First repository dedicated to sport and exercise related research goes online

SportRχiv a dedicated preprint (i.e., ‘pre’ formal publication version print) repository dedicated to sport and exercise related research has been launched today. Developed with the Center for Open Science, the site aims to create a central place for those working in or interested in sport to access research. Led by John Mills, a Lecturer at Essex, SportRχiv has been shaped by world leading researchers from around the world and represents those working in the sport and exercise sciences, rehabilitation and therapy, through to theatre studies and sport sociology.

Unlike institutional repositories that only hold pockets of relevant research, SportRχiv offers one central location; making it easier for researchers, students, practitioners, and the public to find the latest literature. What is more, all the research offered on the site is open and freely accessible to everyone.

“We are very proud to see this come to fruition; especially as this has been developed and is managed by the sport and exercise community for the sport and exercise community” says SportRχiv’s founder, John Mills. He was also quick to note the input he has received from the project’s steering board and emphasised that as a community enterprise, SportRχiv is independent of those seeking to profit from the hard work of academics.

When submitting manuscripts, SportRχiv offers a one-page streamlined submission portal with drag and drop functionality, which John Mills describes as “an incredibly simple and fast process”. Manuscripts shared to the repository remain the property of the author and the site offers flexible creative commons attributions. In other words, researchers can easily state what their research can and cannot be used for.

What is more, each manuscript is assigned a digital object identifier (i.e., DOI) which makes it easy to establish precedent, track citations, and ultimately claim credit for your work. "This may be especially useful when applying for research grants as many research councils and grant agencies now recognize preprints as part of the application process" says Dr Zachary Zenko, Post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University and adviser to the SportRχiv steering board.

In addition, any research shared to the archive is listed within Google Scholar and monitored by Altmetric – a system that tracks the attention that research outputs like scholarly articles and datasets receive online – with each page displaying the associated Altmetric badge and highlighting how much discussion the article has generated online. “Everyone on the SportRχiv steering board conducts research in the area of sport and/or exercise and we’ve tried to create a solution that meets the needs of our community” says Fergus Guppy, Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton and SportRχiv steering board member.

SportRχiv is now live and accepting submissions. The site and further information can be accessed at www.sportrxiv.org.