 |
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
This policy explains how Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi handles competing interests that could affect the reporting, the evaluation, or the publication of research. Its aims are a transparent editorial process and the protection of the scholarly record.
In this policy, the terms conflict of interest and competing interest have the same meaning.
At a Glance
| Who | What must be done | When and where |
|---|---|---|
| Authors | Disclose every relevant interest, and state the sources of funding. The corresponding author writes one statement for the whole manuscript. | At submission, in the Acknowledgments section. |
| Editors | Disclose any relevant interest, and do not decide on a manuscript when impartiality may be affected. | Before accepting an assignment, and again when a new interest arises. |
| Reviewers | Disclose any relevant interest, and decline or withdraw when the conflict is disqualifying. | Before accepting an invitation, and again when a new interest arises. |
Contents
1. What Is a Competing Interest
A competing interest is any relationship, circumstance, or activity that could influence, or could reasonably seem to influence, the way in which research is conducted, reported, reviewed, or edited.
Disclosure is a protective measure, and it is not an accusation. To declare an interest does not mean that bias or misconduct has occurred. It allows the editors and the readers to judge the work with full information.
2. Interests That Should Be Disclosed
Disclose the interests below when they are relevant to a manuscript, or to an editorial or review assignment.
| No. | Type of interest | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Financial relationships | Employment, consultancy, honoraria, ownership of shares, patents, royalties, or other commercial benefits, for example from a media company, a public relations or advertising agency, a social media platform, a political organization, or a developer of communication software. |
| 2 | Funding and sponsorship | Research funding, paid expert work, or the involvement of a sponsor in the study, for example funding from a government office, a foundation, a company, a media organization, or an institution of higher education. |
| 3 | Personal and professional relationships | Close personal, supervisory, collaborative, or professional ties with authors, reviewers, or editors, for example a supervisor and a student, close colleagues, or recent coauthors. |
| 4 | Interest in the subject of the study | Having designed, produced, or sold the campaign, program, media product, or tool that is evaluated, or studying the organization, media outlet, or campaign of the author in a way that may affect objectivity. |
| 5 | Editorial and journal ties | An editorial appointment, or another tie with the journal, that requires the manuscript to be handled independently. |
Ordinary scholarly disagreement is not, by itself, treated as a disqualifying conflict.
3. Author Responsibilities
3.1 Competing interests
- Every author must disclose any interest that is relevant to the submitted work.
- The corresponding author compiles one competing interests statement for the whole manuscript.
- When there are no competing interests, the statement must say so.
3.2 Funding statement
- Authors must also state the sources of funding. The statement names the sources of support, the funding organizations, and the grant numbers.
- The statement says whether the funder had a role in the study, for example in the design, in the collection and analysis of data, or in the preparation of the manuscript.
- A funding statement does not replace a competing interests statement. Both are required.
3.3 Where to place the statements
- The article template does not have separate sections for these statements.
- Write both statements in the Acknowledgments section, as its last paragraphs.
- Include an Acknowledgments section in every manuscript, even when there is nothing else to acknowledge.
3.4 Examples of statements
| Situation | Example of the statement |
|---|---|
| No competing interests | The authors declare no competing interests. |
| An interest is declared | The first author is employed by [name of the organization], which produced the campaign that is evaluated in this study. The other authors declare no competing interests. |
| Funding | This study was funded by [name of the funder] under grant number [number]. The funder had no role in the design of the study, in the collection and analysis of data, or in the preparation of the manuscript. |
4. Editors and Reviewers
4.1 Editors
- Editors disclose any relevant interest before they accept an assignment, and they inform the journal promptly when an interest arises later.
- An editor whose impartiality may be affected does not make decisions on that manuscript.
- This includes manuscripts that are submitted by an editor or by a member of the editorial board. Such a manuscript is handled by an editor who is not involved, and the author does not take part in its evaluation or in the decision.
4.2 Reviewers
- Reviewers disclose any relevant interest before they accept an invitation, and they inform the journal promptly when an interest arises later.
- A reviewer who has a disqualifying conflict declines the invitation or withdraws from the review.
| No. | Examples of a disqualifying conflict |
|---|---|
| 1 | A close personal or supervisory relationship with an author. |
| 2 | A recent collaboration with an author. |
| 3 | A competing interest in the subject of the manuscript. |
The reviewers are also asked to read the Peer Review Process.
4.3 Declared conflicts of editors and reviewers
When an editor or a reviewer declares a conflict, an editor who is not affected decides whether safeguards are enough, or whether the assignment should be given to another person.
5. Assessment and Late Disclosure
Each declared interest is assessed for its relevance and for its possible effect on the work or on the editorial process. The journal may take one of the actions below.
| No. | Possible action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Publish the disclosure together with the article. |
| 2 | Ask for an independent assessment. |
| 3 | Replace the editor or the reviewer who is involved. |
Late or incomplete disclosure
When a declaration is missing, incomplete, or inaccurate, or when an interest is disclosed after submission or after publication, the journal considers the circumstances in context. Material concerns are handled under the Publication Ethics statement, the Allegations of Misconduct policy, and the Correction and Retraction policy.
6. Scope of This Policy
- This policy covers interests that are connected with research and with its assessment.
- Author fees are explained on the Author Fees page, and the ownership and management of the journal are explained on the Ownership and Management page.
- In accordance with the Publication Ethics statement, commercial considerations do not influence editorial decisions.
7. Related Pages and Enquiries
| Questions about this policy or a disclosure | jurnal.mukasi@gmail.com | jurnal@yp3a.org |
| Preparing a manuscript | Author Guidelines and Manuscript Preparation |
| Declaring contributions | Authorship and Contributorship |
| Review of manuscripts | Peer Review Process |
| Ethics and misconduct | Publication Ethics, Allegations of Misconduct, Correction and Retraction |
