Conflict of Interest

The Journal of Progressive Innovation Library Service (JPILS) is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, and academic integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process. All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that may influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, their judgment or decisions.

JPILS recognizes that the proper disclosure and management of conflicts of interest are essential to ensuring a fair, independent, and credible editorial and peer-review process.

A. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, financial, professional, academic, or institutional interests may improperly influence an individual's responsibilities in conducting, reviewing, editing, or publishing scholarly work in JPILS.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine the transparency, credibility, and integrity of the publication process.

JPILS therefore requires all parties involved in the publication process to disclose relevant conflicts of interest so that they can be appropriately assessed and managed.

B. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Financial Interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, royalties, research funding, grants, or other financial benefits related to the submitted work.
  2. Personal Relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may compromise professional judgment.
  3. Professional or Academic Interests: Research collaborations, supervisory relationships, academic competition, professional rivalries, or institutional affiliations involving the authors or their work.
  4. Institutional Interests: Relationships with institutions, organizations, libraries, universities, government agencies, or companies that may benefit from the publication or its findings.
  5. Editorial Conflicts of Interest: Situations in which editors or reviewers have relationships with authors, their institutions, or the subject matter that may compromise the impartiality of the editorial or review process.

This list is not exhaustive. Any relationship or circumstance that could reasonably be perceived as influencing professional judgment must be disclosed.

C. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript to JPILS.

Authors are responsible for declaring financial and non-financial interests relevant to their scholarly work.

Authors must:

  1. Disclose all relevant funding sources and explain the role of sponsors in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decisions, where applicable.
  2. Ensure that all co-authors are aware of and agree with the conflict-of-interest disclosures.
  3. Provide accurate and complete conflict-of-interest statements in the manuscript and submission system.
  4. Notify the editorial team if a relevant conflict of interest arises or is identified after manuscript submission.
  5. Ensure that the corresponding author coordinates the collection and submission of conflict-of-interest declarations from all co-authors.

For manuscripts reporting community engagement activities, authors should also disclose relevant relationships with partner institutions, funding organizations, community organizations, or other parties that may benefit from the reported activities or outcomes.

D. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript for JPILS.

Reviewers should decline an assignment if a conflict may compromise, or could reasonably be perceived to compromise, their impartiality. Such circumstances may include recent research collaboration with an author, close personal relationships, direct professional competition, or financial interests related to the submitted work.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, academic, or financial advantage.

If a conflict of interest becomes apparent during the review process, the reviewer must promptly inform the editor so that appropriate action can be taken.

E. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must make editorial decisions objectively and independently, based on scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, peer-review outcomes, and the manuscript's suitability for the focus and scope of JPILS.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts whenever their impartiality may be compromised. In such cases, the manuscript must be reassigned to an independent editor or another qualified editorial representative.

Editors must not use confidential information obtained through their editorial responsibilities for personal advantage or allow commercial, personal, or institutional interests to improperly influence publication decisions.

Editorial decisions must remain independent of the interests of authors, reviewers, the publisher, and other parties.

F. Conflict-of-Interest Disclosure Statements

Authors must include a conflict-of-interest statement in their submitted manuscripts.

1. No Conflict of Interest

If no relevant conflict exists, authors may use the following statement:

“The authors declare that they have no known financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could have influenced the work reported in this manuscript.”

2. Conflict of Interest Disclosed

If a relevant conflict exists, authors should provide a statement such as:

“The authors declare the following conflicts of interest: [describe the relevant financial or non-financial interests]. The role of any related organization, institution, or sponsor in the reported work and manuscript preparation is described as follows: [provide details, where applicable].”

All disclosure statements must accurately reflect the circumstances surrounding the reported work. Authors must not declare that no conflict exists when a relevant conflict of interest is present.

G. Management of Conflicts of Interest

JPILS will assess disclosed conflicts of interest and determine whether additional measures are necessary to protect the integrity of the editorial and peer-review processes.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

  1. Request additional information or clarification from the parties concerned.
  2. Reassign a manuscript to an independent editor or reviewer.
  3. Require additional disclosure in the published article.
  4. Implement safeguards to ensure independent and impartial peer review.
  5. Reconsider an editorial decision when a significant conflict was intentionally concealed or inaccurately reported.
  6. Take appropriate editorial action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

All decisions will be proportionate to the circumstances and intended to protect the integrity of scholarly publishing.

H. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after submission, during peer review, or following publication, JPILS may request an explanation and supporting information from the authors or other relevant parties.

Depending on the findings, the journal may require a correction, publish an appropriate editorial notice, reconsider an editorial decision, or take other action consistent with its publication ethics and correction policies.

Serious cases involving suspected research or publication misconduct will be handled in accordance with the journal's procedures for investigating allegations of misconduct.

I. Policy Compliance

All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with this policy and disclose relevant conflicts of interest promptly, accurately, and transparently.

JPILS is committed to handling conflicts of interest in accordance with its publication ethics policies and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

By maintaining clear disclosure and management procedures, JPILS seeks to ensure that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit and that published articles meet appropriate standards of academic integrity, transparency, and accountability.

Journal: Journal of Progressive Innovation Library Service (JPILS)

Publisher: Universitas Muhammadiyah Mataram, Indonesia

Official Website: https://journal.ummat.ac.id/index.php/JPILS/index