Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

The Journal of Leadership in Sport and Management (JLSM) is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity and publication ethics. Authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Board are expected to act in accordance with recognised principles of responsible scholarly publishing.

JLSM follows the principles and guidance developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when dealing with suspected misconduct, disputes, corrections, retractions, and other matters concerning publication integrity.

Research Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted work is accurate, honestly reported, and based on research conducted in accordance with appropriate scientific and ethical standards.

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation or omission of data, misleading presentation of results, inappropriate manipulation of images or other research materials, and deliberate misrepresentation of research procedures or findings are unacceptable.

Authors should retain research records and supporting documentation for an appropriate period and should be prepared to provide relevant information to the journal when legitimate questions concerning the integrity of published or submitted work arise.

Originality, Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

Manuscripts submitted to JLSM must represent original work and must not contain plagiarised material.

Text, ideas, data, figures, tables, methods, or other material originating from other sources must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. Plagiarism, including substantial unattributed copying and inappropriate reuse of previously published material, is unacceptable.

A manuscript must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Authors must disclose closely related manuscripts, previous publications, preprints, conference materials, or other outputs when these are relevant to assessing potential overlap.

Redundant or duplicate publication of substantially the same work without appropriate disclosure and justification is not permitted.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant national legislation.

Where ethical approval is required, authors must identify the approving institutional review board, research ethics committee, or equivalent body and provide the approval or reference number when available.

Authors must state whether informed consent was obtained from participants or their legally authorised representatives when required.

Research involving identifiable individuals requires appropriate consent for publication where identification is possible from text, images, videos, case information, or other published material.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international standards for animal welfare and research ethics.

Authors should provide information concerning ethical approval and relevant permissions where required and should describe measures taken to minimise unnecessary harm or suffering.

Vulnerable Populations and Sensitive Research

Research involving children, vulnerable populations, sensitive personal information, or circumstances in which consent may be constrained requires particular ethical consideration.

Editors may request additional documentation or clarification when necessary to establish that appropriate ethical safeguards were applied.

Suspected Research or Publication Misconduct

JLSM takes credible allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously, whether they arise before or after publication.

Potential concerns may include, but are not limited to:

fabrication or falsification of data;
plagiarism;
inappropriate manipulation of research materials;
duplicate or redundant publication;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
inappropriate authorship;
manipulation of peer review;
unethical research practices; and
deliberate misrepresentation of research findings.

When a credible concern is raised, the journal will assess the available information and may request an explanation, original data, ethical documentation, or other relevant materials from the authors.

Where appropriate, JLSM may contact an author’s institution, research integrity office, ethics committee, funding organisation, or other competent body. The journal does not attempt to replace formal institutional investigations where such investigation falls within the responsibility of another organisation.

Editorial Action

Depending on the nature and severity of a concern, editorial action may include suspension of peer review, rejection of a manuscript, publication of a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate action.

Decisions concerning corrections and retractions are made with the primary objective of maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Confidentiality and Fair Process

Allegations of misconduct will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible. Individuals against whom concerns are raised should normally be given an opportunity to respond before substantive editorial action is taken, unless doing so would be inappropriate or could compromise an investigation.

The journal seeks to distinguish genuine error from deliberate misconduct and to ensure that editorial responses are proportionate to the available evidence.

Post-Publication Concerns

JLSM welcomes well-founded notifications concerning possible errors or integrity problems in published articles.

The journal will consider concerns regardless of who raises them. The identity or affiliation of the person reporting a concern will not determine whether the underlying issue is evaluated.

Where necessary, the published record will be corrected in accordance with the journal’s policies on corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern.