Publication Ethics

Journal of Innovation and Technology in Human Kinetics (J Innov Technol Hum Kinet) is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity, transparency, and credibility of the scholarly record. The journal upholds the highest ethical principles defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to the publication standards expected by Scopus, DOAJ, ICMJE, and TR Dizin. Ethical conduct is expected from all stakeholders—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—throughout all stages of submission, evaluation, and publication.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Originality, Integrity, and Research Conduct

Authors must ensure that manuscripts represent their original scholarly contribution. Data, analyses, and results must be accurate, honestly obtained, and reported without fabrication, manipulation, or improper data selection. Any form of academic dishonesty constitutes grounds for rejection or post-publication action.

Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

All submissions undergo similarity analysis using recognized detection tools. Substantial overlap, unattributed borrowing, or recycled text is considered unethical. Detected violations may result in immediate rejection or retraction, depending on severity.

Authorship and Contribution Transparency

Authorship should reflect genuine scientific participation. Individuals who provided essential contributions to the conception, design, data curation, analysis, or manuscript development must be listed as authors. Improper authorship practices—including gift, guest, or ghost authorship—are strictly prohibited.

Ethical Compliance in Human and Animal Research

Manuscripts involving human participants, athletes, surveys, patient data, or animals must document approval from a recognized ethics committee. Informed consent, confidentiality protection, and adherence to relevant national and institutional regulations are mandatory.

Disclosure of Interests

Authors must openly declare any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence the research or interpretation of findings.

Data Availability and Transparency

Authors should retain raw data associated with their study and must provide access upon editorial request. The journal encourages depositing datasets in reputable repositories.

Redundant or Multiple Submission

Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously or republishing already disseminated work without proper acknowledgement constitutes malpractice and is not tolerated.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Confidentiality and Professional Conduct

Manuscripts provided for review are confidential documents and must not be shared, discussed, or used for personal advantage.

Impartiality and Academic Judgment

Reviewers must evaluate submissions based solely on scientific merit, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field. Personal bias, competitive motives, or conflicts of interest must not influence the assessment.

Identification of Ethical Issues

Reviewers should notify the editors of any concerns related to plagiarism, questionable data integrity, ethical approval deficiencies, or significant overlap with other publications.

Timeliness

Reviewers are expected to complete evaluations within the designated review window or promptly inform the editor if they are unable to do so.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editorial Independence and Objectivity

Editorial decisions are made without discrimination based on nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, race, or political orientation. Decisions rely on scholarly merit and alignment with the journal’s scope.

Integrity of the Peer Review Process

Editors oversee a rigorous double-blind peer review process designed to preserve fairness, confidentiality, and transparency. Manipulation of review outcomes or inappropriate influence on reviewer recommendations is strictly prohibited.

Addressing Ethical Misconduct

Editors follow COPE-recommended procedures when responding to allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism, fabricated data, undeclared conflicts of interest, unethical research practices, and authorship disputes. Outcomes may include rejection, correction, retraction, or notification of institutional authorities.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must refrain from handling manuscripts in which they have a personal or professional conflict and must delegate such submissions to an independent editor.

Maintaining the Scholarly Record

Editors ensure the accuracy and clarity of published work and take corrective action when necessary, including issuing corrigenda, expressions of concern, or retractions.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher supports ethical publishing by:

  • Maintaining robust policies consistent with COPE and Scopus standards
  • Providing transparent editorial and review processes
  • Ensuring permanent digital preservation of published content
  • Supporting the investigation and resolution of ethical concerns

Misconduct, Investigation, and Corrective Measures

All allegations of misconduct are treated seriously. The journal investigates:

  • Plagiarism and duplicate submission
  • Data fabrication or manipulation
  • Image or figure distortion
  • Improper authorship practices
  • Undeclared conflicts of interest
  • Ethical approval violations

Actions taken may include:

  • Manuscript rejection prior to publication
  • Retraction of published content
  • Publication of corrections or expressions of concern
  • Notification of authors’ institutions
  • Restrictions on future submissions

All decisions follow COPE workflow recommendations.

Retractions, Corrections, and Editorial Notes

The journal issues:

  • Retractions for unreliable findings, confirmed misconduct, or breached ethical standards
  • Corrections (Corrigenda) for honest errors that do not compromise the overall integrity
  • Expressions of Concern when investigations are ongoing and clarity is pending

Retracted articles remain accessible with a clear retraction notice to preserve the transparency of the scholarly record.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

This journal acknowledges the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted tools in academic research and scholarly publishing. The journal supports the responsible, transparent, and ethical use of AI technologies, provided that such use does not compromise academic integrity, authorship responsibility, or research ethics.

AI tools cannot replace human authors, reviewers, or editors, nor can they assume responsibility for scholarly content.

AI Use by Authors

Permitted Uses

Authors may use AI-assisted tools solely for supportive purposes, including but not limited to:

  • Language editing, grammar correction, and stylistic improvement
  • Enhancing clarity and readability of the text
  • Generating linguistic suggestions for titles, abstracts, or keywords
  • Improving the wording of tables or figure captions

Such use must not involve the generation of original scientific content, research data, analyses, or conclusions.

Prohibited Uses

The following uses of AI tools are not permitted:

  • Writing substantial portions of the manuscript using AI
  • Generating or manipulating research data, results, or statistical analyses
  • Creating fabricated or unverifiable references
  • Listing AI tools as authors or co-authors

AI tools may not be credited as authors under any circumstances.

Disclosure Requirement

Authors must clearly disclose the use of AI-assisted tools in their manuscript if such tools were employed during preparation.

The disclosure should be included in the Acknowledgements or Declarations section.

Example statement:

“Artificial intelligence–assisted tools were used exclusively for language editing purposes. The authors are fully responsible for the content of the manuscript.”

Failure to provide a disclosure may result in requests for clarification or editorial action.

Ethical Responsibility and Accountability

  • Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work.
  • Any ethical violations arising from AI use (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication, misleading citations) remain the responsibility of the authors.
  • AI tools cannot substitute for ethical approvals, informed consent, or institutional review processes.

AI Use by Reviewers

Reviewers must respect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.

  • Manuscripts or any part thereof must not be uploaded to AI tools that store, reuse, or share data.
  • AI tools may only be used for limited personal support (e.g., language checking of review comments), provided no manuscript content is disclosed.

Peer review decisions must be based on human academic judgment.

AI Use by Editors

Editors may use AI tools to support editorial workflows (e.g., similarity checks or preliminary language assessments), but:

  • Editorial decisions remain the sole responsibility of the editors
  • AI tools must not replace editorial evaluation or decision-making
  • Transparency and fairness in editorial processes must be maintained

Violations and Editorial Actions

In cases of non-compliance with this policy, the journal may take appropriate action, including:

  • Requesting revisions or clarifications
  • Rejecting the manuscript
  • Issuing corrections or initiating retraction procedures for published articles

All actions will be conducted in accordance with internationally accepted publication ethics guidelines.

Policy Updates

This policy may be revised as AI technologies and ethical standards evolve. The most current version will be available on the journal’s website.