A conflict of interest occurs when someone’s judgment is influenced by their personal relationships (friends, coworkers, or family), business relationships (working for a rival company), or financial factors (financing) when the journal is being published.

Any Conflict of Interest (COI) that might have influenced the authors’ research (e.g., funding) or choice to submit to the journal must be disclosed by the authors both within the paper and to the Editor-in-Chief.

If a reviewer has any conflicts of interest (COI) that could influence how they evaluate an article, they must disclose them. The COI must be disclosed to the Editor-in-Chief as soon as it is discovered, but it may not stop them from reading the piece.

Editors who might have a conflict of interest (COI) are not allowed to participate in any publishing decisions. For instance, another editor will oversee the peer review and all editorial choices if an article written by the Editor-in-Chief’s colleague is submitted to the journal.