Author Guidelines
Instructions for Authors
Thank you for selecting the Journal of Leadership in Sport and Management (JLSM) for your manuscript submission. These guidelines are intended to facilitate a smooth progression of manuscripts through submission, peer review, production, and publication.
All manuscripts must be submitted online through the journal’s submission system.
Manuscript Preparation
General Guidelines
Manuscripts are accepted in English. Authors who are not native English speakers are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts carefully reviewed for language clarity before submission.
Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format (.docx preferred). Use Times New Roman, 11-point font, with double spacing throughout the abstract, main text, and references. Continuous line numbering should be included.
Manuscripts should be arranged in the following sequence: title page, abstract, keywords, main text, funding, acknowledgments, and references. Tables and figures should be placed within the manuscript close to their first citation in the text.
Headings should be clearly distinguished and formatted consistently.
Authors are required to submit two versions of the manuscript:
- a complete version including author information; and
- an anonymized version prepared for double-anonymized peer review.
The anonymized manuscript should not contain information that could reasonably reveal the identity of the authors, including names, affiliations, acknowledgments, identifying self-references, or document metadata.
Title Page
The title page should include:
- manuscript title;
- short running title;
- full names of all authors;
- departmental and institutional affiliations;
- ORCID identifiers, where available;
- full contact details of the corresponding author, including email address.
Abstract
The manuscript should include an unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words.
The abstract should summarize the purpose, approach, main findings, and principal implications of the work and should not contain citations.
The abstract should be followed by 3–6 keywords that appropriately represent the content of the manuscript and, where possible, are not already used in the title.
Main Text
Original research papers should normally begin with an Introduction and conclude with a Conclusions section.
The structure of intermediate sections should reflect the research design and disciplinary conventions appropriate to the manuscript.
Review articles, theoretical papers, conceptual contributions, and case studies may use alternative structures where these better suit the nature of the work.
Authors are encouraged to present their arguments clearly and concisely and to avoid unnecessary repetition.
Funding
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support and grant funding related to the work.
Where applicable, the funding agency and grant or project number should be provided.
If the research received no external funding, this should be stated explicitly.
Acknowledgments
Authors may acknowledge individuals, institutions, or organizations that provided assistance or support but do not meet the criteria for authorship.
Individuals named in the acknowledgments should have agreed to being identified where appropriate.
References
JLSM uses APA 7th edition referencing style.
In-text citations should use the author-date format:
- one author: (Miller, 2017);
- two authors: (Miller & Smith, 1996);
- three or more authors: (Miller et al., 2022).
The reference list should contain only works cited in the manuscript and should be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
Where available, DOIs must be provided in URL format:
https://doi.org/xxxxx
Reference Examples
Journal article
Robinson, G. M., Magnusen, M. J., & Miller, G. (2020). Political skills for sport professionals: Theory, research, and career success implications. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.7290/jasm120202
Book
Barth, B., & Beck, E. (2006). Political skills for sport professionals. Meyer & Meyer Verlag.
Authors should follow APA 7th edition conventions for all other source types.
Figures
Figures should be of sufficient resolution and quality for publication.
All figures must be numbered consecutively according to their first citation in the text.
Multi-panel figures should identify individual panels as (a), (b), (c), etc.
Figure captions should provide sufficient information to understand the figure without requiring extensive reference to the main text.
Where figures contain previously published material, the source and any required permissions must be provided.
If large figure files cause problems during manuscript upload, they may also be submitted separately.
Tables
Tables should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals and cited in the text in numerical order.
Each table should include a concise and informative title.
Explanatory notes should be provided where necessary.
Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters. Asterisks may be used for significance levels and other statistical notation where appropriate.
Previously published material should be clearly identified and appropriately cited.
Editorial and Publishing Policies
Authors submitting to JLSM are required to comply with the journal’s Editorial and Publishing Policies, including policies concerning:
- peer review;
- publication ethics and research integrity;
- authorship and contributorship;
- conflicts of interest and funding;
- research ethics and human participants;
- originality, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and preprints;
- data sharing and reproducibility;
- artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies;
- corrections, retractions, complaints, and appeals;
- copyright, licensing, and open access.
Detailed policies are available on the journal website under Editorial Policies.
Submission Requirements
Before submission, authors should ensure that:
- the manuscript fits the journal’s Aims and Scope;
- the work has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal;
- the manuscript has been prepared according to these guidelines;
- both complete and anonymized manuscript files are provided where required;
- all references and DOIs have been checked;
- all relevant funding, conflict of interest, ethical, and data-related statements have been included;
- all authors have approved the submitted version.
Submission Preparation Checklist
1. Originality and exclusive submission
The manuscript has not been previously published in substantially the same form and is not currently under consideration by another journal. Any relevant preprint or prior dissemination has been disclosed in accordance with the journal’s policies.
2. Aims and Scope
The manuscript is appropriate for the Aims and Scope of the Journal of Leadership in Sport and Management (JLSM).
3. Manuscript preparation
The manuscript has been prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines and is submitted in Microsoft Word format (.docx preferred).
4. Anonymized manuscript
A complete manuscript and an appropriately anonymized version have been prepared for double-anonymized peer review, with identifying information removed from the anonymized file.
5. Authorship
All listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria, have approved the submitted version of the manuscript, and agree to its submission to JLSM.
6. Ethics, conflicts of interest and funding
All applicable research ethics approvals, informed consent requirements, conflicts of interest, and sources of funding have been appropriately disclosed in the manuscript and submission metadata.
7. References and DOI
References have been checked for accuracy and formatted according to APA 7th edition, and DOI links have been provided wherever available.
8. Editorial Policies
The authors have read and agree to comply with the journal’s Editorial and Publishing Policies, including those concerning research integrity, authorship, originality, data transparency, and the use of AI-assisted technologies.