Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Advances in Health and Exercise (Adv Health Exerc) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal follows the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expects all parties involved in the publishing process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—to adhere to these ethical standards.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to present an accurate, objective, and transparent account of their research. Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. All sources must be appropriately cited, and any use of others’ work must be clearly acknowledged.

Plagiarism in any form, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, and redundant submission are considered unethical and unacceptable practices. Review articles must provide a balanced, comprehensive, and accurate overview of the current state of knowledge.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of their scholarly merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Editorial decisions are made independently of commercial or personal interests.

Editors are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the academic record and will take appropriate action in cases of suspected misconduct, including plagiarism, ethical violations, or data manipulation. Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in editors’ own research without the explicit written consent of the authors.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

All manuscripts received for peer review are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must conduct evaluations objectively, constructively, and without personal bias. Any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the editor, and reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to provide a timely review should decline the invitation.

Information obtained during peer review must not be used for personal advantage or shared with third parties.

Research Ethics and Ethical Approval

Advances in Health and Exercise adheres to national and international ethical standards for research involving humans and animals. Ethical approval from an appropriate Research Ethics Committee is required for studies involving:

  • Human participants (including surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or experiments)

  • Clinical research involving humans

  • Research involving animals

  • Use of personal or sensitive data

  • Retrospective studies conducted in accordance with applicable data protection laws

Authors must clearly state the ethical approval details in the manuscript, including the name of the ethics committee and approval number, where applicable.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

The journal recognizes the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted tools in scholarly publishing and supports their responsible, transparent, and ethical use.

AI tools may not replace human authorship, editorial judgment, or peer review, nor can they assume responsibility for scholarly content.

AI Use by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for supportive purposes only, such as language editing, grammar correction, and improving clarity and readability. AI tools must not be used to generate original scientific content, research data, analyses, conclusions, or references.

AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Disclosure is mandatory when AI tools are used. Authors must include a statement in the Acknowledgements or Declarations section.
Example:

“Artificial intelligence–assisted tools were used exclusively for language editing purposes. The authors are fully responsible for the content of the manuscript.”

AI Use by Reviewers

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or any part of them to AI tools that store, reuse, or share data. AI tools may only be used for limited personal support (e.g., language checking of review comments), provided that manuscript confidentiality is fully preserved. Peer-review decisions must rely on human academic judgment.

AI Use by Editors

Editors may use AI tools to support editorial workflows (e.g., similarity checks or preliminary language assessments). However, all editorial decisions remain the sole responsibility of the editors, and transparency and fairness in the editorial process must be maintained.

Violations and Editorial Actions

In cases of ethical misconduct or non-compliance with journal policies, the journal may take appropriate actions, including requesting revisions, rejecting manuscripts, issuing corrections, or initiating retraction procedures, in accordance with internationally accepted publication ethics guidelines.

Policy Updates

This policy may be updated periodically in response to developments in ethical standards, publishing practices, and AI technologies. The most current version will be available on the journal’s website.