Journal

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes is a scientific journal published by the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC) in Spain, which has been continuously publishing scientific articles since 1985. It is a trilingual journal (Spanish, Catalan, and English) specializing in the field of physical activity and sports sciences. The journal publishes original scientific articles related to human motor skills, physical education, and sports sciences.

The journal is indexed in more than 40 databases and repositories, including:

Web of Science (WoS), with a Journal Citation Reports (JCR) impact factor of 1.5 and a Q2 ranking.
Scopus, with a CiteScore (CS) of 2.7 and a Q1 ranking.

Since 2014, the journal has been awarded the FECYT Quality Seal for Spanish scientific journals, and in 2024, it received the Good Editorial Practices Award for Gender Equality.

Since 2020, the journal has been exclusively published in digital format, offering open access and a quarterly publication schedule. All articles undergo external double-blind peer review, conducted by a scientific committee comprising over 190 national and international reviewers.

Open Access

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes is an open-access journal that facilitates knowledge exchange without charging authors for submission, translation, or processing fees. Its editorial version is hosted in open-access repositories without restrictions or embargo periods and is published under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License.

Articles are available in HTML format and can be downloaded in PDF in Spanish, Catalan, and English. Apunts Educación Física y Deportes is included in the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals).

ISSN: 2014-0983 | https://revista-apunts.com/en/

Mission

The mission of Apunts Educación Física y Deportes is to serve as a reference platform for scientific communication in Spanish and in an international level within the field of physical activity and sports sciences. The journal promotes the transfer of knowledge between research, teaching, and professional practice, contributing to the sustainable and ethical development of physical education and sports in society.

Objectives

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes aims to disseminate scientific and professional knowledge related to physical activity, sports, physical education, and human movement sciences. The journal seeks to promote critical reflection, innovation, and the application of knowledge in educational, recreational, and sports performance contexts.

Scope

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes publishes original research, reviews, applied studies, and theoretical essays addressing topics related to physical education, sports training, health, sports psychology, sports management, adapted physical activity, and the social sciences of sport.
The journal targets researchers, educators, professionals in physical activity and sports, as well as students interested in the scientific, pedagogical, and social development of this field.

Target Audience

The publication is aimed at all individuals interested in research in physical activity and sports sciences, both in academic and professional settings, regardless of gender or role in the scientific community.

Scope of Coverage

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes publishes articles in the following sections:

Human and Social Sciences
Physical Activity and Health
Physical Education
Sport Pedagogy
Physical Training
Sport Training
Sport Management, Active Leisure, and Tourism
Scientific Notes: Short articles on technological, methodological, and scientific developments, published exclusively in English.

Additionally, the journal accepts, at the discretion of the editorial team, opinion pieces and scientific letters. Monographs and special issues are not accepted.

Scientific Strategy

To ensure the scientific rigor of the published works, Apunts Educación Física y Deportes follows the following criteria:

Scientific Rigor: A strict article admission policy, with a double-blind peer review process that ensures the anonymity of both authors and reviewers throughout the entire review process.
Publication Guidelines: Submission guidelines adhere to the standards set by the American Psychological Association (APA, 7th edition), encompassing citation, formatting, and referencing of manuscripts.
Publication Frequency: Quarterly.

Ethical Considerations

At Apunts Educación Física y Deportes, we are committed to adhering to ethical standards throughout all phases of the editorial process, from manuscript submission to publication and dissemination. Scientific integrity, transparency in the review process, and confidentiality are fundamental principles that guide our work.

We urge all authors, as well as reviewers, to adhere to the highest ethical standards regarding data authenticity, transparency in research methods, and respect for authorship and intellectual property rights. We actively promote gender equality in all aspects of research and publication, ensuring equitable representation and preventing any form of discrimination or bias. Additionally, we emphasize the prevention of plagiarism and respect for intellectual originality, requiring that all submitted research is the result of genuine work and properly cited. Regarding the use of AI, please refer to the section on the use of artificial intelligence in the Publication standards.

We also foster non-discrimination, mutual respect, and open, honest collaboration within the scientific community.

Accessibility Statement

The website of Apunts Educación Física y Deportes aims to facilitate universal access for all individuals, regardless of their physical, sensory, or intellectual abilities, as well as technical conditions (type of device, software, connection speed, etc.). The Journal is committed to making its website accessible in accordance with Royal Decree 1112/2018, of September 7, on the accessibility of websites and applications for mobile devices in the public sector, and is fully compliant with this regulation and the technical standard UNE-EN301549 (January 2022).

Policy on Authorship and Contributions

In Apunts Educación Física y Deportes, authorship is recognized only for those individuals who have made substantial and verifiable intellectual contributions to the work presented. To be considered an author, it is necessary to meet the following criteria, based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE):

Participate in the conception and design of the study, or in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data.
Participate in the drafting of the manuscript or in the critical revision of its intellectual content.
Approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.
Accept responsibility for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to its accuracy or integrity are properly investigated and resolved.

Simple technical contribution, general supervision of the research group, or obtaining funding do not justify authorship.
Contributions that do not meet the above criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section.
Authorships must clearly state the specific contributions of each author in the manuscript, promoting transparency and accountability in scientific publishing.
Furthermore, it is mandatory that all authors declare any conflicts of interest and funding related to the work.

Policy on Funding and Acknowledgements

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes is funded exclusively by the Generalitat de Catalunya, without receiving external contributions or commercial funding for the publication of its content.
Authors must declare any source of funding received for the conduct of the study or work presented.
In the Acknowledgements section, it is recommended to explicitly mention individuals, institutions, or entities that have contributed significantly to the development of the work but do not meet the authorship criteria. Recognitions may also include technical, administrative, or financial support specifically related to the project, provided that permission has been obtained to mention them.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary material for our electronic journal may include multimedia resources such as audio and video files; additional files, such as datasets and methodologies; and interactive elements, such as links. In addition, high-quality visual elements can be included, such as infographics, charts, images, and maps, ensuring that they are either copyright-free or properly cited.

If the author deems it appropriate, supplementary files may be uploaded, such as high-resolution images or native files (Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc.), as well as charts generated in PowerPoint or Excel.

For figures or images, the recommended formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, or TIFF at 300 dpi. Files for Appendices can be submitted as the original PDF, Word (which will be converted), or high-quality images. Data files may be submitted in CSV or XLSX format.

Research Data in Federated Repositories (EOSC)

At Apunts Educación Física y Deportes, we want the data used in articles to be available for other researchers to consult and use. Therefore, we ask authors to:

Deposit their data in recognized public repositories, preferably in federated repositories such as those offered by the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) or similar platforms (e.g., Zenodo or Figshare).
Share the data openly whenever possible, unless there are ethical or legal reasons that prevent it.
Include a section in the article called “Research Data” explaining where the data can be found and how to access it, including the link or identifier code.

The journal will verify that the data are available before publishing the article. If these requirements are not met, authors will be asked to make the necessary corrections before the work is accepted.

For guidance, a non-exhaustive list of public repositories is provided below, from which authors may choose the one they consider most appropriate, or any other repository not included in this list, provided it meets the availability conditions:

Zenodo
OpenAIRE
CESSDA Data Catalogue
Open Science Framework

Policy on Conservation and Preservation

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes encourages the deposit of the final published version of articles in open-access repositories, in order to facilitate access to and dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Specifically, the journal deposits articles in recognized repositories such as the Catalan Journals in Open Access (RACO by its Catalan acronym), always respecting the terms of the Creative Commons license under which the article is published.
Apunts Educación Física y Deportes performs daily backups of its files and databases, allowing them to be recovered at any time.

Policy on Good Practices Regarding Gender Issues

Apunts Educación Física y Deportes is committed to promoting equality between women and men in all areas of scientific activity. The journal encourages the visibility of work carried out by female researchers and the use of inclusive and respectful language in all its publications.

To fulfill this commitment, the journal implements the following actions:

Balance in the composition of editorial bodies: a balanced representation of women and men is ensured in the positions of Management, Editorial Secretary, Editorial Board, and Advisory Board.
Participation of female reviewers: efforts are made to ensure that at least 40% of manuscript reviewers are women.
Use of inclusive language: the use of inclusive and bias-free language is required in scientific articles, recognizing diversity, promoting equal opportunities, and avoiding expressions that are discriminatory or stereotyped based on sex, ethnic group, culture, or other characteristics. It is recommended to consult the Basic Guide for the Use of Non-Sexist Language.
Consideration of sex and gender in research: authors are required to indicate whether sex and/or gender variables have been considered in the design, analysis, and presentation of the study results, in order to identify potential differences, inequalities, or biases.
Recommendations for including sex/gender analysis: the development of specific analyses comparing women and men is encouraged, as well as the discussion of findings from a gender perspective when relevant to the study’s objectives.
Evaluation of the gender perspective in the review process: reviewers will assess the adequacy and rigor of incorporating sex/gender perspectives when relevant to the manuscript, as well as the correct interpretation of results, avoiding biased generalizations.
Complete identification of authorship: the inclusion of the full names of all authors in published works is promoted.