions
  • Indexed
  • Peer Reviewed

Peer Review Process

An original manuscript submitted for publication will be submitted to the review process as long as it fits the following criteria:

  • The study was not previously published, nor has been submitted simultaneously for consideration of publication elsewhere;
  • All persons listed as authors approved its submission to MJSSM;
  • Any person cited as a source of personal communication has approved the quote;
  • The opinions expressed by the authors are their exclusive responsibility;
  • The author signs a formal statement that the submitted manuscript complies with the directions and guidelines of MJSSM.

The editors-in-chief, executive editor and associate editors will make a preliminary analysis regarding the appropriateness, quality, originality and written style/grammar of the submitted manuscript. The editors reserve the right to request additional information, corrections, and guideline compliance before they submit the manuscript to the ad-hoc review process.

MJSSM uses ad-hoc reviewers, who volunteer to analyze the merit of the study. Typically, one or two expert reviewers are consulted in a double-blind process. Authors are notified by e-mail when their submission has been accepted (or rejected). Minor changes in the text may be made at the discretion of the the editors-in-chief, executive editor and/or associate editors. Changes can include spelling and grammar in the chosen language, written style, journal citations, and reference guidelines. The author is notified of changes via email. The final version is available to the author for his or her approval before it is published.

Submitted material includes:

  • A manuscript prepared according to the Guidelines for the Authors;
  • A signed form that states the study was not previously published, nor has been submitted simultaneously for consideration of publication elsewhere, that states that all of the authors are in agreement with submission of the manuscript to MJSSM, and that, for studies that use animal or human individuals, authors must include information regarding their institution’s ethics committee, and which identifies the official approval number [download];
  • A signed form that there is no conflict of interest [download].

Open Access License and Publisher Copyright Policies

MJSSM applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to articles and other works it publishes. If author(s) submit its paper for publication by MJSSM, they agree to have the CC BY license applied to their work. Under this Open Access license, the author(s) agree that anyone can reuse their article in whole or part for any purpose, for free, even for commercial purposes. Anyone may copy, distribute, or reuse the content as long as the author(s) and original source are properly cited. This facilitates freedom in re-use and also ensures that MJSSM content can be mined without barriers for the needs of research. On the other hand, the author(s) may use content owned by someone else in their article if they have written permission to do so. If the manuscript contains content such as photos, images, figures, tables, audio files, videos, et cetera, that the author(s) do not own, MJSSM will require them to provide it with proof that the owner of that content has given them written permission to use it, and has approved of the CC BY license being applied to their content. Otherwise, MJSSM will ask the author(s) to remove that content and/or replace it with other content that you own or have such permission to use. MJSSM provides a form the author(s) can use to ask for and obtain permission from the owner [download].

In addition, the author(s) may freely use the content they previously published in a paper through another publisher and they own the rights to that content; however, that’s not necessarily the case and it depends on the license that covers the other paper. Some publishers allow free and unrestricted reuse of article content they own, such as under the CC BY license. Other publishers use licenses that allow reuse only if the same license is applied by the person or publisher reusing the content. If the article was published under a CC BY license or another license that allows free and unrestricted use, the author(s) may use the content in the submitted manuscript provided that the author(s) give proper attribution, as explained above. If the content was published under a more restrictive license, the author(s) must ascertain what rights they have under that license. MJSSM advices the author(s) not to include any content in the submitted manuscript which they do not have rights to use, and always give proper attribution.

The editors of MJSSM consider plagiarism to be a serious breach of academic ethics. Any author who practices plagiarism (in part or totality) will be suspended for six years from submitting new submissions to MJSSM. If such a manuscript is approved and published, public exposure of the article with a printed mark (“plagiarized” or "retracted") on each page of the published file, as well as suspension for future publication for at least six years, or a period determined by the editorial board. Third party plagiarized authors or institutions will be notified, informing them about the faulty authors. Plagiarism will result in immediate rejection of the manuscript.

MJSSM only publishes studies that have been approved by an institutional ethics committee (when a study involves humans or animals). Fail to provide such information prevent its publication. To ensure these requirements, it is essential that submission documentation is complete. If you have not completed this step yet, go to MJSSM website and fill out the two required documents: Declaration of Potential Conflict of Interest and Authorship Statement. Whether or not your study uses humans or animals, these documents must be completed and signed by all authors and attached as supplementary files in the originally submitted manuscript.

MJSSM adopts the APA guidelines

Since January 2014, MJSSM uses the APA guidelines (American Psychological Association) (slightly modified, see also Guidelines for Authors) for writing style, references, citations, and other technical details. Some links for purchasing the APA manual and free-access APA resources.
http://www.apastyle.org/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/apa

Code of Conduct Ethics Committee of Publications

MJSSM is hosting the Code of Conduct Ethics Committee of Publications of the COPE (the Committee on Publication Ethics), which provides a forum for publishers and Editors of scientific journals to discuss issues relating to the integrity of the work submitted to or published in their journals.