If the editors suspect research misconduct in a submitted manuscript, the article in question will be held until the matter is resolved. The editors will contact authors and any appropriate third party to ascertain whether the grounds for investigation are justified. If research misconduct is suspected after a paper is accepted and published, the matter will be investigated according to COPE guidelines. Potential cases of serious research misconduct will be referred to the IJSPT Ethics Committee for evaluation and recommendations for action. The final determination of action will be made by the Editor-in-Chief. Depending upon the seriousness of the misconduct, the paper may be retracted and the authors’ institution may be notified. In any case of serious research misconduct, all authors of such an article may be banned from future publication in IJSPT for a specified period of time or indefinitely.
IJSPT utilizes the CrossCheck system to screen papers for evidence of plagiarism. This includes plagiarism of the works of others, redundant publication, and self-plagiarism. If a submitted paper shows similarities to other papers by the authors, the authors may be asked to modify it or the paper may be rejected. If a submission is plagiarized from the work of others, that submission will be rejected and further sanctions may be instituted as described above. Manipulation or enhancement of any images contained in a manuscript, whether electronic or otherwise, should be declared in the legend to the image.
