Publication Ethics

The editorial board of the scientific journal "Martial arts" in its activities is guided by international ethical rules for scientific publications, which include rules of decency, confidentiality, supervision of publications and prevention of possible abuse. The publication's policy is based on the recommendations of the Committee on Ethics of Scientific Publications (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the San Francisco Declaration on the Evaluation of Scientific Research (DORA).

  • The editorial board bears full responsibility for deciding which of the submitted papers will be published. This decision is based solely on the scientific value, novelty, and methodological quality of the article, regardless of the political situation, the commercial interests of the founder, or the personal characteristics of the authors.
  • The editorial board constantly monitors compliance with ethical standards at all stages: from manuscript submission to its archiving.

The editorial board is guided by the norms  of the Law of Ukraine "On Education"  and  the Law of Ukraine "On Academic Integrity", which determine the legal mechanisms for ensuring integrity in scientific activity. All participants in the editorial process (authors, reviewers, editors) are obliged to adhere to the principles of academic integrity.

    • Prohibition of publishing other people's results as your own without proper references.
    • Data fabrication or improper use of results generated by artificial intelligence is not allowed .
    • Prohibition of alienation or attribution of authorship to persons who did not participate in the research.
  • In case of detection of violations (plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication), the editorial board acts in accordance with Articles 34–40 of the Law "On Academic Integrity", which may include refusal to publish, withdrawal (retraction) of an already published article, and notification of the author's institution of the fact of the violation.

 

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR AUTHORS

Duplicate submission and over-publishing

The authors guarantee that the manuscript is original and has not been submitted to other publications at the same time. Submitting the same work to several journals at the same time is unethical. The journal does not publish materials whose content repeats the author's previously published works by 80% or more ("self-plagiarism" or "slice science"), except in cases of expansion of conference abstracts (provided that the original source is cited).

Authorship

The composition of authors should include only individuals who have made a significant intellectual contribution:
  • In developing the research concept and collecting data.
  • In writing or critical editing of text.
  • Approval of the final version for printing.
    All individuals who participated in the work but do not meet the authorship criteria (for example, technical assistance from the trainer during the tests) should be listed in the "Acknowledgements" section.

Plagiarism, data falsification, and image manipulation

The journal adheres to a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism.
  • Plagiarism.  Using someone else's texts, ideas, or results without citing the author is unacceptable.
  • Falsification.  It is forbidden to fabricate test data or manipulate results to achieve statistical significance.
  • Image manipulation:  Any retouching or alteration of digital photographs (e.g., martial arts footage) that distorts the original scientific content is prohibited.

All submissions are checked for plagiarism using StrikePlagiarism software . If plagiarism is detected during the review process, the manuscript may be rejected. If plagiarism is detected after publication, an investigation will be conducted and action will be taken in accordance with our policies.

Research with human participation

Research involving human subjects must comply with the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki , as revised in 2024.
 
All manuscripts describing research involving humans, their personal data, or biological materials must meet the following requirements:
  1. Approval of the Bioethics Committee.  Authors must obtain formal approval from the ethics committee (Ethical Review Board / Institutional Review Board) of their institution  before  conducting the experiment. The name of the committee, the protocol number, and the date of the meeting must be indicated in the text of the article (section "Methods").
  2. Declaration of Helsinki.  The study must be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
  3. Informed consent.  Authors must confirm that  written informed consent has been obtained from all participants (athletes, coaches, volunteers)  to participate in the study and publish the results. If the participants are minors (e.g., young wrestlers), consent must be obtained from parents or legal guardians.
  4. Right to anonymity.  Any information that allows the identification of a person (names, photos of faces without masking, specific medical diagnoses) should not be published unless separate written consent has been obtained.

For non-interventional research (e.g. surveys, social media research), all participants should be fully informed about whether anonymity is assured, why the research is being conducted, how their data will be used, and whether there are any risks associated with it. As with all research involving human subjects, ethical approval from the appropriate ethics committee should be obtained before conducting the research.

If the study is purely theoretical (analysis of publicly available competition video recordings) or uses depersonalized federation statistics, the authors may indicate that ethics committee approval was not required.

The editorial office reserves the right to reject any material that does not meet these requirements.

Ethical principles for the use of animals in research

The editorial board of the journal "Edynoborstva" requires authors to strictly adhere to ethical standards when conducting experiments on animals. All research must be aimed at obtaining new scientific knowledge that cannot be obtained by other methods.
 
All experimental procedures must be carried out in accordance with Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes; the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty to Animals" ; National standards and rules for the maintenance and use of laboratory animals.
 
The authors must confirm that they were guided by the 3Rs concept when planning the experiment:
  • Replacement:  Use of alternative methods (in vitro, computer simulation) where possible.
  • Reduction:  Minimizing the number of animals without losing statistical significance of the results.
  • Refinement: the use of methods that minimize pain, suffering or distress to animals (use of anesthesia, proper care).
Approval by the bioethics committee
  • In the "Methods" section, authors should clearly indicate the name of the institution where the research was conducted and provide the protocol number of the meeting  of  the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC or equivalent) that granted permission to conduct the experiments.
  • The description of the procedures should include information about the species of animals, their number, methods of anesthesia, and the method of euthanasia (in accordance with humane standards).
Refusal to publish
The editorial board reserves the right to reject the manuscript if:
  • The experiments were accompanied by unjustified animal suffering.
  • The authors did not provide evidence of ethical approval for the study.
  • The methodology contradicts generally accepted global standards for the humane treatment of animals.

Sex and gender in research

The editorial board encourages authors to follow  the SAGER (Sex and Gender Equity in Research) guidelines . In martial arts research, it is important to distinguish between biological sex and gender identity, and to analyze differences in the physiological and psychological responses of men and women, where appropriate.
 

Citation policy

Quotation must be appropriate and justified. Prohibited:

  • Citations must be relevant and justified. It is forbidden to artificially inflate citation rates ("self-citations" of more than 10%).

  • Forced citation of journal articles ("citation for ranking").

  • Ignoring the works of opponents who have alternative views on the problem under study in martial arts.
 

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR REVIEWERS AND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Objectivity and impartiality
Reviewers and editors are required to evaluate manuscripts solely on their scientific content, regardless of the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views of the authors. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable; all comments must be reasoned and aimed at improving the quality of the work.
 
Privacy
Any manuscript received for review is a confidential document. Reviewers and members of the editorial board are not allowed to:
  • Show or discuss the manuscript with others (except the editor-in-chief).
  • Use unpublished data, ideas, or techniques described in the article in your own research or for personal gain until the article is officially published.
Conflict of Interest (for reviewers and editors)
  • A reviewer must decline to review a manuscript if he or she has a conflict of interest as a result of competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the article.
  • Editors are required to delegate the right to make decisions on an article to another member of the editorial board if they have a conflict of interest regarding the author or research topic (for example, joint grants or affiliation with the same sports federation).
Identifying ethical violations
Reviewers should bring to the attention of the editorial board any signs of ethical violations, including:
  • Significant similarity between the submitted manuscript and any already published article (suspected plagiarism).
  • Doubts about the reliability of the presented experimental results or statistical data.
  • Lack of mention of compliance with bioethical norms when working with athletes.
Meeting deadlines and professional responsibility
  • A reviewer who feels insufficiently qualified to evaluate a particular study (for example, highly specialized biomechanics or pharmacology in martial arts) or cannot provide a review within the established deadline should immediately notify the editorial office.
  • Editors are fully responsible for the quality of published materials and are required to act promptly if errors or ethical conflicts are discovered.
Editorial independence
The decision to accept or reject an article is based on the reviewers' reports and the scientific significance of the work. The journal's founder, advertisers, or sponsors have no right to influence editorial decisions. The editors have full authority over the journal's content and publication timing.
 

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR ACADEMIC EDITORS

Academic editors play a key role in ensuring the scientific integrity of a publication. They act as intermediaries between authors and reviewers, guided by the principles of fairness and professional ethics.
 
Responsibility for editorial decisions
The academic editor is personally responsible for recommending acceptance or rejection of a manuscript. The decision should be based solely on:
  • The importance of research for the development of martial arts and sports science.
  • Originality and clarity of presentation of the material.
  • Reliability of the methodology and validity of the conclusions.
  • Compliance of the manuscript with the thematic focus of the journal.
Ensuring the quality of review
  • Selection of experts:  The editor is obliged to select reviewers who have appropriate scientific qualifications and publication activity on the topic of the manuscript over the past 3-5 years.
  • Review Monitoring:  The editor should assess the quality of the reviews received. If superficial or biased reviews are identified, he should appoint an additional expert.
  • Protection of anonymity: The editor ensures strict adherence to the “double-blind” review regime by removing any identifying information about authors from files before sending them to reviewers.
Privacy and intellectual property
The academic editor is not authorized to disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the authors, potential reviewers, and the editor-in-chief. The use of ideas, training techniques, or statistical models from unpublished works in the editor's own scientific or training activities is strictly prohibited.
 
Managing conflicts of interest
An academic editor must independently recuse themselves from reviewing a manuscript if:
  • He is an employee of the same institution as the authors.
  • He has co-published with the authors in the last 3 years.
  • He is the scientific supervisor or opponent of one of the authors.
  • There is direct competition between his own current research and the topic of the manuscript.
Responding to scientific misconduct
If an academic editor suspects plagiarism, data falsification, or a violation of research ethics (e.g., conducting dangerous experiments on athletes without consent), he or she is required to suspend consideration of the manuscript and initiate an internal investigation according to  COPE protocols.
 
Editorial independence from the founder
An academic editor must make decisions independently of the commercial, political, or personal interests of the journal founder or sports federations. Scientific truth and the safety of athlete participants in research take precedence over the image interests of the organizations.