Conflict of Interest

FUADUNA • PUBLICATION ETHICS

Conflict of Interest Policy

Disclosure and management of competing interests for authors, reviewers, editors, and the journal.

Author DisclosureReviewer IndependenceEditor Recusal

A conflict of interest, or competing interest, exists when a secondary interest or relationship could reasonably be perceived as influencing professional judgement in research, peer review, or editorial decision-making. A conflict does not automatically imply wrongdoing; nondisclosure is the primary concern.

 

Authors

  • Disclose relevant financial support, employment, consultancy, honoraria, grants, contracts, or other financial relationships connected to the work.
  • Disclose relevant personal, professional, collaborative, supervisory, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as affecting the research or interpretation.
  • State all funding sources and the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, writing, or publication decisions.
  • Include a clear competing-interest statement in the manuscript, even when there is nothing to declare.
 

Reviewers

  • Decline a review when a financial, personal, professional, competitive, collaborative, or institutional relationship could compromise impartiality.
  • Inform the editor promptly when a possible conflict becomes apparent after accepting the review invitation.
  • Do not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.
  • Do not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless authorized by the editor.
 

Editors and Editorial Board

  • Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a relevant conflict of interest.
  • A manuscript submitted by an editor, editorial-board member, close collaborator, or institutional colleague must be assigned to an independent editor who can manage the process without influence from the conflicted editor.
  • Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit and must not be affected by APC payment, institutional relationships, prestige, nationality, or other non-academic considerations.
  • Conflicts identified after publication may require a correction, disclosure notice, expression of concern, or other action depending on their effect on the scholarly record.
 

Suggested Disclosure Statements

No competing interests

The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial competing interests relevant to this work.

Competing interests exist

The authors disclose the following competing interests: [describe the relationship clearly].

Policy note. This page should be read together with FUADUNA's Focus and Scope, Peer Review Process, Publication Ethics, Copyright and Licensing, and other applicable editorial policies. Where a conflict arises, the most recently approved journal policy applies.