Transparency about interests that could influence or bias research is a fundemantal ethical requirement in scientific publishing. JCEP requires disclosure by all parties involved: authors, editors and reviewers.
Author Disclosure Requirements
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships they have with other individuals or organizations that could potentially influence or direct their work (Competing Interests/Conflict of Interest). This includes interests that have existed within the past three years since the start of the research and preparation of the manuscript, as well as any interests that existed outside this time frame and could still reasonably be seen as influencing the work. Authors are required to complete the official “Declaration of Competing Interests” form (https://jcep.ut.ac.ir/data/jcep/news/%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B6_%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9.doc) and submit it at the same time as submitting their article.
Defining Potential Competing Interests: Disclosure should cover both financial and non-financial interests. Examples include, but are not limited to:
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Categories |
Examples of Interests to Disclose |
Supporting Sources |
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Financial Benefits |
Employment (recent, current or anticipated); Consulting; Stock ownership (including family member stock); Honoraria or consulting fees; Paid expert testimony; Patent applications or registrations; Grants, research support or other funding provided by sponsors. |
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Non-Financial Benefits |
Professional interests, personal relationships, or personal beliefs that could creat bias; Editorial board or advisory board position; Direct scientific competition; Mentoring relationships. |
The 'Embarrassment Test': A practical guide to disclosure is to ask whether publicly disclosing an agreement after publication, without prior notice, would be embarrassing to the author or co-authors.
Submission Requirements: Authors are required to upload a signed Conflict of Interest form with their manuscript. This disclosure must also be summarized in a statement included in the designated " Disclosures" section of the manuscript preceding the references list. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring all contributing authors adhere to this policy.
Conflict of interest between Editorial and Referee
Editors: Editors, Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors must declare any potential conflict of interest in writing prior to appointment and update them if new conflict of interest arise. They must rescue themselves from reviewing manuscripts that they have written themselves or that have been written by family members or colleagues, or that relate to products/services in which they have a vested interest. Such articles must be independently reviewed by another editor.
Reviewers: Reviewers must declare any potential conflict of interest to the editor before agreeing to review an article. If a conflict of interest exists (e.g., recent collaboration or joint institution with an author), they should discuss with the editor whether they should recuse themselves from the review to ensure impartial evaluation. Reviewers are also prohibited from suggesting citations to their own work (or the work of their colleagues) unless justified by genuine scientific reasons.