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Guide for Authors

1. About the Journal

Psychological Research in Sport and Health (PRSH) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by Semnan University. The journal publishes high-quality theoretical, empirical, methodological, and applied research concerning psychological, behavioral, social, neurocognitive, and psychophysiological aspects of sport, physical activity, and health.

PRSH primarily publishes articles in English. Persian-language manuscripts may also be considered in accordance with the journal’s current translation and academic editing policy.

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2. Scope of the Journal

PRSH welcomes interdisciplinary research in the following areas:

• Sport psychology
• Exercise and physical activity psychology
• Health psychology
• Positive psychology in sport and health
• Athlete mental health and well-being
• Motivation, self-efficacy, resilience, and emotion regulation
• Psychological preparation and performance enhancement
• Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and quality of life
• Motor learning and motor control
• Cognitive and affective neuroscience
• Psychophysiology and neurophysiological assessment
• Psychological measurement and psychometrics
• Development, adaptation, and validation of assessment instruments
• Digital health, wearable technologies, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence
• Coaching, leadership, team dynamics, and referee psychology
• Rehabilitation and psychological interventions in clinical and special populations

The journal also welcomes quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, cross-cultural, longitudinal, experimental, clinical, and methodological studies.

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3. Types of Articles

PRSH considers the following manuscript types:

The editors may determine whether a submitted manuscript is suitable for the selected article category.

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4. Before Submission

By submitting a manuscript to PRSH, the corresponding author confirms that:

1. The manuscript is original and has not been published previously.
2. The manuscript is not under consideration by another journal.
3. All authors have approved the submitted version.
4. All individuals who meet the authorship criteria have been included.
5. Appropriate ethical approval and informed consent were obtained where required.
6. Funding sources and competing interests have been disclosed.
7. The manuscript complies with the journal’s ethical and formatting requirements.
8. All data, analyses, citations, tables, and figures are accurate and appropriately reported.

Manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements may be returned before editorial assessment.

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5. Submission Files

Authors should upload the following files separately:

5.1 Title Page

The title page must contain:

• Full manuscript title
• Short running title, where required
• Full names of all authors
• Institutional affiliations
• City and country for each affiliation
• Corresponding author’s name
• Full postal address
• Institutional email address
• ORCID iD of each author, where available
• Author contribution statement
• Funding information
• Conflict of interest declaration
• Acknowledgements, where applicable

5.2 Blinded Main Manuscript

The blinded manuscript must not contain:

• Author names
• Institutional affiliations
• Email addresses
• Acknowledgements that reveal author identity
• Ethics committee information that directly identifies the institution, where anonymization is necessary during review
• File properties containing author-identifying information

The manuscript should instead use neutral wording such as “the authors’ institution” during the review stage where necessary.

5.3 Additional Files

Depending on the study, authors may also upload:

• Cover letter
• Reporting guideline checklist
• Study protocol
• Trial registration information
• Ethics approval document
• Tables and figures
• Supplementary materials
• Data files or repository links
• Permissions for previously published or adapted material

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6. General Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format using the official PRSH article template.

Authors should:

• Use clear academic English.
• Apply consistent spelling throughout the manuscript.
• Number all pages.
• Use continuous line numbering where possible.
• Define abbreviations at first use.
• Avoid unnecessary abbreviations and technical jargon.
• Use SI units for scientific measurements.
• Report decimal places consistently.
• Ensure that headings and subheadings follow a logical hierarchy.
• Remove tracked changes, comments, and hidden text before submission.

The journal recommends using Times New Roman or Arial, with a readable font size and consistent line spacing.

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7. First Page of the Manuscript

The opening page should follow the PRSH template and include:

• Article type
• Full article title
• Authors and affiliations on the title-page version
• Corresponding author details
• Article information
• Structured abstract
• Keywords
• Research significance statements

The DOI, article history, final citation information, volume, issue, pagination, and online publication date will be completed by the editorial office.

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8. Article Title

The title should:

• Be concise, specific, and informative.
• Clearly reflect the principal variables, population, and study design where appropriate.
• Avoid unnecessary abbreviations.
• Avoid overly general or promotional wording.
• Avoid stating conclusions that are not directly supported by the study.

For randomized trials, systematic reviews, validation studies, and study protocols, the study design should preferably be identified in the title.

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9. Abstract

Original research articles should include a structured abstract with the following headings:

Background: Brief context and rationale for the study.
Purpose: The primary aim or research question.
Methods: Study design, participants, instruments, procedure, and analyses.
Results: Principal findings and the most important statistical results.
Conclusion: Main interpretation, contribution, or practical implication.

The abstract must:

• Not exceed 250 words.
• Be concise and factual.
• Stand independently from the main manuscript.
• Avoid citations unless absolutely necessary.
• Avoid undefined abbreviations.
• Avoid information not reported in the main text.
• Report numerical findings where appropriate.

Abstract structure may be modified for reviews, methodological papers, qualitative research, protocols, and theoretical articles.

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10. Keywords

Authors should provide three to five keywords immediately after the abstract.

Keywords should:

• Represent the principal concepts of the manuscript.
• Not simply repeat words already used in the title.
• Use internationally recognized terminology where possible.
• Be separated by semicolons.

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11. Research Significance Statements

Original research articles should provide concise statements under the following headings:

What Is Already Known on This Topic?

Summarize the established evidence or accepted knowledge relevant to the study.

What This Study Adds

Explain the new scientific, methodological, theoretical, or applied contribution of the study.

How This Study Might Affect Research, Practice, or Policy

Describe the potential implications for future research, professional practice, clinical work, sport organizations, education, or public policy.

Each section should normally contain two or three brief statements and should not repeat the abstract.

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12. Main Manuscript Structure

12.1 Introduction

The Introduction should provide a concise but sufficiently comprehensive background.

Authors should:

• Present the theoretical and conceptual framework.
• Summarize the most relevant previous research.
• Avoid an exhaustive literature review.
• Identify the specific research gap, inconsistency, or unresolved issue.
• Explain the scientific and practical importance of the study.
• State the study aim clearly.
• Present research questions or hypotheses where applicable.

The Introduction should progress logically from the broader research context to the specific study purpose.

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12.2 Methods

The Methods section must provide enough information to allow readers to understand, evaluate, and replicate the research.

12.2.1 Study Design

Specify the study design, such as:

• Experimental
• Randomized controlled trial
• Quasi-experimental
• Cross-sectional
• Longitudinal
• Cohort
• Case-control
• Qualitative
• Mixed-methods
• Psychometric
• Methodological

Where applicable, describe:

• Randomization procedures
• Allocation concealment
• Control or comparison conditions
• Blinding
• Intervention duration
• Follow-up assessments
• Trial registration

12.2.2 Participants

Report:

• Target population
• Recruitment setting
• Sampling method
• Sample size
• Sample-size justification or power analysis
• Age and sex or gender distribution
• Sport level or physical activity status
• Relevant health characteristics
• Inclusion criteria
• Exclusion criteria
• Participant withdrawal or attrition

Terminology concerning sex and gender should be used accurately and consistently.

12.2.3 Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants must include:

• Name of the approving ethics committee
• Ethics approval code or reference number
• Confirmation of informed consent
• Procedures used to protect privacy and confidentiality
• Confirmation of compliance with relevant ethical principles

For participants unable to provide independent consent, authors must report the procedures used to obtain consent from legally authorized representatives. Where appropriate, assent should also be obtained.

12.2.4 Measures and Instruments

For each measure, provide:

• Full name of the instrument
• Original source
• Theoretical basis
• Number of items
• Subscales
• Response format
• Scoring procedure
• Interpretation of higher and lower scores
• Evidence of validity
• Evidence of reliability
• Reliability estimates obtained in the present sample, where relevant

For translated or culturally adapted instruments, describe:

• Forward translation
• Back translation
• Expert review
• Cultural adaptation
• Pilot testing
• Psychometric evaluation

For objective or physiological measures, report:

• Equipment name
• Manufacturer
• Model
• Country of manufacture
• Calibration procedure
• Measurement protocol
• Units of measurement

12.2.5 Procedure

Describe the procedure chronologically, including:

• Study setting
• Recruitment
• Consent
• Baseline assessment
• Intervention or experimental conditions
• Data-collection sequence
• Duration of sessions
• Follow-up assessments
• Roles of researchers and participants
• Procedures used to ensure intervention fidelity or data quality

12.2.6 Statistical Analysis

Report:

• Statistical software and version
• Data-screening procedures
• Missing-data handling
• Descriptive statistics
• Assumption testing
• Statistical tests
• Effect-size measures
• Confidence intervals
• Significance level
• Correction for multiple testing, where applicable

Exact p values should be reported whenever possible.

For qualitative studies, report:

• Analytical framework
• Coding process
• Researcher involvement
• Theme or category development
• Reflexivity procedures
• Strategies used to establish credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability

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12.3 Results

The Results section should present the findings clearly and objectively.

Authors should:

• Report results in the order of the study aims, questions, or hypotheses.
• Present descriptive findings before inferential analyses.
• Report participant flow and missing data where relevant.
• Refer to every table and figure in the text.
• Report exact p values, effect sizes, and confidence intervals.
• Avoid interpreting the findings.
• Avoid repeating all table values in the narrative.
• Avoid terms such as “proved” or “confirmed.”

For qualitative studies, organize findings by themes or categories and support interpretations with representative participant quotations.

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12.4 Discussion

The Discussion should:

• Summarize the principal findings without repeating all results.
• Interpret the findings in relation to the study aims.
• Compare findings with previous research.
• Explain agreements and disagreements with earlier studies.
• Discuss theoretical implications.
• Discuss practical, clinical, educational, sport, or public health implications.
• Consider alternative explanations.
• Avoid unsupported causal conclusions.
• Avoid overgeneralization.

A separate subsection addressing study strengths and limitations is recommended.

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12.5 Conclusion

The Conclusion should:

• Provide a concise statement of the principal contribution.
• Directly reflect the study findings.
• Emphasize scientific or practical significance.
• Avoid introducing new results.
• Avoid excessive speculation.
• Avoid repeating the full Discussion.

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13. Reporting Guidelines

Authors should follow the reporting guideline most appropriate to their study design and upload the completed checklist where applicable.

The relevant flow diagram should be included when required.

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14. Statistical Reporting

Statistical symbols should generally be italicized, including M, SD, p, r, t, F, β, R², and η².

Authors should:

• Report exact p values, such as p = .032.
• Use p < .001 when values are smaller than .001.
• Omit the leading zero for statistics that cannot exceed 1, such as p and r.
• Report effect sizes.
• Provide confidence intervals where appropriate.
• Report degrees of freedom.
• State whether statistical tests were one-sided or two-sided.
• Apply consistent decimal precision.
• Report reliability estimates for study measures where relevant.

Examples

Descriptive statistics

Participants reported moderate competitive anxiety (M = 21.45, SD = 4.32).

Independent-samples test

An independent-samples t test indicated a significant group difference, t(98) = −2.34, p = .021, Cohen’s d = 0.47.

Analysis of variance

A significant effect of sport level was observed, F(2, 87) = 5.62, p = .005, η² = .11.

Correlation

Competitive anxiety was negatively correlated with emotional regulation, r(120) = −.42, p < .001.

Regression

Emotional regulation significantly predicted sport performance, β = .38, t(116) = 4.21, p < .001, R² = .29.

Confirmatory factor analysis

The proposed model demonstrated acceptable fit, χ²/df = 2.34, CFI = .94, TLI = .92, RMSEA = .06, 90% CI [.04, .08].

Statistical reporting requirements and examples are provided throughout the submitted template.

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15. Tables

Tables must:

• Be numbered consecutively.
• Be cited in numerical order.
• Have a brief but informative title.
• Be understandable without extensive reference to the main text.
• Avoid unnecessary vertical lines.
• Use horizontal lines only where needed.
• Define all abbreviations in the table note.
• Identify statistical significance clearly.
• Report units of measurement.
• Avoid duplicating information already presented in figures or text.

Under APA 7:

• The table number should be bold.
• The table title should be italicized and written in title case.
• The title should appear above the table.
• Notes should appear below the table.

Example:

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics for the Main Study Variables

A general note should begin with Note. Probability notes should be reported consistently, for example:

Note. M = mean; SD = standard deviation.
*p < .05. ***p* < .01.

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16. Figures

Figures should:

• Be numbered consecutively.
• Be cited in the manuscript.
• Have a clear title and caption.
• Use readable labels and legends.
• Use sufficiently large fonts.
• Remain interpretable when printed in grayscale.
• Avoid decorative effects that do not improve scientific communication.
• Be submitted at publication-quality resolution.

Recommended resolution:

• Photographic images: at least 300 dpi
• Combination figures: at least 500 dpi
• Line drawings: at least 600 dpi

Acceptable formats generally include TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, PDF, and editable Office files where appropriate.

Authors must obtain permission for reproduced or adapted material and provide the correct copyright or adaptation statement.

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17. CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement

All manuscripts must include an author contribution statement using the CRediT taxonomy.

Common roles include:

• Conceptualization
• Methodology
• Software
• Validation
• Formal analysis
• Investigation
• Resources
• Data curation
• Writing – original draft
• Writing – review and editing
• Visualization
• Supervision
• Project administration
• Funding acquisition

Example:

CRediT authorship contribution statement

M.K.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft.
A.H.: Investigation, Data curation, Writing – review and editing.
V.K.: Supervision, Project administration.

All listed authors must satisfy the journal’s authorship criteria and remain accountable for their contributions.

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18. Changes in Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must:

• Be submitted by the corresponding author.
• Explain the reason for the requested change.
• Include written agreement from all authors.
• Include confirmation from any author being added or removed.

Authorship changes after acceptance will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

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19. Declaration of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Authors must disclose any substantive use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation.

AI systems:

• Cannot be listed as authors.
• Cannot accept responsibility for the work.
• Must not be used to fabricate data, results, citations, or references.
• Must not replace author oversight, critical judgment, or accountability.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, confidentiality, and integrity of the manuscript.

Example when AI was used

Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of tool/service] for [specific purpose]. The authors subsequently reviewed and edited the output and accept full responsibility for the content of the manuscript.

Example when AI was not used

Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing

The authors declare that no generative AI tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Routine spelling or grammar-checking tools that do not generate substantive content do not normally require disclosure.

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20. Funding

All financial support must be disclosed.

Example:

Funding

This work was supported by [funder name] under Grant [number].

Where no specific funding was received:

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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21. Declaration of Competing Interest

Authors must disclose financial and non-financial relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the research.

Example when no conflict exists:

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

Where a conflict exists, its nature must be described clearly and specifically.

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22. Acknowledgements

The Acknowledgements section may recognize individuals or organizations that contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria.

Authors must obtain permission from named individuals before including them in this section.

Technical assistance, language editing, statistical consultation, and institutional support should be acknowledged where appropriate.

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23. Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts must include a data availability statement.

Openly available data

The data supporting the findings of this study are available in [repository name] at [persistent URL or DOI].

Available on reasonable request

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Restricted data

The data are not publicly available because of ethical, legal, privacy, or participant-confidentiality restrictions.

No new data

No new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Authors are encouraged to use trustworthy repositories and provide persistent identifiers.

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24. References

PRSH uses APA Style, 7th Edition.

Authors must ensure that:

• Every in-text citation appears in the reference list.
• Every reference-list entry is cited in the text.
• References are arranged alphabetically.
• References by the same author are arranged chronologically.
• Publications by the same author in the same year are identified using 2024a, 2024b, and so forth.
• Journal titles and volume numbers are italicized.
• Article titles use sentence case.
• DOIs are included as active URL links.
• Author names, publication years, titles, page numbers, and DOIs are accurate.

Reference-management software such as EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley may be used, but authors must check the final formatting manually and remove unnecessary field codes before submission.

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24.1 In-Text Citations

One author

Parenthetical: (Smith, 2021)
Narrative: Smith (2021)

Two authors

Parenthetical: (Brown & Lee, 2020)
Narrative: Brown and Lee (2020)

Three or more authors

(Garcia et al., 2019)

Organizational author

First citation: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020)
Subsequent citations: (WHO, 2020)

Multiple references

(Anderson, 2018; Kim & Park, 2021; Smith et al., 2019)

Direct quotation

(Jones, 2022, p. 45)

Secondary citations should be used only when the original source cannot reasonably be accessed.

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24.2 Reference Examples

Journal article

Smith, J. A., Brown, R. T., & Lee, H. (2021). Emotional regulation and athletic performance. Journal of Sport Psychology, 45(3), 210–224. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Article number

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2023). Title of the article. Journal Title, 18, Article e10245. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Book

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.

Chapter in an edited book

Author, A. A. (2022). Title of chapter. In B. B. Editor and C. C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. 20–38). Publisher.

Webpage

World Health Organization. (2020). Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128

Dataset

Author, A. A. (2024). Title of dataset [Data set]. Repository. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Software

Author, A. A. (2024). Software name (Version 2.1) [Computer software]. Repository. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Thesis or dissertation

Author, A. A. (2023). Title of thesis [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Repository URL

Conference presentation

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2024, July). Title of presentation [Conference presentation]. Conference Name, City, Country.

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25. Preprints

Where a cited work is a preprint, authors should:

• Identify it clearly as a preprint.
• Include the preprint server.
• Provide the DOI or persistent link.
• Replace it with the peer-reviewed publication if a final version becomes available before publication.

Authors should disclose during submission whether the manuscript has previously appeared as a preprint.

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26. Supplementary Materials

Supplementary files may include:

• Additional tables
• Additional figures
• Questionnaires
• Intervention protocols
• Statistical code
• Audio or video files
• Extended methodological information
• Reporting guideline checklists

Supplementary materials should be referenced in the manuscript and labeled clearly.

The journal may publish supplementary content in the form received from the authors. Authors are therefore responsible for its accuracy, organization, and readability.

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27. Ethical and Publication Standards

PRSH follows recognized principles of research integrity and publication ethics.

The journal does not tolerate:

• Plagiarism
• Fabrication
• Falsification
• Inappropriate image manipulation
• Duplicate submission
• Redundant publication
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Guest or honorary authorship
• Ghost authorship
• Citation manipulation
• Peer-review manipulation

Suspected misconduct may be investigated, and the journal may request original data, ethics documentation, or institutional clarification.

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28. Peer Review

PRSH applies a double-blind peer-review process.

Following submission:

1. The editorial office checks completeness and compliance.
2. The editor evaluates relevance, originality, quality, and fit with the journal.
3. Suitable manuscripts are sent to independent expert reviewers.
4. Authors may be asked to submit minor or major revisions.
5. The editor makes the final publication decision.

Manuscripts may be rejected before external review when they are outside the journal’s scope, methodologically inadequate, ethically problematic, insufficiently original, or inconsistent with submission requirements.

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29. Revised Manuscripts

When submitting a revision, authors must upload:

• A clean revised manuscript
• A marked or tracked-changes version, where requested
• A detailed point-by-point response to reviewers
• Any revised tables, figures, or supplementary files

The response letter should reproduce each reviewer comment followed by a clear explanation of the corresponding revision.

Where an author disagrees with a reviewer, the response should remain respectful and provide a scientific justification.

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30. Galley Proofs

After acceptance, the corresponding author will receive the galley proof.

Authors should check:

• Author names
• Affiliations
• Corresponding author information
• Article title
• Abstract
• Tables
• Figures
• Equations
• References
• Formatting errors

Only minor typographical or production corrections are normally permitted at the proof stage. Substantial changes to the accepted manuscript require editorial approval.

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31. Open Access and Copyright

PRSH is an open-access journal. Published articles are intended to be freely accessible to readers.

Articles are expected to be published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), subject to final approval of the journal’s licensing policy.

Under CC BY 4.0, users may read, download, copy, distribute, adapt, and reuse the work, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and source.

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32. Publication Fees

PRSH currently does not charge submission, peer-review, translation, editing, or publication fees during the journal’s initial development and indexing period.

Any future article-processing charge, waiver, or discount policy will be announced transparently on the journal website before it becomes applicable.

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33. Final Submission Checklist

Before completing submission, confirm that:

• The manuscript is within the scope of PRSH.
• The appropriate article type has been selected.
• A separate title page has been prepared.
• The main manuscript has been anonymized.
• The abstract does not exceed 250 words.
• Three to five keywords have been provided.
• Research significance statements have been completed where required.
• Ethics approval and informed consent are reported.
• Trial registration is provided where applicable.
• Funding and competing interests are disclosed.
• The CRediT contribution statement is included.
• The generative AI declaration is included.
• The data availability statement is included.
• All tables and figures are cited in numerical order.
• References comply with APA 7.
• All in-text citations appear in the reference list.
• DOI links have been checked.
• Reporting guideline checklists are attached where required.
• All authors have approved the submission.