CONFLICTS OF INTEREST POLICY

IJRCS adopted Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) 's definition of "conflicts of interest" (CoI) as issues that "may not be fully apparent and which may influence the judgment of author, reviewers and editors". COPE further described conflicts of interests "as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived". This could be personal, political, commercial, or academic, among others. Such potential conflicts of interest apply and must be declared by authors, reviewers and editors.

Conflict of Interest for Authors

During the submission process, authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest. The editor-in-chief will access this.  Examples of conflicts of interest include but are not limited to funding sources, personal, third-party, employment, commercial, and academics, among others.

If such exists, it will be included in the published article if the article is accepted. Please note that declaring any potential conflict of interest does not indicate that the article will be rejected.

Conflict of Interest for Reviewers

If any, the reviewers must declare their conflict of interest and decline the review if conflicts exist. These may include but are not limited to submissions by friends and family members, own students, and if the identity of the author is known.

The same policy for authors' conflicts of interest applies should the reviewers submit an article for consideration in the journal.

Conflict of Interest For Editors

All the section editors are required to declare their conflicts of interest, if any, and can decline to handle the editorial process if conflicts exist. This conflict is not limited to the content and identity issues of the submitted article, among others. The same policy for authors' conflicts of interest applies should an editor decide to submit an article for consideration in the journal. Moreover, such an editor will be excluded from the editorial and review process.

Regarding reviewers' assignment and editorial decision-making, an editor, if conflicts exist, shall withdraw from editorial management of such article(s).

With regard to assigning reviewers and making decisions on a manuscript, an editor will withdraw as an editor for that manuscript if there is a conflict of interest, such as in the case of a submission by a family member or student. Such conflicts include but are not limited to submissions by friends, family members, and own students.