Competing interests
As this is a crucial component of a transparent record of scientific work, Sprin Publisher requires the declaration of all potential conflicts of interest. An accurate image of the research is given by the disclosure of relationships and interests, which also prevents biased evaluation of the work. Additionally, the disclosure of (possible) competing interests enables readers to assess any potential bias on their own.
Authors
A conflict of interest arises when a secondary interest influences or has the potential to impact professional judgments regarding the thorough and objective presentation of research. As a result, we demand that all of our authors disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Financial issues frequently give rise to conflicting interests. Conflicts of interest, however, can also be non-financial, professional, or personal and relate to organisations or people. The following are just a few examples of potential competing interests that could be directly or indirectly related to the research:
- employment or consulting;
- membership in a board of directors, government board, advisory board, or other types of management relationships;
- financial ties, such as stock ownership or investment interest;
- intellectual property;
- possessions of relatives who might have financial stakes in the work;
- gifts;
- serving as an expert witness;
- membership in lobbying or advocacy groups;
- and close personal ties to those involved in the publication.
The authors should expressly specify that they have no conflicting interests in their submitted manuscripts: "The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest." The acknowledgements should come after this sentence.
Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and how they relate to the work they have submitted "Company Y has provided money for author A's research. A member of committee Z is author B." Read the Funding statement.
For the sake of transparency, a statement should be added if any writers serve on the journal's editorial board: "Members of journal X's editorial board include some authors. An impartial editor served as the process' guide, and the authors have no additional competing interests to disclose."
Editors and reviewers
Any interference with an editor's or reviewers' ability to make impartial decisions or conduct objective peer review constitutes a conflict of interest. These extracurricular activities could include money, people, or organisations. When editors or reviewers have a conflict of interest of their own, they must disclose it and, if required, relinquish their involvement in reviewing the relevant manuscript.
Editors and referees may withdraw from the peer-review process for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- They are presently employed by or have recently been employed by, the same institution or business as an author.
- They have recently done so or are now working with an author.
- In the last three years, they have collaborated on publications with an author.
- They presently have grants with authors or recently did.
- They cannot judge the manuscript objectively because of their personal connection to the author.
The editors should strive to achieve an unbiased review when there is a good rationale (such as in narrow domains of science) for using a referee to whom one or more of these instances apply. Additionally, they ought to get at least one assessment from a referee who is completely impartial.
