Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Psicologia dello Sport e dell’Esercizio

(In accordance with the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors)

1. Mission and Scope

Psicologia dello Sport e dell’Esercizio is a peer-reviewed, open access journal committed to promoting the dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of sport and exercise psychology.
The journal adheres to the highest standards of ethical conduct, transparency, and integrity in all stages of the editorial process.

2. Editorial Responsibilities

The Editorial Board is responsible for ensuring the integrity, quality, and transparency of the review and publication process.

Editors commit to:

Evaluate manuscripts based solely on their academic merit, without discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious belief, citizenship, or political ideology.
Guarantee a fair, unbiased, and confidential double-blind peer review process.
Maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and reviewer identities.
Refrain from using unpublished materials in their own research without the author’s consent.
Take action in cases of suspected research or publication misconduct, following COPE guidelines.
Ensure the journal’s independence from commercial or institutional interests.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play a critical role in maintaining scientific standards and supporting editorial decisions.

Reviewers must:

Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback.
Treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.
Identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
Disclose any conflicts of interest and decline the review if necessary.
Report suspected cases of plagiarism, duplicate publication, or data manipulation to the editors.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting to Psicologia dello Sport e dell’Esercizio agree to the following principles:

Submit original research that has not been published elsewhere or is under review by another journal.
Ensure that the manuscript contains accurate data and that results are presented clearly and honestly.
Properly acknowledge sources and citations.
Declare any financial or personal conflicts of interest.
Identify all authors and contributors appropriately, ensuring that all listed authors have made a significant contribution and approved the final version.
Provide ethical approval details when research involves human participants.
Cooperate with editors to correct or retract the article if significant errors are discovered after publication.

5. Plagiarism and Publication Misconduct

The journal enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward:

Plagiarism (total or partial),
Self-plagiarism without citation,
Data fabrication or falsification,
Gift, guest, or ghost authorship.

All submitted manuscripts are checked with plagiarism detection software.
In confirmed cases of misconduct, the journal follows COPE’s procedures and may retract the article.

6. Corrections, Retractions, and Errata

The Editorial Board ensures transparency and integrity of the scholarly record:

Erratum: minor errors that do not affect results.
Correction Notice: significant errors that require clarification.
Retraction: serious ethical breaches or data falsification.

7. Open Access Policy and License

Psicologia dello Sport e dell’Esercizio publishes all content under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This allows users to share and adapt the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided that proper credit is given to the original author and source.

License link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

8. Privacy and Data Protection

The journal complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Personal data of authors, reviewers, and readers are used exclusively for editorial purposes and will not be shared with third parties without consent.

9. Complaints and Appeals

Authors or reviewers may submit complaints or appeals related to editorial decisions by writing to the Editorial Office.
All complaints will be handled fairly, transparently, and without prejudice.

10. Transparency and Accountability

The journal commits to full transparency by publishing:

Editorial policies and peer review procedures,
Annual statistics (acceptance rate, review time, publication frequency),
Conflict of interest statements when relevant.