Conflict of Interest

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest is a situation in which financial or non-financial interests may influence, or may reasonably be perceived to influence, objectivity, independence, professional judgment, the conduct of research, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

Conflicts of interest may relate to:

• personal or family relationships;
• professional or institutional relationships;
• academic or research collaborations;
• financial or commercial interests;
• academic or professional competition;
• direct involvement in research or activities related to the manuscript; or
• other interests relevant to the independence of the parties involved.

Authors' Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any relevant relationships, support, or interests that may influence or may be perceived to influence the research or the presentation of its findings. Where relevant, disclosure includes:

• funding sources or sponsorship;
• employment, professional, or institutional relationships;
• financial or commercial interests;
• relevant personal relationships;
• involvement in activities or organizations related to the subject matter of the manuscript; or
• other interests that may affect the objectivity of the research or its reporting.

When research receives specific funding or support, authors must disclose the role of the funder or supporting party in the study design, data collection or analysis, interpretation of findings, preparation of the manuscript, and the decision to submit the work for publication whenever such involvement exists.

Reviewers' Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose to the editors any relationship or interest that may influence or may reasonably be perceived to influence the independence and objectivity of the review. Reviewers' conflicts of interest may relate to:

• personal or family relationships;
• professional or institutional relationships;
• academic or research collaborations;
• financial or commercial interests;
• academic or professional competition;
• direct involvement in research or activities related to the manuscript; or
• other relevant interests.

Reviewers must decline or return a review assignment when a conflict of interest may compromise the objectivity of their assessment. Disclosure must be made through the editorial mechanism without contacting the authors directly.

Editors' Conflicts of Interest

Editors must maintain independence in handling manuscripts and disclose any interest or relationship that may influence or may reasonably be perceived to influence editorial decision-making.

Editors must not handle the evaluation of or make editorial decisions on a manuscript when they:

• are an author or contributor to the manuscript;
• are directly involved in the research reported in the manuscript;
• have a relevant personal or family relationship with an author;
• have a professional, institutional, or research collaboration that may affect their independence;
• have a financial or commercial interest related to the manuscript; or
• are subject to any other circumstance that may compromise, or create a reasonable perception of compromised, editorial objectivity.

In such circumstances, responsibility for handling the manuscript must be transferred to an independent editor. When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest, the Managing Editor assumes responsibility for the manuscript and makes the final editorial decision, provided that the Managing Editor has no conflict of interest.

Conflicts of Interest of the Journal and Publisher

Commercial, financial, institutional, sponsorship, partnership, advertising, publication fee, or other revenue-related interests must not determine the outcome of peer review or editorial decisions. A clear separation between business interests and scholarly considerations must be maintained to safeguard the independence of the publication process.

The publisher and journal management must not use institutional, financial, or other relationships to influence editors or reviewers to accept, reject, accelerate, delay, or alter a scholarly assessment. Administrative work priority under the Article Processing Charge service options does not change the depth of peer review, the authority responsible for decisions, or the outcome of an assessment.

Disclosure and Management of Conflicts of Interest

Any known conflict of interest must be disclosed as early as possible so that it can be assessed and managed transparently. Disclosure of a conflict of interest does not, by itself, constitute an ethical violation, but provides the journal with a basis for determining the measures necessary to preserve the independence and objectivity of the publication process.

Depending on the nature and extent of the conflict of interest, the journal may take measures including:

• transferring responsibility for handling the manuscript to another editor;
• replacing a reviewer;
• requesting clarification or additional disclosure;
• publishing a conflict of interest statement with the article; or
• taking other editorial action appropriate to the circumstances.

When a relevant conflict of interest is identified only after publication, the journal examines the matter and takes the measures necessary to maintain transparency and the integrity of the scholarly record. Failure to disclose a relevant interest may be addressed as an ethical concern under the Publication Ethics & Malpractice policy and, when it affects a published article, may be addressed further under the Corrections, Retractions, & Withdrawals policy.