Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose relationships, activities, or interests that could influence or reasonably appear to influence their scholarly judgment.

Potential competing interests may include:

• financial relationships;
• employment;
• consulting relationships;
• share ownership;
• organizational relationships;
• research funding;
• professional relationships;
• personal relationships;
• academic competition;
• intellectual commitments; or
• other relevant interests.

Authors

Authors must disclose relevant competing interests in the manuscript.

Where no competing interest exists, authors should provide an appropriate declaration.

Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts before accepting a review assignment and decline the assignment where independent judgment may be compromised.

Editors

Editors must not make editorial decisions concerning manuscripts where they have a significant competing interest.

Such manuscripts must be assigned to another qualified and independent editor.

 

Related Policies:
Peer Review Process | Editorial Process | Publication Ethics