About the Journal
About the magazine
Policies
Focus and scope
The journal Sport Science, Training and Research (STAR) is open access and employs double-blind peer review; its purpose is to advance knowledge in the sport sciences by disseminating original, unpublished research. Its scope includes the essential scientific fields of sport, with an integrative approach encompassing: health- and performance-related applied sciences; long-term training and athletic development methods; the management, supervision, and evaluation of sports training; administration, management, and technological innovation in the sports sector; recreational, social, and spectator sports; as well as adapted and Paralympic sports.
The journal seeks to become a model for disseminating scientific knowledge with global impact, fostering coordination among basic, technological, and applied research, as well as its translation into professional practice and the advancement of athletic performance and the holistic development of athletes.
Open Access Policy
STAR establishes an open access policy that ensures all its content is freely, universally, and permanently available, without economic or registration barriers for authors or readers. The publication supports the idea that free access to scientific knowledge improves the visibility of academic output, promotes global exchange, and helps the sustainable growth of sport and exercise science. All articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, which allows redistribution, copying, and sharing of the content with appropriate attribution to the authors, for non-commercial purposes and without altering the original work.
Copyright Notice
In accordance with its open access policy, STAR adheres to the principle that published content may only be used by third parties if the original authors are explicitly credited, for non-commercial purposes, and always under the same license for composite or derivative works. This principle ensures that scientific knowledge flows freely, maintaining the academic integrity of publications and the author’s moral rights.
Authors who submit their manuscripts to STAR must sign the copyright transfer agreement, which establishes the following terms:
a) Commitment of exclusivity: The author agrees not to submit the manuscript for review to any other publication or journal while it is undergoing the editorial process.
b) Assignment of rights to the journal: The author grants STAR the rights to reproduce, publish, and distribute the article; however, the author retains ownership of the moral rights to their work.
c) Non-exclusive assignment: The transfer of rights does not imply total exclusivity; the author may reuse their work in other academic or scientific contexts, provided that the original source published in STAR is cited.
This transfer of rights encompasses explicit consent to display, preserve, and make the content visible in scientific databases, institutional repositories, indexing systems, and other open portals, both nationally and internationally. Likewise, for dissemination and academic purposes, it allows the full or partial translation of the text into other languages, as well as the creation of adaptations or summaries of the original content. It is also permitted to include original-language or translated versions, even under a different title, always preserving the integrity and authorship of the work.
The authors officially declare that their manuscript is original, unpublished, and submitted exclusively to this journal, as stated in the originality letter. They are fully responsible for the ideas, data, and criteria presented; they submit their work for peer review under the double-blind arbitration system; they consent to any necessary editorial revisions; and they express their agreement with the deadlines and procedures set forth in the “Peer Review” section.
The authors retain copyright to their works and grant the STAR journal the right of first publication under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license authorizes third parties to share the work, provided they explicitly credit the creator and the original medium in which it was published, i.e., this journal.
Usage License
The works published in STAR are protected by the license:
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
You are free to:
Share: reproduce and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
According to the following terms:
· Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. As long as it doesn’t imply that the journal or the authors endorse its use, you may do so in any reasonable manner.
· Non-commercial: You are not allowed to use the material for commercial purposes.
· NoDerivatives: If the material is remixed, transformed, or used to create new works, it will not be possible to distribute the altered content.
Declaration of ethics and best practices
STAR promotes scientific integrity and adherence to the highest ethical standards at every stage of the editorial process. It is the duty of all participants from translators and authors to reviewers, copy editors, guest editors, and section editors to adhere to best practices in academic publishing and to act with transparency and responsibility.
The journal adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and maintains the standards set forth in its Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Academic Journal Editors, which can be found at:
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines
Transparency of the editorial process
Our commitment to academic excellence can be verified thru a comprehensive peer-review process. The table below shows the average time spent on each stage of the editorial process, ensuring the quality and rigor of the publications.
|
Activity |
Approximate Period |
|
Manuscript submission |
defined by the author |
|
Editor’s Review |
15 days |
|
Blind peer review |
30 days |
|
Author’s manuscript revision |
15 days |
|
Editor’s Review |
7 days |
|
Editing and production of the final manuscript |
21 days |
|
Galley proof |
7 days |
Interoperability Policy
All STAR publications employ the OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative - Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) protocols, which allow their content to be harvested and distributed through a variety of means, including data harvesters and digital repositories. This makes metadata available in multiple formats, contributing to the dissemination of and access to scientific knowledge.
Protocol: OAI-PMH Version 2.0
Metadata Format: Dublin Core; MARC; MARC21; RFC1807
OAI-PMH: https://revistas.ug.edu.ec/index.php/iti/oai
Adoption of Open Science Guidelines
STAR fosters the foundations of Open Science, a model that promotes collaboration, transparency, and access in all aspects of scientific communication, including methods, data, and software used in studies. This approach aims to expedite the dissemination of knowledge, simplify manuscript analysis, encourage replicable studies, and promote the responsible reuse of scientific data.
In accordance with these principles, STAR promotes the application of the following guidelines:
· Continuous publication: The publication process is accelerated through the uninterrupted publication of articles after the editing and review phases are complete.
· Use of preprints: Authors are encouraged to share their manuscripts in preprint format (submission-ready versions) in open access repositories before official submission to the journal. STAR will define the acceptance requirements for works previously deposited as preprints in its author guidelines.
· Data repository: The use of secure subject repositories that adhere to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) will be encouraged, thus ensuring the appropriate location, access, interoperability, and reuse of scientific data.
· TOP guidelines: The journal follows the guidelines for promoting transparency and openness, which establish standards for referencing and citing data, procedures, software, and other additional research resources.
Changes to Authorship
In STAR, author changes include adding, removing, or altering the order of authors. The corresponding author may request the Editor to make these changes before the article is published, provided they formally explain their reasons and submit a written communication signed by all authors confirming their agreement with the proposed change. If an author is to be added or removed, the letter must include explicit confirmation from the authors involved.
STAR will not accept changes to the order or authorship after the article has been published.
Errata and Retractions
STAR is committed to ensuring that its publications are scientifically sound and transparent. Therefore, it allows for the publication of errata if unintentional errors are found after publication and also permits the retraction of articles when irregularities, plagiarism, duplication, or ethical violations arise. These measures will be implemented in accordance with COPE guidelines.
Free Editorial Policy
STAR does not charge any fees for the submission, evaluation, or publication of articles. Authors and readers enjoy free and open access to all content. The publishing entity fully covers the costs associated with publication, design, review, and the editorial process. Peer reviewers collaborate voluntarily and receive no monetary compensation, in recognition of their scientific and academic contribution.
Peer Review Process
STAR's editorial procedure is based on a double-blind peer review system, which ensures scientific quality and objectivity. Each manuscript is analyzed by external specialists who are experts in the article's subject matter. If there is a significant difference between the reviews, the text will be sent to a third reviewer, whose decision will be final.
The evaluation process can take up to six months, depending on the complexity and nature of the manuscript. Authors may officially request the withdrawal of their article to submit it to another journal if a final decision has not been issued by the end of this period.
The criteria considered during the evaluation are:
· Thematic alignment with the journal's editorial objectives and profile.
· Scientific soundness and methodological rigor of the analysis.
· Innovative contribution and originality of the research.
· Clarity of presentation and formal quality of the manuscript.
· Relevance, currency, and format of bibliographic references, according to the 7th edition of APA style.
Anti-Plagiarism Policy
STAR maintains a strong commitment to the originality of publications and scientific ethical principles. To identify similarities or duplications in texts, all received manuscripts are preliminarily evaluated using Turnitin anti-plagiarism software.
The maximum permitted similarity is 10%. If this percentage is exceeded, the manuscript will be returned to the authors with a detailed report so they can make the necessary corrections before proceeding with the editing process.
The reviewer must notify the editor immediately if, during peer review, manipulation, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data falsification, or prior publication of the work is identified. The editor will take appropriate action in accordance with COPE guidelines.
Publication Frequency
STAR publishes its issues semi-annually, in two volumes per year.
· Issue 1: covers the first half of the year (January to June).
· Issue 2: covers the second half of the year (July to December).
Section Policies
· Scientific: basic and/or applied research papers. It will consist of an introduction, which will be brief and will contain the purpose of the work: an overview of the topic or problem addressed, the state of the art or literature review, the knowledge gap, objectives, and justification. Materials and Methods: This section will describe the materials used in the study, their characteristics, selection criteria, and the techniques, tools, procedures, and limitations of the methodology employed, providing the necessary data—bibliographic or direct—so that the reported experience can be replicated by the reader (it explains the what, how, with what, and why of the strategy used to answer the research question or achieve the objectives). Results: the observations made using the materials and methods employed are reported, not interpreted. These data may be presented in detail in the text or in the form of tables and figures, graphs, diagrams, maps, etc., provided their use is properly justified. Discussion: the authors will present their opinions based on those results, possible interpretations thereof, comparison with results obtained by other authors in similar publications, suggestions for future work on the topic, etc. Conclusions. Acknowledgments. Bibliographic references.
· Theoretical Reviews: The text will be divided into all the sections that the authors consider necessary for a complete understanding of the topic. For reference, these may include the following sections: introduction (background, current state of the topic), methodology used, results, discussion, conclusions, practical applications, future lines of research, acknowledgments, references, and tables/graphs.
