Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Policy

Journal of Science and Science Education (JoSSEd), published by the Postgraduate Program, University of Mataram, Indonesia, is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, accountability, and integrity throughout the scholarly publication process.

The journal recognizes that conflicts of interest may arise when personal, financial, professional, academic, or institutional relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the conduct, interpretation, evaluation, or publication of scholarly research.

JoSSEd requires authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in editorial decision-making to disclose relevant interests that could affect the impartiality and credibility of the publication process.

This policy is informed by the ethical recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, occurs when an individual's professional judgment, research activities, editorial responsibilities, or publication decisions may be influenced by secondary interests.

Such interests may be financial or non-financial and may involve personal relationships, institutional affiliations, academic competition, professional commitments, or other circumstances that could compromise, or appear to compromise, impartiality.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate unethical behavior. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine trust in the research and publication process.

2. Types of Conflicts of Interest

JoSSEd recognizes several categories of potential conflicts of interest, including but not limited to the following:

2.1 Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may arise from research grants, employment, consulting arrangements, honoraria, paid advisory roles, stock ownership, patents, royalties, sponsorships, or other financial relationships that may influence research outcomes or publication decisions.

2.2 Personal Conflicts of Interest

Personal conflicts may involve family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that could affect professional objectivity.

2.3 Professional and Academic Conflicts

Professional or academic conflicts may arise from direct research competition, supervisory relationships, recent research collaborations, academic rivalries, or professional commitments that could influence manuscript evaluation.

2.4 Institutional Conflicts of Interest

Institutional conflicts may occur when institutional affiliations, organizational interests, administrative responsibilities, or institutional financial relationships could affect research reporting or editorial decisions.

2.5 Intellectual and Other Non-Financial Conflicts

Non-financial conflicts may include strongly held intellectual positions, advocacy commitments, professional affiliations, or other interests that could reasonably affect impartial research assessment or editorial judgment.

3. Disclosure Requirements for Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to JoSSEd must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, its interpretation, or its publication.

The corresponding author is responsible for collecting relevant disclosures from all co-authors and ensuring that the manuscript contains an accurate and complete Conflict of Interest Statement.

Authors must disclose, where applicable:

• Financial support, sponsorship, or research funding related to the study.
• Employment, consulting, or advisory relationships relevant to the research.
• Patent applications, intellectual property interests, or royalty arrangements.
• Relevant personal, academic, or professional relationships.
• Institutional relationships that could influence the interpretation or presentation of findings.
• Any other interests that readers or editors could reasonably consider relevant to the submitted work.

Authors must provide disclosures during manuscript submission and update the journal if any relevant competing interests arise or become known during the editorial process.

4. Conflict of Interest Statement in Manuscripts

Every manuscript submitted to JoSSEd must include a clearly identified Conflict of Interest Statement, regardless of whether any competing interests exist.

The statement should be placed in the declarations section of the manuscript, in accordance with the journal's Author Guidelines and manuscript template.

Authors must ensure that all declarations are accurate, complete, and consistent with the information provided during submission.

5. Funding Disclosure and Sponsor Involvement

All authors must disclose financial support received for the research and preparation of the manuscript, including grants, institutional funding, sponsorships, or other relevant financial contributions.

Funding information should identify the funding organization and grant number, where applicable.

Authors must also disclose the role of any sponsor or funding organization in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, and decisions regarding publication.

Where the funding organization had no involvement in these activities, authors may explicitly state that the funder had no role in the research process or publication decision.

Authors who received no specific financial support should provide an appropriate statement indicating that no external funding was received.

6. Conflicts of Interest for Reviewers

Reviewers are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest before accepting a manuscript review assignment.

Reviewers must decline or withdraw from reviewing manuscripts when personal, financial, academic, or professional relationships could compromise their impartiality.

Potential conflicts include:

• Recent or ongoing research collaboration with the authors.
• Current supervisory or close professional relationships with the authors.
• Direct academic competition or significant professional disputes.
• Financial interests related to the manuscript's subject matter.
• Personal relationships that could affect objective evaluation.
• Other circumstances that could reasonably create actual or perceived bias.

If a reviewer becomes aware of a conflict after accepting a review invitation, the reviewer must promptly notify the handling editor.

JoSSEd operates a single-blind peer-review system. Reviewers must maintain confidentiality, provide objective assessments, and must not use unpublished manuscript information for personal or professional advantage.

7. Conflicts of Interest for Editors

Editors, including the Editor-in-Chief, associate editors, and handling editors, must disclose any interests that could affect their independence or impartiality in evaluating submitted manuscripts.

Editors must not manage manuscripts when they have significant financial, personal, academic, or professional conflicts involving the authors, research findings, or subject matter.

When a conflict exists, the editor must recuse themselves from the editorial evaluation and decision-making process. Responsibility for the manuscript must be assigned to another qualified editor without the relevant conflict.

Manuscripts submitted by members of the journal's editorial board must undergo independent editorial handling and the same scientific and ethical evaluation standards applied to other submissions.

Editorial decisions must be based solely on scientific merit, relevance, methodological quality, originality, and ethical compliance.

8. Institutional and Publisher Conflicts of Interest

JoSSEd recognizes that institutional or publisher-related interests may create actual or perceived conflicts in scholarly publishing.

The publisher and journal management must respect editorial independence and must not improperly influence manuscript acceptance, rejection, peer-review recommendations, or editorial decisions.

Financial, institutional, or administrative considerations must not override the journal's scientific and ethical standards.

Where institutional relationships create potential conflicts, the journal will implement appropriate safeguards, including independent editorial assessment and the reassignment of editorial responsibilities.

9. Disclosure and Management Procedures

JoSSEd applies the following procedures to identify, disclose, and manage conflicts of interest:

1. Disclosure at Submission: Authors must declare relevant financial and non-financial competing interests when submitting their manuscripts.
2. Editorial Screening: The editorial team examines submitted declarations and identifies potential conflicts requiring further consideration.
3. Reviewer Assessment: Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts before accepting review assignments.
4. Editorial Recusal: Editors with significant conflicts must withdraw from handling the affected manuscript.
5. Independent Evaluation: Where necessary, manuscripts are assigned to independent editors or reviewers.
6. Updated Disclosures: Relevant changes in competing interests must be communicated during manuscript processing.
7. Publication Disclosure: Appropriate author conflict of interest statements are included in the published article.

10. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Failure to disclose relevant competing interests may constitute a violation of the journal's publication ethics requirements.

When undisclosed conflicts are identified, the editorial team may request clarification, supporting documentation, or an updated disclosure statement from the individuals concerned.

Depending on the seriousness of the matter, JoSSEd may take appropriate actions, including:

• Requesting additional disclosure or clarification.
• Reassigning editorial or reviewer responsibilities.
• Suspending manuscript processing while concerns are investigated.
• Rejecting a manuscript when serious ethical violations are substantiated.
• Publishing a correction or updated conflict of interest statement.
• Issuing an expression of concern or retracting an article when justified by the findings.

Any editorial action will be based on the available evidence, the nature of the undisclosed interest, and its potential effect on the integrity of the research or publication process.

11. Post-Publication Disclosure and Corrections

Authors must promptly inform the editorial office if a relevant competing interest is discovered or becomes known after publication.

The journal will evaluate whether the new information requires an update to the published disclosure statement, a formal correction, or further editorial investigation.

Where an undisclosed conflict raises substantial concerns about the reliability or integrity of published findings, the journal may take additional action in accordance with its Correction and Retraction Policy.

Post-publication actions will follow the principles of transparency, fairness, proportionality, and responsible scholarly publishing.

12. Confidentiality and Ethical Responsibilities

All conflict of interest disclosures must be handled responsibly and with appropriate confidentiality during manuscript evaluation.

Editors and reviewers must not use confidential information obtained during the editorial process for personal gain, professional advantage, or purposes unrelated to manuscript assessment.

JoSSEd is committed to ensuring that the disclosure and management of competing interests support fair editorial decisions, protect the integrity of the peer-review process, and maintain public confidence in scholarly publishing.

13. Ethical Guidelines and References

This policy is informed by internationally recognized guidelines on competing interests and responsible scholarly publishing:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): https://publicationethics.org/
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/