Editorial policy

Editorial Policy of the International Academic Journal of Physical Education

1. Introduction and Context

The International Academic Journal of Physical Education is committed to promoting, disseminating, and preserving high-quality scientific knowledge in the fields of physical activity sciences, sports, recreation, and health. In response to the sustained increase in manuscript submissions and with the aim of ensuring editorial excellence, the following guidelines and adjustments are implemented as of July 2025.

2. Initial Review by the Editorial Committee

All submitted manuscripts will undergo a preliminary evaluation by the Editorial Committee. This stage verifies:

  • Thematic alignment with the journal's scope.

  • Formal structure of the manuscript (abstract, keywords, required sections).

  • Methodological quality and rigor.

  • Level of originality and relevance.

Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria will be rejected without external review. This does not imply a lack of quality, but rather that they do not align with the current editorial priorities of the journal.

3. Current Editorial Priorities

  • Theoretical Reviews: Priority is given to quantitative systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and scoping reviews using PRISMA, AMSTAR-2, MOOSE, or REGEMA methodologies. Narrative reviews are not accepted. Other types of reviews must be approved in advance by the editorial board.

  • Didactic Experiences: Only empirical experiences that have been properly implemented and evaluated will be accepted. Protocols, purely theoretical descriptions, and bibliometric analyses are not accepted.

  • Research Articles: Priority will be given to empirical studies with randomized designs and multivariate analyses. Purely descriptive works that do not present significant contributions or lack prior editorial approval will be rejected.

4. Policies on Plagiarism and Artificial Intelligence Use

  • A maximum similarity index of 15% is allowed (excluding references), as determined by plagiarism detection software. Higher percentages may be accepted only with documented justification.

  • Authors found guilty of serious plagiarism or self-plagiarism will be sanctioned with a five (5) year ban on submitting articles.

  • The use of artificial intelligence tools must be clearly declared, specifying the software used and the manuscript stages involved.

  • All manuscripts will be analyzed with Turnitin before final publication.

  • The journal will retrospectively review publications from 2021 to detect and retract works with unethical practices.

5. Transparency, Authorship, and Peer Review

  • All articles undergo double-blind peer review.

  • A public list of reviewers is maintained and updated periodically.

  • Authorship order cannot be modified after submission. Any changes will result in rejection or sanction.

  • Each issue will allow a maximum of one article per first author and another as co-author.

  • In a calendar year, an author may not participate in more than 1.5% of the total publications.

  • Maximum number of authors per article: 8. Exceptions require written authorization from the editorial board.

6. Formal Manuscript Requirements

  • Concise title (12–20 words), in both Spanish and English.

  • Structured abstract (max. 250 words), in both languages.

  • Keywords (3–5), in both languages.

  • Structure: introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and references.

  • Citation style: APA 7th edition.

  • All references must include their DOI (when applicable).

  • Self-citations should not exceed 10% of the total. Manuscripts with excessive or irrelevant self-citations will be rejected.

7. Mandatory Submission Template

As of July 2025, all manuscripts must be submitted using the official template available on the journal's website.

8. Ethical and Quality Commitment

The International Academic Journal of Physical Education declares its strong commitment to transparency, scientific rigor, fair evaluation, and the fight against unethical editorial practices. Any breach of these rules may result in article retraction and sanctioning of the authors involved.