Conflict of Interest Policy
The Indo Eurasian Journal of Medical Sciences (IEJMS) is committed to maintaining the highest level of transparency and integrity in the publication of medical research. Public trust in the peer-review process and the credibility of published articles depend heavily on how transparently conflicts of interest are handled during the planning, implementation, writing, peer review, editing and publication of scientific work.
A conflict of interest, also known as a competing interest, exists when professional judgement concerning a primary interest — such as patients' welfare or the validity of research — may be inappropriately influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain, personal relationships or academic competition.
This policy applies to all participants in the publication process: authors, peer reviewers and editorial board members.
1. Policy for authors
All authors submitting a manuscript to IEJMS must disclose all potential conflicts of interest that could be perceived as biasing their work.
What to disclose
Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial relationships that have existed within the 36 months (3 years) prior to submission.
- Financial interests. Research grants, funding, honoraria, consulting fees, patent applications or registrations, stock ownership, royalties, or employment by companies whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the manuscript.
- Non-financial interests. Academic competition, strong personal beliefs (political or religious) related to the topic, personal relationships, or affiliations with advocacy groups that could influence the interpretation of the research.
How to disclose
- Mandatory statement. A dedicated conflict of interest statement must be included on the unblinded title page of the submission.
- ICMJE disclosure form. The journal reserves the right to request a completed ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest from all authors prior to acceptance.
- Null declaration. If no conflicts of interest exist, authors must explicitly state: “The authors declare no competing interests.”
Role of the funding source
Authors must explicitly describe the role of the study sponsor or funder in the study design; the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; and the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source had no such involvement, this must be explicitly stated.
2. Policy for peer reviewers
Peer reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively. Any secondary interest that could bias this assessment must be avoided or declared.
Reviewers must decline the invitation to review a manuscript if they:
- Have co-authored a publication with any of the submitting authors within the past three years, where the authors' identities are known or highly suspected despite blinding.
- Share a current institutional affiliation with any of the authors.
- Have a direct financial interest in the success or failure of the research or product being discussed.
- Are in direct, recognised academic or professional competition with the authors.
If a reviewer is unsure whether a specific relationship constitutes a conflict, they must contact the handling editor for guidance before accepting the review invitation.
3. Policy for editors and editorial board members
Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts must have no personal, professional or financial involvement in any of the issues they might judge.
- Institutional and personal ties. Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts submitted by colleagues at their own institution, recent collaborators, or personal friends.
- Independent delegation. In such cases, the manuscript is reassigned to another independent Associate Editor or the Editor-in-Chief to ensure unbiased evaluation.
- Submissions by editors. If an editor of IEJMS submits their own manuscript to the journal, they are completely blinded to the review process of their own paper. The submission is handled by an independent editor, and the peer review is strictly double-blind.
Independence from commercial influence
As a Diamond Open Access journal, IEJMS operates with zero article processing charges, submission fees or page charges. The operations of the journal are fully funded by Scienceroot Publishers. Editorial decisions are therefore entirely insulated from commercial revenue, advertising or author-paid fees, and are based strictly on scientific merit and clinical validity.
4. Unreported conflicts of interest
Failure to declare a conflict of interest at the time of submission or review is considered a serious breach of publication ethics.
If an undisclosed conflict of interest is brought to the attention of the journal, either before or after publication, IEJMS follows the specific investigative flowcharts provided by COPE.
- Pre-publication. The manuscript evaluation is paused while the editors investigate. The manuscript may be rejected if intentional concealment is discovered.
- Post-publication. If an undeclared conflict is discovered after an article is published, the journal will publish a corrigendum, an expression of concern, or — in severe cases of manipulated findings resulting from the conflict — a retraction of the article.