Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest (COI) represents a situation in which the financial, personal, professional, or political interests of any participant in the editorial and publishing process – including the author, reviewer, or editor – potentially influence their objectivity or professional judgement.

Types of conflict:

  • Financial: grants, fees, share ownership, patents, or other material interests.
  • Professional/Administrative: subordinate relationships, shared workplaces, or participation in joint grant projects within the previous three years.
  • Personal: close family or friendship ties, competition, or open hostility.

2. Declaration Procedures

The disclosure of conflicts of interest is conducted during the manuscript submission phase within the OJS system. When entering author metadata (at the "Contributors" step), the submitting author is required to click the "Edit" button for each co-author and complete the mandatory "Competing Interests" field. A submission shall be deemed incomplete unless this information is provided for every member of the authorial team.

The Editorial Board mandates the mandatory disclosure of potential COIs by all stakeholders:

  • For authors: When submitting a manuscript, authors are required to complete a form indicating the presence of any conflicts of interest (COIs). If no COI exists, authors must explicitly state this.
  • For reviewers: Before accepting a peer review invitation, the expert must confirm the absence of a COI with the authors or the research topic. Should a hidden COI be discovered, the reviewer is obliged to notify the Editorial Board and decline the review request.
  • For editors: Editorial Board members are required to declare any interests that could potentially affect the independence of editorial decisions.

3. Conflict Resolution Algorithm

Upon identifying a potential or actual COI, the Editorial Board implements the following procedure:

  • Recusal: The editor or reviewer with a conflict of interest is removed from working on the specific manuscript.
  • Appointment of an independent party: The Editor-in-Chief appoints an independent managing editor – who possesses no administrative dependence on the author or other relevant ties – to oversee the entire manuscript review process.
  • Documentation: The Editorial Board records the grounds for recusal, the appointment date of the new editor, and the COI verification results within the journal's internal database.

4. Procedures for Manuscripts from Editorial Board Members and Founders

To mitigate "endogeneity" risks – referring to the insularity of the authorial circle – and ensure decision-making independence:

  • Articles submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board members, or representatives of the founding institution undergo a distinct, separate procedure.
  • An independent managing editor, who does not report administratively to the author, is appointed for such submissions.
  • The manuscript is mandatorily referred for peer review to external independent reviewers who are neither members of the Editorial Board nor employees of the author’s institution.

5. Procedural Support for Transparency and Conflict of Interest Disclosure

To enhance trust in scientific publications and minimise ethical risks, the Editorial Board implements the following procedural requirements:

Declaration procedures:

  • Authors are obliged to disclose any financial or non-financial ties that could potentially be construed as a conflict of interest (COI).
  • Reviewers must declare the absence of a COI before commencing an evaluation or report any administrative dependence or professional rivalry.
  • Editors must declare potential conflicts during manuscript distribution to ensure the absolute independence of editorial decisions.

Mandatory publication requirements:

  • The Editorial Board does not accept manuscripts for consideration unless they include comprehensive information on author contributions and COI disclosure.
  • Every published article must contain a conflict of interest declaration or an official statement regarding its absence.

Verification and response procedures:

  • The Editorial Board conducts internal monitoring to identify concealed COIs, specifically through the analysis of anomalous citation patterns or institutional affiliations.
  • Should a concealed conflict be identified, a resolution algorithm is applied, involving the recusal of the interested party and the appointment of an independent managing editor and external independent reviewers.
  • All factual grounds for the recusal of an editor or reviewer, along with the subsequent decisions, are subject to mandatory documentation within the editorial database.

International compliance and standards:

  • This policy aligns with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly regarding the management of submissions from Editorial Board members.
  • The Editorial Board adheres to ICMJE requirements for disclosing financial and non-financial relationships and utilises EASE tools to structure ethical data.

6. Declaration in the Published Article

Every article in the Professional Pedagogy journal must include a "Conflict of Interest" section:

  • Where a COI is declared: "The authors declare the following conflict of interest."
    • Example: "The authors declare the following conflict of interest: this research was funded by [Organization/Fund Name] under grant No. [Number]; notably, the sponsor was not involved in the study design, data collection, or the decision to publish the article."
    • Example: "The authors declare the following conflict of interest: Author [Surname] provides consultancy services to [Company Name], whose software was utilised in the experimental component of the research."
    • Example: "The authors declare a professional conflict of interest: one of the authors serves as a member of the Editorial Board of the 'Professional Pedagogy' journal. To ensure objectivity, the manuscript was managed by an independent managing editor and evaluated by external reviewers through a distinct editorial procedure."
  • Where no COI exists: "The authors declare no conflict of interest".
    • Example: "It is hereby certified that no conflict of interest (financial, professional, or personal) exists that could have influenced the objectivity of the results or conclusions at any stage of the research, manuscript preparation, or publication of this article."

7. Responsibility and Consequences

Systematic publication of materials without a proper declaration or the concealment of a COI is considered a violation of publication ethics. Should an undeclared COI be identified post-publication, the Editorial Board acts in accordance with COPE flowcharts, which may lead to the publication of a correction or the retraction of the article.