Conflict of Interest Policy
- Policy Statement
The journal is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, and integrity throughout the editorial and publication process. All authors, editors, and reviewers are required to disclose any financial, professional, personal, or other relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their judgment regarding a manuscript.
A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may compromise the integrity and credibility of the publication process.
- Authors' Responsibilities
Authors must disclose all actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence the research, interpretation of results, or preparation of the manuscript.
Relevant conflicts may include, but are not limited to:
- Financial relationships, including employment, consultancies, honoraria, research grants, funding, stock ownership, or other financial interests.
- Personal or professional relationships that may affect the objectivity of the research.
- Institutional affiliations or professional commitments that may influence the research or its interpretation.
- Intellectual property interests, including patents, copyrights, or commercial interests related to the research.
- Other interests or relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the manuscript.
All authors must agree on the conflict-of-interest declaration before submission. If no conflicts exist, the manuscript should include the following statement: "The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest."
- Editors' Responsibilities
Editors must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their editorial judgment. Editors should not handle manuscripts when they have financial, personal, professional, or collaborative relationships with the authors or organizations involved that could compromise their impartiality.
When a conflict exists, the manuscript must be reassigned to an independent editor who can manage the editorial process objectively.
- Reviewers' Responsibilities
Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment. Conflicts may arise from close professional collaboration, personal relationships, direct competition, financial interests, or other circumstances that could affect impartiality.
Reviewers who identify a significant conflict should decline the assignment or inform the editor so that an appropriate decision can be made.
- Funding Disclosure
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, institutional funding, industry sponsorship, and other relevant contributions.
The funding statement should identify the funding organization and, where applicable, the grant number. Authors should also clarify the role of the funding source in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the work for publication. If the funder had no involvement in these activities, the authors should state this explicitly.
- Editorial Assessment and Management
The editorial team will assess disclosed conflicts of interest and determine appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the publication process. These measures may include reassignment of editors or reviewers, requests for additional disclosure, publication of relevant declarations, or rejection of a manuscript when a conflict cannot be adequately managed.
The journal reserves the right to request additional information or clarification regarding any declared or suspected conflict of interest.
- Publication of Declarations
Relevant conflict-of-interest and funding declarations will be published with the article where appropriate. The journal expects all parties involved in the publication process to provide accurate, complete, and timely disclosures.
Failure to disclose a material conflict of interest may result in editorial action, including manuscript rejection, correction of a published article, or other measures consistent with the journal's publication ethics policies.
