Conflicts of Interest / Competing Interests

Introduction
The International Journal of Data Science (IJoDS) is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the publication process by managing conflicts of interest (also known as competing interests) effectively. This policy outlines the definitions of conflicts of interest and the processes for their disclosure and management for authors, reviewers, editors, and other journal personnel.

Description
A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain, personal relationships, or academic competition). Transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest is crucial for maintaining trust in the peer review and publication process. Conflicts of interest can arise for authors, reviewers, editors, and journal staff and must be declared whether identified before or after publication.

The Policy

  • Definition: IJoDS considers a conflict of interest to be any financial, personal, academic, or professional relationship or situation that could inappropriately influence (or be perceived to influence) an individual's judgment or actions related to the manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication.
  • Disclosure by Authors: All authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could be perceived to bias their work. This includes financial interests (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, patents, grants) and non-financial interests (e.g., personal relationships, academic competition, intellectual beliefs). Funding sources for the research must always be declared.
  • Disclosure by Reviewers: Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript and must recuse themselves if a significant conflict exists. Reviewers should also report if they become aware of any potential author conflicts of interest during the review.
  • Disclosure by Editors and Journal Staff: Editors (including the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors) and journal staff involved in editorial decisions must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict exists.
  • Management of Conflicts: IJoDS will manage disclosed conflicts of interest to ensure that decisions are not unduly influenced. This may involve recusal of individuals from the review or decision-making process or publication of a disclosure statement alongside the article.
  • Post-Publication: If a conflict of interest is discovered after publication, IJoDS will investigate and may publish a correction or other appropriate notice.

Implementation of the Policy

  • Author Disclosures:
    • Authors must include a "Conflicts of Interest" section in their manuscript, declaring any potential conflicts or stating that none exist. This statement should cover all authors.
    • The source of funding for the research must be explicitly stated in the "Funding" section and described in the "Acknowledgments" if the funder had any role in the research or manuscript preparation.
    • These declarations will be published with the article.
  • Reviewer Disclosures:
    • Reviewers are asked to declare any conflicts of interest when invited to review a manuscript. The IJoDS manuscript submission system will prompt for this declaration.
    • If a reviewer is unsure whether a situation constitutes a conflict, they should consult the Editor-in-Chief before proceeding.
    • Reviewers are expected to decline review invitations if they have a recent publication or current submission with any author of the manuscript, if they have collaborated with any author in the last 3 years, if they have a close personal connection to any author, or if they have a direct financial interest in the manuscript's subject matter.
  • Editor and Journal Staff Disclosures:
    • Editors and journal staff will declare their conflicts of interest annually and on a per-manuscript basis if a new conflict arises.
    • Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, or journal staff will be handled by an alternative editor who has no conflict of interest, and the peer review process will be conducted to ensure an objective and unbiased evaluation, with this process transparently reported if necessary.
  • Handling Disclosed Conflicts:
    • The Editor-in-Chief (or an assigned editor in case of the Editor-in-Chief's conflict) will assess disclosed conflicts.
    • If an author conflict is deemed significant, a statement detailing the conflict will be published with the article.
    • If a reviewer conflict is identified, an alternative reviewer will typically be sought.
    • If an editor has a conflict, they will be recused from handling the manuscript.
  • Ethical Guidelines: IJoDS refers to established ethical guidelines for managing suspected undisclosed conflicts of interest, both pre- and post-publication.