Terms and Conditions
Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics (JIIA) is committed to maintaining high standards of integrity, transparency, fairness, and ethical conduct throughout the scholarly publishing process. Authors, editors, reviewers, and the journal’s publisher share responsibility for protecting the credibility of the scholarly record.
Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are expected to submit work that is original, accurate, and appropriately documented. Manuscripts must not contain fabricated, falsified, or manipulated data, and all sources, ideas, and language derived from the work of others must be properly acknowledged.
Authors should not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal or publish substantially overlapping work without appropriate disclosure. Any potential conflicts of interest, sources of funding, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation should be disclosed.
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made meaningful scholarly contributions to the work. All listed authors should approve the manuscript and agree to its submission. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged as appropriate.
Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements. Authors should obtain appropriate institutional review or approval when required and should protect the privacy, confidentiality, and rights of research participants.
Authors are responsible for promptly notifying the journal if they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in a submitted or published manuscript and for cooperating with the journal in correcting the scholarly record.
Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts fairly and objectively on the basis of their scholarly merit, relevance to the journal, methodological quality, and contribution to the field. Editorial decisions should not be influenced by an author’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, citizenship, institutional affiliation, political views, or other unrelated personal characteristics.
Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and should not use unpublished information obtained through the editorial process for personal or professional advantage.
Editors should disclose and appropriately manage any actual or potential conflicts of interest. When a conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, editorial impartiality, responsibility for the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
Peer reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations of manuscripts. Reviews should focus on the scholarly content of the submission and should be expressed respectfully and professionally.
Reviewers must treat manuscripts and associated materials as confidential. They should not share, distribute, or use unpublished information obtained through the review process for personal benefit or competitive advantage.
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited when possible and should alert the editor to suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or other potential research or publication misconduct.
Reviewers should decline an invitation to review when they lack the necessary expertise, cannot complete the review within the requested timeframe, or have a conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality.
Conflicts of Interest
Authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to disclose financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or judgment. The journal will take appropriate steps to manage disclosed conflicts and preserve the independence and integrity of editorial decisions.
Plagiarism, Fabrication, Falsification, and Duplicate Publication
JIIA does not tolerate plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate manipulation of research materials, or knowingly misleading representation of scholarly work. Submissions may be evaluated for originality and potential overlap with previously published material.
Manuscripts found to contain significant plagiarism, fabricated or falsified information, undisclosed duplicate publication, or other serious ethical violations may be rejected. If misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate notice.
Corrections, Retractions, and the Scholarly Record
JIIA is committed to maintaining an accurate scholarly record. When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal will review the matter and take appropriate corrective action. Depending on the circumstances, this may include publishing a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or retraction.
Corrections and retractions will be presented transparently and linked to the original publication whenever practicable.
Allegations of Misconduct
Allegations of research or publication misconduct will be considered carefully, fairly, and confidentially. The journal may request additional information from authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other relevant parties when necessary to evaluate a concern.
The journal will seek to distinguish honest error or legitimate scholarly disagreement from misconduct. When appropriate, matters may be referred to an author’s institution or another relevant body for further investigation.
Peer Review Confidentiality and Integrity
Materials submitted to JIIA are treated as confidential during the peer-review and editorial process. Editors and reviewers must not disclose manuscript content or information about the review process except as necessary for the legitimate operation of the journal.
Attempts to manipulate the peer-review process, including the submission of false reviewer identities, inappropriate influence over reviewers, or other deceptive practices, may result in rejection and additional corrective action.
Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are made independently and are based on the quality, relevance, rigor, and scholarly contribution of submitted manuscripts. Commercial, institutional, personal, or other external interests should not improperly influence editorial decisions.
Commitment to Ethical Publishing
JIIA is committed to addressing ethical concerns in a fair, consistent, and transparent manner and to taking appropriate action when credible concerns regarding the integrity of published or submitted work arise. All participants in the publication process are expected to uphold the principles of responsible scholarly communication and contribute to the integrity of the academic record.