Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when financial, personal, or professional relationships could influence, or appear to influence, the objectivity of a manuscript or its review. JAEE requires all authors, reviewers, and editors to disclose any such interests openly.

Authors

Authors must disclose any interest that could directly or indirectly affect their work. Examples include:

  • Financial interests: research grants, funding from companies or institutions, equipment or material support, consultancy fees, paid speaking engagements, and pending funding.
  • Non-financial interests: personal or professional relationships and personal beliefs relevant to the research.
  • Intellectual property: patents (pending, issued, or licensed) and royalties related to the work.

Authors who have a conflict of interest must inform the Editorial Board through the discussion feature in the journal system. Authors may also name reviewers they believe have a conflict of interest, so the editor can avoid inviting them.

Reviewers

Reviewers must decline an invitation and inform the editor if they have a personal, professional, or financial relationship with any of the authors that could affect their objectivity. Before submitting their review, reviewers must confirm that they have no conflict of interest with the manuscript.

Editors

Editors must not handle a manuscript if they have any personal, professional, or financial connection with its authors, including family relationships, close collaboration, or co-authorship within the last three years. In such cases, the manuscript will be assigned to another editorial board member who has no conflict. Manuscripts submitted by the Editor-in-Chief or an editor will be handled entirely by another board member.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is found, before or after publication, JAEE will handle it according to COPE guidelines. Depending on the case, this may lead to rejection of the manuscript, publication of a correction, or retraction of the article. Reviewers who intentionally hide a conflict of interest will no longer be invited to review for JAEE.