About the Journal
Publisher
The Publisher is North-West University
Journal printed by: Ivyline Technologies (Pty) Ltd, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Peer Review Process
The peer-review process is handled and recorded via an online editorial system. After a manuscript is submitted via the online system by a researcher, the Editor screens the manuscript and rejects unsuitable or poor-quality manuscripts at this point. Articles deemed appropriate for peer review are sent to an editorial board member who is a content expert and who will serve as the subject editor. Subject editors will then invite at least two (2) reviewers. Reviewers are invited if they are experienced researchers with expertise in the manuscript's contents. Following acceptance to perform the review, the reviewers are furnished with a copy of the manuscript and the guidelines of the Journal for peer review, to which they are asked to adhere. The authors' identity and affiliation details are blanked out to ensure a blind review. Reviewers are asked to complete the review within four weeks. Reviewers submit their reports via the online editorial system with a recommendation on the readiness of the paper for publication. The editor collates the review reports and decides on the paper's status accordingly.
Manuscripts may be: accepted (subject to minor or no revisions); declined; returned to the authors for revision (to address all reviewer comments in detail, with the possibility of resending for peer review depending on the nature of the reviewer comments); or invited for re-submission altogether. Authors are not made aware of a reviewer's identity (double-blind approach) unless insisted upon by the reviewer for transparency. Members of the editorial board may be called upon to make additional recommendations.
The Editor has the final decision on accepting or rejecting all manuscripts. The Editor may assign a rating to reviewers based on their review quality, which is entered into the online system for future reference.
Enrol as a reviewer
Readers who hold a PhD, are actively involved in research, and with particular expertise are encouraged to serve as peer reviewers of the Journal:
- Already a registered user? Login the journal website and edit your profile to include 'Reviewer' as a role. In an email to the Editor specifying your user login, kindly express your interest in serving as a Reviewer.
- Not a registered user? Reviewers are required to register with the journal website. Kindly also express your interest in serving as a Reviewer in an email to the Editor. Please read our privacy policy regarding registration.
Accept an Invitation to Review
Login to the journal website, click Reviewer and then the article's title under active submissions. Under Review Step 1, select the email icon adjacent to the appropriate response (will do the review/unable to do the review) to notify the Editor.
Performing/submitting a Review
Ensure you have accepted to perform the review (outlined above) and consulted the Reviewer Guidelines. Login to the journal website, click on the Reviewer and the article's title under active submissions. Complete Steps 2 - 7 and click 'Submit Review to Editor'. Should you require further assistance, contact the Editor.
Publication Scheduling
Three issues will be published per annum. The publication is set for March, July and November of each year.
Open Access Policy
All articles published in the South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation are currently open access. No subscription fee is payable to access a pdf copy of the Journal.
CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Comments Policy
The posting of comments to published articles requires registration with this journal website. Only constructive comments that relate to the published material will be permitted. Posted comments solely represent the opinions of the respective user and not those of the South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, and do not imply endorsement by the South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation. The South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation reserves the right to remove comments without notice that is abusive, threatening, defamatory, contain advertising or spam or violate another user’s privacy. The South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation reserves the right to revoke the privileges of users that post inappropriate material. Such material may be brought to the attention of the Editor. The South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation reserves the right to modify this policy without notice.
Notifications
Readers of the South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation are encouraged to register with the journal website to receive notifications of new issues published.
- Already a registered user? Login to the journal website and edit your profile to include 'Reader' as a role.
- Not a registered user? Register with the journal website and specify 'Reader' as a role in your user profile. For assistance, contact the Editor. Please read our privacy policy regarding registration.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the use of another's work, words or ideas without attribution or permission, and representation of them as one’s own original work. Plagiarism may take many forms, ranging from major plagiarism (the copy-and-paste of large amounts of text), to minor plagiarism without dishonest intent (e.g. when an author uses parts of an introduction from an earlier paper) and even self-plagiarism (the reuse of significant, identical or near-identical portions of one's own work without citing the original version).
The Journal applies the use of 'Grammarly', an initiative to prevent scholarly and professional plagiarism. All manuscripts submitted to the Journal are automatically scanned for plagiarism and similarity to verify originality.
Manuscripts containing plagiarism will not be considered for publication in the Journal. If plagiarism is brought to light after a manuscript has been published, the Journal will proceed to conduct a preliminary investigation. Suspected misconduct will be reported to the institutes and funding agencies of the authors concerned. The Journal reserves the right to formally retract such manuscripts and publish statements referencing material as plagiarism.
Publishing Fees
An article processing charge (APC) of ZAR 7500 per article for accepted manuscripts exists.
Copyright and License Terms
The author owns the copyright on the articles.
Digital Preservation Policy
This Journal utilises the North-West University server to create permanent archives of the Journal for purposes of preservation and restoration.
Indexing/Listing
The South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation is indexed/listed by the following:
- SCOPUS
- SportDiscus
- EBSCO
- Social Sciences Citation Index
- AJOL
- DHET Accredited
- SABINET
- Elsevier
- Medline
View the ASSAf Committee on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in the Health Sciences and Related Medical Fields (2014) for an independent peer-review of SAJRSPER.
Usage and Impact
Statistics are generated through OJS and all other platforms indexing SAJRSPER.
Access selected statistics at:
Editorial Policy
This journal subscribes to the ASSAf National Code of Best Practice in Editorial Discretion and Review for South African Scholarly Journals.
Sponsors
The South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation is an academic journal reporting on evidence-based research and has no financial sponsor. It is hosted at the research focus area for Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation of the North-West University, where infrastructure is made available.
Sources of Support
The South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation is hosted using OJS, made available by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).
