Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal wants to assure the readers that authors of publications present the results of their work in an honest, reliable, and clear manner. We believe in the ethical meaning of all manuscripts in order to develop the knowledge in the field.
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal Editorial Board follows the industry associations, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) that set standards and provide guidelines for best practices in order to meet the appropriate requirements. Scientific articles not conforming to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki should be rejected for publication.
In the context of data publication, Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal follows community best practices on data publishing ethics and aligns with the recommendations and workflows published by the FORCE11 & COPE Research Data PUblishing Ethics Working Group.
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal will follow up on any ethical concerns about the data associated with a submitted manuscript or a published article. Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal will follow due process in accordance with COPE guidelines and the FORCE11 & COPE Working Group recommendations to inform whether any actions may be required about a dataset or an article.
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal reserves the right to remove or disable access or links to a published dataset and/or associated content in order to address a legal or ethical concern, a publication ethics issue, or a breach in journal policy.
Per the Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal discretion, we may also remove access to published data and/or linked articles while such concerns are under investigation. In the context of any data publishing concerns, Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal may contact other parties that host content associated with the dataset (e.g. a data repository) and may contact the institution(s) of relevant authors if required.
https://publicationethics.org/sites/default/files/concerns-legal-unpublished-data_0.pdf
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal follows legal framework and obligations in Romania and may have a legal obligation to inform the authorities in its own jurisdiction if a legal breach is identified in relation to the content in a submission or a publication in the journal.
When dealing with cases of a possible misconduct Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal follows the ethics flowcharts developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts
The journal Editorial Board and Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to expose any cases of plagiarism, redundant (duplicate) publication, ghostwriting, fabricated data, guest authorship etc., and to inform the relevant institutions or affiliations (institutions employing the author, scientific editor’s associations, scientific societies, etc.).
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal shows no tolerance to fraudulent activities. The Journal’s Editorial Board follows the code of conduct set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
In the case of a published article for which concerns are raised, the journal will do all the necessary actions for the manuscript to be re-reviewed, in accordance with guidance from the COPE. Therefore, the editorial decision will be made based on the re-reviews and this may result in correcting the academic record.
Duties and responsibilities of authors
1) Authors should present their results honestly, without inappropriate data manipulation and without competing interests. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit other researchers to replicate the study. Scientific articles should follow the submission guidelines of the journal.
2) Authors are obliged to participate in peer review process, to correct any errors upon discovery, prior or subsequent to publication of their manuscript.
3) Submitting the same paper to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior.
4) The paper should not be published elsewhere prior to acceptance/rejection by this Journal and a copyright permission should be obtained for materials published elsewhere and which require this permission for reproduction.
5) Previous ideas, publications should be properly referenced. We encourage authors to cite the primary literature. Multiple papers arising from the same research project should be identified, the primary publication being referenced. Acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
6) Authors should expose the authorship of the paper, by ensuring that: all who participated are credited and have given consent for publication; all persons credited as authors participated in the actual authorship of the work. Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal in the matter of authorship criteria, respects COPE recommendations.
7) Author(s) are responsible for disclosing all personal and financial relationships that might bias their work. All sources of financial support should be disclosed.
8) Before accepting the manuscript for publication, authors can withdraw the article by submitting a statement in the electronic system - Open Journal Systems (OJS).
For Reviewers
- Articles respect double-blind peer review process (the identity of both the reviewers and authors is hidden), therefore, information regarding the paper should be kept confidential.
- The reviewers must alert journal Editorial Board (www.discobolulunefs.ro) of any potential competing interest that could affect the quality of the review, and should not consider the manuscripts (should decline the review).
- Reviewers (if is a legitimate need) should point out important published manuscripts which are not yet cited; all judgments in the peer-review process must be objective and reviewers should express their point of view with supporting arguments.
- The reviewers must agree to review a manuscript only if they are aware that they can return a review in a reasonable time-frame (two weeks); reviewers should inform journal Editorial Board if they require an extension.
We encourage reviewers to refer to the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers as appropriate.
Duties of Editor
The Editor can accept, reject, or request modifications to the paper, based on the reviewers observations. During this process, editors must act fair and objective, without discrimination of religious, gender, political beliefs, geographical origin or sexual orientation of the authors.
Editors must cooperate with authors and reviewers, in order to ensure a qualitative, unbiased review process, and, in the same time, the confidentiality of the reviewing process. Editors should not be involved in decisions about manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal adopts the World Association of Medical Editors’ definition of editorial freedom/ independence. Therefore, Editor-in-Chief has the final say in decisions about which manuscript and when appears. Authors are obliged to respect the concept of editorial freedom and should not interfere in the selection, evaluation, scheduling, or editing of individual papers.
In the situation when there are concerns regarding the research procedure presented in the scientific article, the journal Editorial Board can request from the authors to submit data considering the approval of the mentioned research procedure by an adequate ethics committee.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when personal, financial, professional, or institutional relationships may inappropriately influence or appear to influence an individual’s objectivity in conducting or evaluating scholarly work.
Conflicts of interest can be:
- Financial: e.g., grants, projects, consulting fees.
- Non-financial: e.g., personal relationships, academic rivalry, ideological beliefs.
Authors
Disclosure Requirement - Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest relevant to the manuscript. This includes:
- Funding sources
- Employment or consultancies
- Personal relationships with reviewers or editors.
How to Disclose
- A mandatory conflict of interest statement must be included with each manuscript (follow Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal Template).
- If no conflict of interest exists, a declaration such as: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest” must be stated.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest discovered post-publication may result in correction, retraction, or other editorial action.
Reviewers
Obligation to Recuse
Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest that may compromise objectivity. This includes:
- Personal or professional ties to authors
- Competing research interests
- Financial incentives
If a conflict of interest exists - Reviewers must decline the invitation.
Confidentiality - Reviewers must not use knowledge of the manuscript for personal gain.
Editors and Journal Staff
Transparency - Editors and staff must disclose conflicts of interest relating to:
- Handling manuscripts from colleagues, collaborators, or institutions
- Financial interests in outcomes of publication.
Editorial Recusal - Editors must not make decisions on manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists.
Management - An alternate editor or editorial board member without conflict of interest will handle such cases.
Publisher/ Journal Owner
Editorial Independence
All policies and decisions in the case of Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal uphold:
- Editorial autonomy
- Transparency
- Integrity of the peer review process
Retractions
Articles within Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal may be retracted for:
- Plagiarism;
- Fabricated or falsified data;
- Unethical research;
- Undisclosed conflicts of interest that invalidate conclusions;
- Major errors affecting reliability.
Retraction Process:
- Initiation: By authors, editors, or third parties.
- Investigation: Transparent and thorough; author response sought.
- Notice: Clearly labeled as a “Retraction”; explains reasons and responsible parties.
- Accessibility: Retraction remains linked to the original article and freely available.
Commitment to Ethical Publishing
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal adheres to the COPE Core Practices and is committed to ensuring transparency, integrity, and accountability throughout the publication process.
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sports and Kinetotherapy Journal
Applicable to Authors, Reviewers, and Editors
This policy outlines acceptable use of generative AI technologies (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude etc) in manuscript preparation, peer review, and editorial processes. It ensures transparency, integrity, and accountability in the scientific publication process, specifically within the domain of sport science.
For Authors
Permissible Uses:
- Language editing and clarity improvement (e.g., grammar correction, restructuring sentences).
- Idea generation or brainstorming (must be independently validated).
- Formatting assistance or summarizing prior published work (with proper citations).
Where authors use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should only be used to improve readability and language of the work. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control and authors should carefully review and edit the result, because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. The authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.
Prohibited Uses:
- Automated generation of research data, results, or statistical analyses.
- Ghostwriting of sections (e.g., introduction, discussion) without full disclosure.
- Failure to acknowledge AI assistance in manuscript creation.
Disclosure Requirement:
If AI tools are used, authors must clearly disclose in the manuscript (e.g., in the Acknowledgements or a dedicated section) specifying:
Tool name and version (e.g., "ChatGPT, GPT-4, OpenAI")
Nature of use (e.g., "used for language editing of draft")
Confirmation that all scientific claims were human-validated.
Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies and a statement will appear in the published work. Declaring the use of these technologies supports transparency and trust between authors, readers, reviewers, editors and contributors and facilitates compliance with the terms of use of the relevant tool or technology.
Example of Statement:
“The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI, GPT-4) to enhance clarity in the introduction. All content was critically reviewed and verified by the authors.”
Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans. Each (co-) author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved and authorship requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and agree to its submission.
For Reviewers
When a researcher is invited to review another researcher’s paper, the manuscript must be treated as a confidential document. Reviewers should not upload a submitted manuscript or any part of it into a generative AI tool as this may violate the authors’ confidentiality and proprietary rights and, where the paper contains personally identifiable information, may breach data privacy rights.
Reviewing a scientific manuscript implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans. Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies should not be used by reviewers to assist in the scientific review of a paper as the critical thinking and original assessment needed for peer review is outside of the scope of this technology and there is a risk that the technology will generate incorrect, incomplete or biased conclusions about the manuscript. The reviewer is responsible and accountable for the content of the review report.
Permissible Uses:
Clarifying manuscript language via AI for non-native speakers.
Summarizing long sections to assist comprehension (if not shared externally).
Prohibited Uses:
Uploading or copying any part of the manuscript into AI tools not governed by strict confidentiality agreements.
Using AI tools to generate review content or decisions without critical oversight.
Confidentiality
Reviewers must not input confidential manuscript content into AI tools unless explicitly allowed by the journal under secure systems. Breach of confidentiality will be treated as a serious ethical violation.
For Editors
A submitted manuscript must be treated as a confidential document. Editors should not upload a submitted manuscript or any part of it into a generative AI tool as this may violate the authors’ confidentiality and proprietary rights and, where the paper contains personally identifiable information, may breach data privacy rights.
Editors may not use AI to generate or finalize editorial decisions (accept/reject). Editors hold a fiduciary duty to maintain the confidentiality of all submitted content. When AI tools are used, please ensure no sensitive manuscript content (e.g., figures, raw data, personal identifiers) is uploaded to third-party platforms without journal-approved security.
Permissible Uses:
Administrative support: summarizing author responses, aiding editorial letters. Drafting standard communications (e.g., revision requests, reminders).
Workflow efficiency: matching reviewers, formatting decisions.
Language refinement: Editing internal notes, correspondence, or editorial summaries.
Prohibited Uses:
Delegating editorial judgment or acceptance/rejection decisions to AI tools.
Relying on AI-generated summaries without independent editorial assessment.
Oversight Duties
Editors are responsible for ensuring that AI disclosures by authors are complete.
AI tools may be used internally under strict compliance with data confidentiality policies.
General Ethical Guidelines
Generative AI must never replace human accountability in scientific publishing.
Use of AI must adhere to COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and ICMJE guidelines.
Violations may result in manuscript rejection, retraction, or disciplinary action.
Discobolul states that authors are allowed to use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process before submission, but only to improve the language and readability of their paper and with the appropriate disclosure (see instructions above).
If an editor suspects that an author or a reviewer has violated our AI policies, they should inform the editorial office.
Periodic Review
This policy will be updated periodically to reflect advances in AI technologies and evolving ethical standards in scholarly publishing.
*Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data. Examples include ChatGPT, NovelAI, Jasper AI, Rytr AI, DALL-E, etc.