Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest exists when a person's professional judgement could be influenced — or appear to be influenced — by a secondary interest, such as financial gain, personal relationships, academic competition, or intellectual beliefs. IJDIR requires that all potential conflicts of interest be disclosed so that readers can make informed judgements about the research.
For Authors
All authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission. A Conflict of Interest Statement must be included in every manuscript. If no conflicts exist, authors must explicitly state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."
Disclosable interests include, but are not limited to:
- Financial relationships: employment, consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, or patents relating to the subject of the article
- Research funding from commercial entities related to the study
- Personal relationships with individuals who could benefit from or be harmed by the publication
- Academic or professional competition that may bias the work
📌 Funding Disclosure
All sources of research funding must be declared in the Acknowledgements section, including grant numbers and funding bodies. This is mandatory regardless of whether the funding source had any role in the study design or conduct.
For Reviewers
Reviewers must decline to review a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest with any of the authors or institutions involved. Conflicts that require withdrawal from review include:
- Recent (within 3 years) co-authorship with any of the authors
- Current or recent collaboration with any author's institution
- Financial stake in the topic under review
- Personal friendship or enmity with any author
- Being at the same institution as any of the authors
Reviewers who identify a potential conflict after agreeing to review must immediately notify the Editor-in-Chief and withdraw from the process.
For Editors
Editors will not handle manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. The Editor-in-Chief will delegate handling of such manuscripts to another member of the editorial board. Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for their own research without the explicit written consent of the authors.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement
The following standard statement must appear in all published articles:
Standard Disclosure Format
"The authors declare [no conflict of interest / the following conflict(s) of interest: ___]. [Author name] has received [honoraria / consultancy fees / research funding] from [company/institution]. This funder had [no role / the following role] in study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit for publication."
Undisclosed conflicts of interest discovered after publication may result in the publication of a correction notice or, in severe cases, retraction of the article.
Last reviewed and updated: January 2025. This policy is subject to periodic review by the Editorial Board of IJDIR.