Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of Interest Policy

International Journal of Social Science, Educational, Economics, Agriculture Research and Technology (IJSET) is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, and integrity in the publication process. All parties involved in the publication process—authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members—must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest (COIs) that could influence their work.

1) Definition

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, financial, professional, or institutional relationships could inappropriately influence (or be perceived to influence) decisions, actions, or interpretations related to a manuscript.

2) Types of Conflicts of Interest

A. Financial COIs

Examples include:

  • Employment, consultancy, honoraria, paid expert testimony

  • Stock ownership, grants, patents, royalties

  • Paid speaking engagements, sponsorships, or funding tied to the study

B. Non-Financial COIs

Examples include:

  • Personal relationships, family ties, close friendships, or adversarial relationships

  • Academic competition, rivalry, or strong intellectual beliefs

  • Institutional affiliations that may benefit from the publication outcome

  • Political, religious, or ideological positions that may bias interpretation

3) Author Responsibilities

Authors must:

  • Declare any conflicts of interest in the manuscript (COI/Declaration section).

  • Clearly state all sources of funding and the role of funders (if any) in study design, data collection, analysis, and publication decisions.

  • Confirm that disclosure is complete and accurate for all co-authors.

  • If there are no conflicts, authors must include a statement such as:
    “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

4) Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers must:

  • Declare conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment.

  • Decline the review if they have a COI, including:

    • Recent collaboration with the author(s)

    • Same institution/department affiliation

    • Close personal relationships or direct competition

  • Maintain confidentiality and not use manuscript information for personal advantage.

5) Editor and Editorial Board Responsibilities

Editors and board members must:

  • Avoid handling manuscripts where a conflict exists (e.g., same institution, collaborators, personal relationships).

  • Assign an alternative editor to manage the manuscript when a COI is identified.

  • Ensure editorial decisions remain independent and based only on academic merit and journal standards.

6) Management of Conflicts

If a conflict is disclosed or identified, IJSET may:

  • Request additional clarification from authors/reviewers/editors

  • Reassign editors or reviewers to ensure neutrality

  • Publish a COI statement alongside the article when relevant

  • Reject a manuscript if undisclosed COIs compromise research integrity

7) Non-Disclosure or Misconduct

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in:

  • Manuscript rejection (pre-publication)

  • Publication of a correction/COI update

  • Retraction in severe cases where the integrity of the work is compromised