The International Journal of Exercise Science (IJES), published by Western Kentucky University, is dedicated to advancing the field of movement sciences by providing a platform for research-minded professionals, with a special emphasis on serving students and early-career investigators. IJES seeks to foster the development of scholarly dissemination and peer-review skills in both students and professionals, supporting the next generation of researchers in their contributions to exercise science.

Aligned with this mission, IJES requires that all submissions include at least one author who is/was either (1) a student or (2) an early-career investigator. This individual (or individuals) must have played a significant and active role in the conceptualization, execution, and/or development of the submitted project. Through this approach, IJES aims to cultivate a collaborative research environment that nurtures growth, refines research competencies, and strengthens the foundation for further contributions to the field of movement sciences.

IJES’ scope encompasses a broad range of topics related to human movement, health, and performance. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, physiological, psychological and biomechanical aspects of exercise, as well as applied research in fitness, rehabilitation, and sport science. Contributions that advance understanding in exercise science and its clinical and practical applications are welcome.

Manuscript Submission

Authorship Requirements

IJES utilizes a double-blind review process, so all identifying author information must be contained within the cover letter provided to the editors. All individuals who are listed as authors should have made substantive intellectual contributions to the overall project, i.e. conception and design of study, collection or acquisition of data, analysis or interpretation of statistics, etc., and should be able to take public responsibility for the content. Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship may be listed in the acknowledgments section. In your submission's cover letter, you will identify each authors' academic status using the notations below:

ALL submissions must include at least one author identified as a student or early-career investigator. Authors are welcome to dual affiliate when appropriate.

Example

Whitley Stone^‡1, Grant Malone^*1,2, Dustin Davis^†1,2, James Navalta^‡3

Manuscript submissions should follow the guidelines outlined in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

IJES will not consider manuscripts that are simultaneously being considered by other journals, or that are redundant or duplicate in nature. All submitted manuscripts will be subject to a pre-review, which will include an originality check using iThenticate software. Please see policy below on Publication Ethics and Malpractice for further information on manuscript originality.

Following pre-review, submitted manuscripts will be evaluated through a double-blind peer-review process. In addition to providing students with an outlet for manuscript submission, IJES will engage students as peer reviewers, thus providing students with a more encompassing experience with regards to scholarly activity. Manuscripts of which a student investigator is the primary author will be reviewed by one student reviewer and one professional reviewer. Manuscripts of which a professional is the primary author will be reviewed by two professional reviewers.

Submission Fees

There are no submission fees associated with IJES.

Indexing Fee

IJES pays to index published articles in PubMed Central, the database of open-access journals within PubMed. Authors of accepted articles agree to pay a $499.00 USD indexing fee. There is no submission fee.

If the lead author of a manuscript is affiliated with an institution in a low- or middle-income country as classified by the World Bank, they can request a reduced indexing fee by contacting the editors at editor@intjexersci.com. Requests must be made before submitting the manuscript.

Expedited Review

Authors seeking quicker turnarounds for their manuscripts can request Expedited Review for an upfront fee of $1,500.00 USD. Expedited Review guarantees peer review and a decision within seven business days from the day full payment is received. While this option does not guarantee acceptance, it covers the indexing fee if the manuscript is accepted.

Only Expedited Reviews are conducted between June 1st and July 31st each year. Regular submissions will not receive attention until August.

Peer-reviewers

All authors (student and professional) who submit a manuscript to IJES will be added to the reviewer pool and may have the opportunity to serve as a peer reviewer on future submissions. Students and professionals who have not submitted a manuscript to IJES may also be invited to serve as peer-reviewers, when necessary.

At the time of submission, authors will have the opportunity to suggest peer-reviewers who may be appropriate to review their submission. IJES reserves the right to use these suggested reviewers for the manuscripts on which they are suggested, on other submissions to IJES, or not at all.

Submitted manuscripts will be evaluated through the peer-review process. In addition to providing students with an outlet for manuscript submission, IJES will engage students as peer reviewers, thus providing students with a more encompassing experience with regards to scholarly activity. Manuscripts in which a student (undergraduate or graduate) is the primary author will be reviewed by one student reviewer and one professional reviewer. Manuscripts in which a professional is the primary author will be reviewed by two professional reviewers.

Editorial Board

Select professionals will be invited to serve on the IJES Editorial Board. These appointments will be for three-year terms, and the appointments are renewable. If you, or someone you know, wishes to participate on the IJES Editorial Board, please share our Executive Team's email: editor@intjexersci.com

Student investigators are welcome to serve on the IJES Editorial Board. These positions will rotate periodically at various increments to allow a greater number of students to gain experience in the editorial office.

IJES Executive Editors may remove a person from the Editorial Board at any time, and for any reason that they deem detrimental to the function of the Editorial Board or to the mission of IJES.

References

IJES limits the number of references for original research articles to a maximum of forty (40), and Brief Reports to a maximum of twenty-five (25). If the work proceeds to peer review, exceptions can be requested from the handling editor. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are exempt from this policy.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice

Authors must guarantee that submitted manuscripts have not been published elsewhere, are not currently under review elsewhere, and have been submitted with the full knowledge of their institutional home.

All manuscripts are reviewed for originality using the latest, most up-to-date iThenticate software prior to being assigned for peer-review. IJES reserves the right to reject without peer-review any manuscript not meeting originality requirements, and also to inform the Institutional Review Board at the institution(s) of the offending authors.

Each author must agree that they have conformed to the ethical standards contained in the publication "Ethical Issues Relating to Scientific Discovery in Exercise Science." To acknowledge this, we require that the work is referenced in the Methodology section using the statement "This research was carried out fully in accordance to the ethical standards of the International Journal of Exercise Science" along with the following reference: Navalta JW, Stone WJ, Lyons TS. Ethical Issues Relating to Scientific Discovery in Exercise Science. Int J Exerc Sci 12(1): 1-8, 2019.