Best practices in ethics in scientific communication

The editorial practice for cases of scientific misconduct (plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data falsification or fabrication, misuse of references or citations, duplication, authorship disputes, among others) follows the procedures, checklists, and guidelines outlined in the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and the SciELO Guide to Good Practices for Strengthening Ethics in Scientific Publication.

The Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física & Saúde implements Turnitin software to plagiarism and self-plagiarism tracking after the article is accepted by the Section Editor, and authors must be aware of the implications outlined in the legal provisions of the Penal Code (Article 184) and the Copyright Law (Article 7, paragraph three of Law No. 9,610, of February 19, 1998 – see Law No. 12,853, of 2013).

The Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física & Saúde adopts the publication ethics principles included in the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) code of conduct. The Editorial Body will assess and address ethical issues and/or issues that may harm the journal's reputation. In cases of misconduct, the journal will apply the retraction policy per the Best Practice Guide proposed by SciELO. The Registration and Publication of Errata and retraction will follow the recommendations proposed by SciELO.

To submit a complaint regarding scientific misconduct involving material published in RBAFS, it is necessary to send an email to rbafs@sbafs.com.br with the relevant information about the complaint, which will be handled confidentially. Once received, the complaint is logged and undergoes an initial screening to assess its relevance. If deemed valid, an investigation committee, free of conflicts of interest, is formed, and the accused author(s) are notified, with the right to defense. The investigation may involve data review and consultation with experts or institutions. Based on the committee's report, the editor-in-chief will make decisions, which may include retraction, correction of the article, or sanctions against the author. The complainant is informed of the outcome, and the entire process is documented and archived. All actions resulting from this process will be based on the guidelines of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and Scielo.