Conflict of Interest Policy

A conflict of interest exists when a financial, personal, professional, or institutional relationship could influence, or appear to influence, the research, its reporting, or its evaluation. Having a conflict is not misconduct. Failing to disclose one is a problem. Aljameai Journal therefore asks everyone involved in publication to declare relevant interests openly.

What counts as a conflict. Examples include financial interests (employment, consultancies, fees, grants, shares, patents, or paid expert testimony); personal relationships (family, close friendship, or rivalry); professional and academic ties (the same institution, recent collaboration or co-authorship, supervision, or competition for funding or recognition); and strongly held intellectual or ideological positions that could affect objectivity. If in doubt, disclose.

Authors. Authors must include a Declaration of Interests in the manuscript, listing all relevant conflicts and all sources of funding, and stating the role of any funder in the study design, data, writing, or decision to publish. If there are none, the manuscript should say: "The authors declare no conflict of interest." Every co-author is responsible for the declaration, and authors must update it if new conflicts arise before publication.

Reviewers. Reviewers must decline, or tell the editor before reviewing, if they have co-authored with the authors in the last [3 years], work at the same institution, have a close personal relationship with them, are competing on closely related work, or have a financial interest in the outcome. Reviewers must not use information from the manuscript for their own advantage.

Editors and editorial board members. Editors must step aside from manuscripts from their own institution, collaborators, relatives, or close friends, and from any manuscript where they have another conflict. Such manuscripts are handled by an independent editor, and the person concerned has no access to the review. Board members who submit to the journal take no part in decisions on their own work.

Funders and the publisher. Funders and the publisher (LUPU) do not influence editorial decisions or the content of articles.

How declared conflicts are handled. A declared conflict does not automatically disqualify a manuscript. The editor considers it when choosing reviewers and making the decision, and may ask for further information. Where relevant, the declaration is published with the article.

Undeclared conflicts. If a conflict that should have been declared comes to light, the journal investigates. Depending on the findings, it may publish a correction, add an expression of concern, retract the article, or inform the authors' institution. Reviewers or editors who fail to disclose a conflict may be removed from their role.

Questions. If you are unsure whether something needs to be disclosed, write to the editorial office at [email] before submitting or reviewing.