Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A Conflict of Interest (COI) is defined as a situation in which the financial, personal, professional, or political interests of any participant in the editorial and publishing process (author, reviewer, or editor) could potentially compromise or influence their objectivity or professional judgment.

Types of Conflicts:

  • Financial: Grants, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, or any other material interests.

  • Professional/Administrative: Reporting lines (subordination), shared workplace, participation in joint grant projects within the last three years, or the author's affiliation with the Editorial Board or editorial staff.

  • Personal: Close family ties, personal friendships, professional competition, or overt animosity.

Categories of Persons with Potential Conflicts of Interest:

  • Editorial Staff: Managing Editor, Technical Editor, Copy Editor, Bibliographic Editor, and Indexing Manager.

  • Journal Leadership: Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editors.

  • Editorial Board Members: Internal, external, and international experts.

  • Founding Institution Representatives: Stakeholders from the host organization.

International Compliance and Standards:

This policy is aligned with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, specifically regarding the handling of submissions from Editorial Board members. The Editorial Office also adheres to the ICMJE requirements concerning the disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships.

2. Procedures for Declaring a Conflict of Interest

The Editorial Office mandates the compulsory disclosure of potential COIs by all parties involved:

  • For Authors: Upon manuscript submission, authors must complete a COI disclosure form. If no conflict exists, authors are required to state this explicitly.

  • For Reviewers: Prior to accepting a peer-review invitation, experts must confirm the absence of any COI regarding the authors or the research topic. Should a hidden COI be identified later, the reviewer is obligated to notify the Editorial Office and recuse themselves from the process.

  • For Editorial Board Members and Staff: These individuals must declare their role in journal management and any interests that might influence the independence of editorial decisions.

Technical Implementation in OJS:

During the manuscript upload process in the Open Journal Systems (OJS), COI disclosure occurs during the "Metadata" entry stage (under the "Contributors" step). For each co-author, the corresponding author must click "Edit" and complete the mandatory "Competing Interests" field. A submission is considered incomplete unless this information is provided for every member of the authorial collective.

Publication Stage:

All published articles must include a "Conflict of Interest" section. For authors who serve as editorial staff members, the use of the phrase "no conflict of interest" is strictly prohibited; their specific role must be disclosed.

Examples of COI Declarations in Articles:

  • Financial COI: "This research was funded by [Organization/Fund Name] under Grant No. [Number]. The sponsor had no role in the study design, data collection, or the decision to publish."

  • Professional COI: "Author [Name Surname] provides consultancy services to [Company Name], whose software was utilized in the experimental phase of this study."

  • Administrative COI: "Author [Surname] is a member of the Editorial Board of the Professional Pedagogics journal. To ensure an objective review, the manuscript was handled by an independent Managing Editor and external reviewers with no administrative, financial, or personal ties to the author."

  • Personal COI: "Author [Surname] has personal ties to a member/head of the Editorial Board of the Professional Pedagogics journal. Objectivity was maintained through the oversight of an independent Managing Editor and external peer reviewers who are independent of the author."

  • No Conflict Statement: "The author of the article [Surname] hereby certifies that there is no conflict of interest (financial, professional/administrative, or personal) that could have influenced the objectivity of the results or conclusions at any stage of the research, manuscript preparation, or publication."

3. Handling Submissions with Declared Conflicts of Interest

If a potential or actual COI is identified, the Editorial Office implements the following mitigation measures:

  • Independent Review Process: The Managing Editor of Professional Pedagogics acts as an independent party, maintaining no administrative, financial, or personal dependence on the founding institution.

  • Peer Review Protocol: For authors with potential COIs, the Managing Editor appoints two independent reviewers with no ties to the author. If the Managing Editor is an author, the Editor-in-Chief appoints both reviewers and oversees the entire editorial workflow for that manuscript.

  • Recusal from Management: Any author categorized as a person with a potential COI is restricted from accessing or managing their own manuscript within the Professional Pedagogics system.

  • Documentation: The Editorial Office records all reviewer appointment dates, reasons for recusal, and COI verification results for authors, reviewers, and editors in the journal’s internal database.

  • Transparency: The final version of the article must clearly state the presence or absence of a conflict of interest.

4. Accountability and Consequences

The systematic publication of materials without a proper declaration or the intentional concealment of a COI is regarded as a violation of publication ethics. Should an undisclosed COI be discovered post-publication, the Editorial Office will follow COPE flowcharts, which may result in the publication of a formal correction (erratum) or the retraction of the article.