Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest about a research study exists when any part of the research study might be/is influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or non-monetary benefit). Conflict of interest can affect the credibility of a research study, author, and the journal. Perceptions of an editor/author/reviewer about conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest.

Conflict of interest may arise due to financial relationship (such as employment, consultancies, rewards, and patents) or non-financial reasons such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs.

Conflict of interest for Editor

Editor(s) and editorial staff members should recuse themselves from editorial decisions/judgments if they have conflicts of interest or relationships that pose potential conflicts related to articles under consideration. Editorial staff must not use information gained through working with manuscripts for private gain. Editors should publish regular disclosure statements about potential conflicts of interests related to the commitments of journal staff. Guest editors should follow these same procedures.

Conflict of interest for Reviewer

Reviewer(s) must declare any conflict of interest which may affect their review work e.g., in cases, they have received paper of a colleague or an intellectual opponent. In cases of conflict of interest, the reviewer(s) are requested to notify the editorial team of their inability to review a particular research paper.

Conflict of interest for Authors

All articles that are published in the journal will be accompanied by a conflict-of-interest disclosure statement, or a statement that the authors have replied that they have no conflicts of interest to declare.

All authors must privately disclose ‘ALL their potential conflicts of interest’ to the editors of the journal at the time of submission. These include all financial and non-financial interests and relationships, direct employment with a private sector entity (whether full or part-time), and service on private sector and non-profit boards and advisory panels, whether paid or unpaid. Authors should also disclose any conflict of interest that may have influenced either the conduct or the presentation of the research to the editors, including but not limited to close relationships with those who might be helped or hurt by the publication, academic interests and rivalries, and any personal, religious or political convictions relevant to the manuscript.