JPSTR: Journal of Physical Sport, Therapy and Rehabilitation is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by Cakra Education Sains. This statement explains the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing articles in this journal, as well as alleged research violations, including the authors, Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board, peer reviewers, and publisher. This statement is based on the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Guidelines for Journal Publication Ethics

Articles published in JPSTR: Journal of Physical Sport, Therapy and Rehabilitation are important building blocks in developing a coherent and respected body of knowledge in physical education, sport science, sports therapy, rehabilitation, health, and related disciplines. Peer-reviewed articles reflect the quality of the work conducted by authors and the institutions supporting them. Therefore, all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, peer reviewers, publishers, and readers, must comply with the expected standards of ethical conduct.

The publisher of JPSTR: Journal of Physical Sport, Therapy and Rehabilitation takes responsibility for safeguarding all stages of the publication process. The journal recognizes its ethical, academic, and professional responsibilities and is committed to ensuring that advertising, reprints, article processing charges, sponsorship, or other commercial revenue do not influence editorial decisions.

Alleged Research Misconduct

Research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, plagiarism, unethical data manipulation, and other improper practices committed during the preparation, conduct, review, or reporting of research. When authors are suspected of research misconduct or serious irregularities involving an article submitted to or published by JPSTR, the editors are responsible for protecting the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

In cases of suspected misconduct, the Editors and Editorial Board of JPSTR will follow the best practices and procedures recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics. This process may include an initial investigation conducted by the editor, communication with the authors, consultation with reviewers or independent experts, and coordination with the authors’ institutions where appropriate. Manuscripts found to contain serious misconduct may be rejected. When misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction linked to the original article.

The first stage involves determining the credibility of the allegation and evaluating whether the reported conduct meets the definition of research misconduct. The journal will also determine whether the person making or being subject to the allegation has any relevant conflict of interest.

When scientific errors or substantial research irregularities may have occurred, the allegations will be communicated to the corresponding author, who will be asked to provide a detailed response on behalf of all co-authors. After the response has been evaluated, the journal may seek additional review or assistance from subject specialists, statistical reviewers, ethical experts, or relevant institutions.

Authors, journals, publishers, and research institutions share responsibility for maintaining the accuracy of the scholarly record. By responding appropriately to concerns regarding scientific errors and research misconduct, and by issuing corrections, retractions, or other necessary notices, JPSTR: Journal of Physical Sport, Therapy and Rehabilitation will continue to fulfil its responsibility to protect the validity, reliability, and integrity of published research.

Publication Decisions

The editor is responsible for deciding which manuscripts submitted to JPSTR should be published. Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript’s scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, contribution to knowledge, and recommendations from peer reviewers. Editors must also comply with legal requirements concerning defamation, copyright infringement, plagiarism, confidentiality, and research ethics. The editor may consult other editors, reviewers, or experts when making publication decisions.

Complaints and Appeals

JPSTR: Journal of Physical Sport, Therapy and Rehabilitation maintains a transparent procedure for handling complaints and appeals concerning the journal, Editorial Team, Editorial Board, peer reviewers, publisher, or editorial decisions. Complaints may relate to editorial processes, citation manipulation, conflicts of interest, unfair editorial decisions, inappropriate reviewer conduct, plagiarism, publication delays, or peer-review manipulation.

Complaints and appeals will be handled fairly, confidentially, and according to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics. Authors must provide clear reasons and supporting evidence when submitting an appeal against an editorial decision. Complaints and ethical concerns may be directed to cakra.jpstr@gmail.com.

Post-Publication Discussion

JPSTR supports responsible post-publication discussion. Readers, researchers, and authors may submit comments, responses, letters to the editor, or evidence-based criticisms concerning published articles. Where appropriate, such discussions may be published on the journal website, as correspondence, or through moderated external scholarly platforms.

Fair Play

Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts solely on their academic merit, originality, relevance, scientific quality, and alignment with the scope of JPSTR. Editorial evaluation must not be influenced by the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliation, disability, or political philosophy.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must not disclose information concerning submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, co-authors, reviewers, prospective reviewers, editorial advisers, and publisher, where appropriate. All submitted manuscripts and related correspondence must be treated as confidential documents.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials, data, information, or ideas disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by editors or editorial staff for their own research or personal benefit without the written consent of the authors. Editors must withdraw from handling manuscripts in which they have financial, professional, institutional, personal, or collaborative conflicts of interest.

Data Sharing Policy

JPSTR: Journal of Physical Sport, Therapy and Rehabilitation supports open, transparent, and reproducible research. Authors are encouraged to share research data associated with their published articles, provided that such sharing does not violate ethical approval, participant confidentiality, privacy regulations, intellectual property rights, or contractual restrictions.

Research data may include raw data, processed data, statistical codes, software, algorithms, research instruments, intervention protocols, measurement procedures, rehabilitation protocols, training programmes, and other materials necessary to verify or reproduce the findings. Authors should provide a data availability statement explaining where the data can be accessed or why the data cannot be publicly shared.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer reviewers assist the editors of JPSTR in making publication decisions. Constructive reviewer comments also help authors improve the scientific quality, methodological transparency, clarity, and presentation of their manuscripts.

Appropriateness

Any invited reviewer who considers themselves unqualified to evaluate the research reported in a manuscript, has a conflict of interest, or cannot complete the review within the required period must promptly notify the editor and decline the review invitation.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, distribute, reproduce, discuss, or use manuscript content without authorization from the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews must be conducted objectively, systematically, respectfully, and constructively. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers must clearly explain their assessments and provide sufficient scholarly arguments and evidence to support their recommendations.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published studies that have not been appropriately cited by the authors. Statements indicating that findings, methods, arguments, or interpretations have previously been reported should be supported by appropriate references. Reviewers must also inform the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published or submitted works of which they are aware.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal benefit. Reviewers must not evaluate manuscripts where they have financial, institutional, personal, competitive, collaborative, supervisory, or other relationships that could influence their objectivity.

Authors' Duties

Reporting Standards

Authors reporting original research in physical education, sport science, sports therapy, rehabilitation, health, and related disciplines must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Research data must be represented honestly and accurately. Manuscripts must contain sufficient methodological details, analytical procedures, and references to allow other researchers to understand, evaluate, and, where possible, replicate the study.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are original. When the work, ideas, data, figures, tables, instruments, or words of others are used, they must be appropriately cited and acknowledged. Plagiarism in any form, including direct plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and unattributed paraphrasing, constitutes unethical publication behavior and is unacceptable.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publications

Authors must not submit substantially the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Publishing research that substantially duplicates previously published work without appropriate disclosure, justification, and citation is considered unethical publication behavior.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Authors must appropriately acknowledge all sources that influenced the conception, design, methods, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of their research. Publications relevant to the research context and findings should be properly cited.

Authorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, drafting, or critical revision of the manuscript. All individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions must be listed as co-authors.

Individuals who contributed to limited aspects of the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged as contributors. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included, that inappropriate individuals are not listed as authors, and that all authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and its submission to JPSTR.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research findings or their interpretation. All sources of research funding and institutional support must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript.

Fundamental Errors in Published Work

When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in an article published by JPSTR, they must promptly notify the Editor-in-Chief or publisher and cooperate with the journal in correcting or retracting the article as appropriate.

Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, athletes, patients, children, vulnerable populations, animals, biological samples, medical or rehabilitation interventions, physical training programmes, potentially hazardous procedures, or confidential personal data must comply with applicable ethical standards and regulations.

Authors must clearly report approval from an appropriate institutional ethics committee or review board, including the approval number where applicable. Research involving human participants must also explain how informed consent was obtained. For studies involving children or participants unable to provide independent consent, permission must be obtained from parents, guardians, or legally authorized representatives.

Authors must protect participant privacy and confidentiality. Any identifiable information, photographs, medical information, performance records, or personal data may only be published when appropriate consent has been obtained. Potential risks associated with exercise, sports interventions, therapeutic procedures, rehabilitation programmes, equipment, chemicals, or other research activities must be clearly identified and appropriately managed.