Author Guidelines

Scope of the Journal

The scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to, fields such as exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, sports medicine, physical education, kinesiology, sports nutrition, and public health, along with other related interdisciplinary perspectives. Authors are advised to carefully consider the scope of the journal before submitting their manuscripts. Submissions that do not align with the journal’s focus and subject areas may be rejected without review. The journal strictly adheres to its defined scope to maintain the quality and relevance of published content.

Article Categories / Types of Manuscripts

The Journal considers for publication Original research and Review papers in the sub-disciplines relating generally to the broad Sports Sciences & Health fields such as various aspects of the sports and exercise sciences, including anatomy, biochemistry, biomechanics, performance analysis, physiology, psychology, sports medicine and health, as well as coaching and talent identification, kinanthropometry and other interdisciplinary perspectives.

Original Article

Studies that are of high scientific quality and that are of interest to the diverse readership of the journal. Manuscripts should include an abstract and appropriate experimental details to support the conclusions. Original Articles should be no more than 6000 words and should not normally include more than 6 display items (tables and/or figures).

Review Article

Review articles survey recent developments in a topical area of sport and health. Reviews have a word limit of 7000 words including abstract but excluding references, tables, and figures. Systematic review and meta-analysis should follow the PRISMA Reporting Guidelines. A review article should critically evaluate material that has already been published. A review article aims to analyse, evaluate, and synthesize current knowledge, not simply reproduce what is already known. 

Case Study

A Case study should report on specific cases that are unique, exciting, and current to exercise and sport science, sports medicine, health, and other relevant fields of study. Case studies should make a distinct contribution to the scientific field and/or question existing paradigms. A case could be an individual or a community depending on the nature of the study. We expect most case studies to include an abstract, an introduction, a brief case report, and a discussion.

Submission Process

Sports Science and Health Advances accepts manuscript submissions only through its official online submission system available on the journal website. Authors are required to submit their manuscripts via the journal’s submission portal by following the prescribed steps and guidelines. The journal does not accept submissions via email or any other means. Manuscripts sent directly to editorial email addresses or through alternative channels will not be considered for review. Authors must ensure that all required documents and information are properly uploaded at the time of submission to facilitate a smooth and efficient review process.

Submission Checklist

  • The journal considers the article written in English only.

  • Select the Type of Article (Editorial, Original Scientific Article: Sports, Original Scientific Article: Physical Therapy, and Review Article) in the dropdown list.

  • To submit your manuscript, you need the following files: 1. Title Page; 2. A main document file (Title, author information, abstract, keywords, main text and references); 3. An anonymous file without author information; 4. Author Agreement Form

  • The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.

  • The submission file is in Microsoft Word format.

  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration. 

  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided. Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI.

  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the author guidelines, which is found in Author Guidelines.

  • If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

  • The following step of the submission process, name all authors of the paper. For more than one, use the "Add Contributor" button. Take care of the order of the authors. First of all, enter the first author.

  • Make sure that a corresponding author is appointed and that affiliation, email addresses are given for all authors.

  • It is mandatory to provide the ORCID ID number of the corresponding author and all co-authors upon submission of the manuscript. (Please do not send an ORCID identifier without any information in them.)

Manuscript Preparation / Formatting Guidelines

General formatting (font, spacing, margins, file format): Manuscripts should meet the general requirements. The text should be double-spaced, in Times New Roman, 12-point typeface. Margins: 2 cm at top, bottom, right, and left. 

Title Page: Title page must include the title of the study, author affiliations, city, country, email, and ORCID of all author(s).

Author Contribution: Authors must include an Author Contributions Statement in their manuscript, outlining specific roles such as conceptualization, methodology, data collection, analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting, critical revision, supervision, and funding acquisition. The journal encourages the use of standardized contribution roles (e.g., conceptualization, investigation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, supervision, and funding acquisition) to ensure clarity and consistency. Authors involved in securing financial support for the research should be credited under “Funding Acquisition” as part of their contribution.

Example Statement: Author A: Conceptualization and study design; Author B: Data collection and analysis; Author C: Manuscript drafting; Author D: Review and editing; Author E: Funding acquisition. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Abstract and Keywords (structured abstract): Page should carry structured abstract (> 250 words), consisting of the following sections: Study purpose: should describe clearly the rationale for the study being done and the previous work relevant to the study. It should end with a statement of the specific question or hypothesis being addressed. Material and Methods: mention the techniques used without going into extensive methodological detail, and outline the most important results. Include sample sizes for key experiments as appropriate. Results: list basic results without any introduction. Only essential statistical significance should be added in brackets. Draw no conclusions. Conclusions: provide the key-findings as clearly as possible. You may also include a brief, more general interpretation of the results and / or specific recommendations for future research. 5 to 6 key words (not from title).

Main Text Structure (IMRAD-style): Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions)

Introduction: Should be comprehensible to the general reader. Should contain the hypothesis. Authors should briefly introduce the problem, particularly emphasizing the level of knowledge about the problem at the beginning of the investigation.

Material and methods: The materials and methods section should be brief but sufficient to allow other investigators to repeat the research. The Method section typically consists of three subsections: Participants, Procedure, and Statistical analysis. You can choose to add other subsections if they can be justified. 

  • Participants Example. Ten healthy university students and staff members (8 women and 2 men), aged 18-24 years, volunteered to participate in the experiment. All were assigned to the same experimental task. In this experiment, informed consent was obtained from all participants.
    Procedure: The Procedure subsection is the second subsection, and it gives the reader a summary of each step in the execution of the research. This summary must be concise, precise, and logical. Do not burden the reader with too much detail but give enough so the reader can follow what is being done; and it tells the reader what equipment and tools you used to run your experiment and to acquire data.

  • Statistical analysis: Within the subheading Statistical analysis: authors need to explain which statistical tests were used in their data analysis and the rationale for using those tests. The software and tools used for analysis should be mentioned clearly.

Results: Should concisely and reasonably summarize the findings.  Do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Give numbers of observations and report exclusions or losses to observation such as dropouts from a study. Report complications. The results should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations related to the statements in the text by means of reference remarks. Do not repeat in the text all the data from the tables or graphs. Emphasize only important observations.

Discussion: Should include interpretation of study findings, and results considered in the context of results in other studies reported in the literature. Do not repeat in detail data or other material from the Background or the Results section. Include in the Discussion the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research. The discussion should confront the results of other investigations, especially those quoted in the text.

Conclusions: Should be linked with the goals of the study. State new hypotheses when warranted. Include recommendations when appropriate. Unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the obtained data should be avoided.

Acknowledgements: List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as technical assistants, writing assistants or head of department who provided only general support. Describe their role. Financial and other material support should be disclosed and acknowledged.

Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest may include financial relationships (such as funding, employment, consultancies, or ownership), as well as non-financial interests (such as personal relationships, academic competition, or intellectual beliefs) that may affect objectivity. Authors must clearly state any conflicts of interest in their manuscript at the time of submission. If no conflicts exist, authors should include a statement such as: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Funding: Funding information should be clearly stated in a dedicated section of the manuscript, including the name of the funding agency, grant number (if applicable), and the role of the funder in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and publication. If the research has not received any specific funding, authors should state: “This research received no external funding.”

Tables: Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells. Do not use complex formatting with tables. 

Figures: Authors are encouraged to include figures and illustrations that enhance the clarity and quality of their manuscripts. All figures must be relevant, clearly presented, and properly labeled.

  • Figures should be submitted in high-resolution formats such as JPEG, PNG, or TIFF, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi to ensure clear reproduction. Each figure must be numbered consecutively (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2) in the order in which they are cited in the text.

  • All figures must include a concise and descriptive caption placed below the figure. Captions should clearly explain the content of the figure without requiring reference to the main text. Any symbols, abbreviations, or scales used in the figure must be properly defined in the caption.

  • Authors must ensure that figures are original or that appropriate permission has been obtained for reproduced material. Proper acknowledgment of the source must be provided where applicable.

  • Graphs, charts, and images should be of high quality and free from distortion. Text within figures should be legible and consistent in style. Figures should be embedded within the manuscript at appropriate locations or submitted as separate files, as per the journal submission system requirements.

  • The editorial office reserves the right to request modifications to figures that do not meet the journal’s quality standards.

Math Formulas / Equations: Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

Reference Style: 

Specify APA 7th edition: Sports Science and Health Advances, published by Scholars Time Welfare Society, follows the American Psychological Association (APA) latest edition (7th edition) referencing style. Authors must ensure that all references are formatted according to APA guidelines for consistency, accuracy, and clarity.

In-text citations: In-text citations should follow the APA author–date format. Authors must cite sources within the text using the author’s last name and year of publication (e.g., Sharma, 2020). For direct quotations, page numbers should also be included. Multiple authors and multiple citations should be formatted according to APA standards.

Reference list: All cited works must be included in the reference list at the end of the manuscript. References should be arranged alphabetically by the last name of the first author. Authors must ensure that all entries are complete, accurate, and formatted according to APA 7th edition guidelines, including proper use of italics, capitalization, and punctuation. The number of references should be appropriate to the type and scope of the manuscript. Authors are expected to include relevant, recent, and high-quality sources to support their work.

Examples of References:

Journal Article

Smith, J. D., & Johnson, K. L. (2023). The effects of resistance training on muscle strength in elderly adults. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 15(2), 112-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2023.1512345

Book

ones, A. B. (2019). Sports Nutrition: A Comprehensive Guide. Springer.

Website

National Institutes of Health. (2022, December 10). Exercise and Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging. National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/exercise-physical-activity

Requirement to include DOIs where available: Authors must include Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for all references where available. DOIs should be presented in URL format (e.g., https://doi.org/xxxxx) to ensure easy access and verification of cited sources.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice

Sports Science and Health Advances, published by Scholar Time Welfare Society, is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal follows internationally accepted ethical guidelines, including those recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics. Detailed policies regarding authorship criteria (based on International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommendations), author contributions (CRediT roles), conflicts of interest, research ethics (including human and animal studies, ethical approval, and informed consent), plagiarism screening and actions, and the use of generative AI tools are provided in the journal’s official policy section. Authors are required to carefully review and comply with these policies before submission. Non-compliance with ethical standards may result in rejection, correction, or retraction of the manuscript.

Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Tools 

Sports Science and Health Advances, published by Scholars Time Welfare Society, allows the use of AI-assisted tools for limited purposes such as language editing and formatting. Authors must clearly disclose any use of AI tools in their manuscript. AI tools cannot be listed as authors, and authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy and originality of the content. All submissions, including AI-assisted content, are subject to plagiarism screening, and the similarity index for AI must not exceed 20%. The use of AI for generating data or scientific conclusions without proper validation is not permitted. Non-disclosure or misuse of AI tools may lead to rejection or further action as per journal policies.

Data Availability / Data Sharing Statement

The Journal encourages authors to ensure transparency and reproducibility by providing a clear Data Availability Statement in their manuscript. Authors should indicate where and how the data supporting their findings can be accessed, such as in public repositories, supplementary files, or upon reasonable request. In cases where data cannot be shared due to ethical, legal, or confidentiality restrictions, a clear justification must be provided. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data and should ensure proper citation of all datasets used.

Copyright, Licensing and Open Access 

  • Authors retain copyright of their work while granting the journal the right to publish and distribute the article.

  • All published articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Authors are required to agree to the journal’s licensing terms at the time of submission, confirming that the work is original and that they have the right to grant publication rights. This policy ensures wide dissemination of research while maintaining proper attribution and author rights.