Declaration/ Conflict of Interest

A Declaration of Conflicting Interests policy refers to a formal policy a journal may have to require a conflict of interest statement or conflict of interest disclosure from a submitting or publishing author.

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) states in its Guidelines on Good Publication Practice (2003) that:

“Conflicts of interest arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. They have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived”. 

Many scholars, researchers and professionals may have potential conflicts of interest that could have an effect on the mindset of the readers. Author’s work and activities must be transparent during the planning, implementation, writing, submission, editing, peer review and publication. The relationship among authors, editors, and reviewers must be clear without any perception of financial gain, for the credibility of the journal, authors and research integrity itself.