Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest, also known as a competing interest, occurs when a personal, financial, professional, institutional, or other relationship could influence a person's judgment or create a reasonable perception of bias in research or publication activities.

A conflict does not automatically indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may undermine confidence in the fairness and integrity of the publication process.

Competing interests may take several forms, including but not limited to the following:

All authors are responsible for disclosing competing interests relevant to their manuscript. Authors should:

• Declare relevant financial, personal, professional, and institutional relationships.
• Identify funding sources and describe the role of funders in the research, manuscript preparation, and publication decision, where applicable.
• Ensure that disclosures are complete, accurate, and consistent across the manuscript and submission system.
• Inform the editorial office if a relevant competing interest becomes apparent after submission.
• Cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification or additional information.

Editors must protect the independence and fairness of editorial decisions. Editors should:

• Disclose any competing interest related to a manuscript under consideration.
• Withdraw from handling a manuscript when a conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, impartiality.
• Arrange for an independent editor to manage the manuscript when appropriate.
• Keep confidential manuscript information separate from personal or commercial interests.
• Base editorial decisions on scholarly merit, relevance, ethical compliance, and the journal's publication standards.

Reviewers must disclose circumstances that could affect their ability to provide an impartial assessment. Reviewers should:

• Inform the editor of relevant personal, financial, professional, or collaborative relationships.
• Decline the invitation when a competing interest prevents an objective review.
• Avoid using confidential manuscript information for personal, academic, or commercial advantage.
• Maintain confidentiality and provide a fair, evidence-based evaluation.

Authors should include a Conflict of Interest statement in their manuscript. If no competing interests exist, the following wording may be used.

Authors must disclose funding or financial support relevant to the research, where applicable. The funding statement should identify the funding organization and grant or project number when available.

Authors should also explain the funder's role in study design, data collection, analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit for publication, where relevant.

When a competing interest is disclosed, the journal evaluates whether the circumstances require additional safeguards. Depending on the situation, appropriate measures may include:

• Requesting clarification or additional disclosure from the relevant participant.
• Assigning an independent editor or reviewer.
• Requiring a more detailed disclosure statement in the published article.
• Changing editorial assignments where necessary to protect impartiality.
• Taking further action if a material conflict was concealed or misrepresented.

If the journal identifies a potentially undisclosed or inaccurate competing-interest declaration, it may request an explanation and assess the available evidence.

Depending on the findings and the stage of publication, possible actions include correction of the disclosure, changes to editorial handling, rejection of a manuscript, or further action under the journal's Publication Ethics and Correction & Retraction policies. Any action should be proportionate to the circumstances and supported by evidence.

This policy applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and other participants involved in IJAPSET's publication process. All participants are expected to provide accurate disclosures and cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification.

Reference to COPE guidance does not by itself imply that IJAPSET is a COPE member.