Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest is defined as any relationship authors, reviewers, or editors have, which interferes with the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of a manuscript. Conflicts of interest can be financial or non-financial, professional or personal, and can arise in relation to an organization or an individual.
Authors
When authors submit a manuscript of any type or format, they are responsible for disclosing all relationships and activities that might bias or be seen to bias their work (e.g., employment, consulting fees, research contracts, stock ownership, patent licenses, honoraria, advisory affiliations, etc.). JPTN follows the ICMJE recommendations on “Author Responsibilities—Conflicts of Interest”.
The ICMJE has developed a Disclosure Form to facilitate and standardize authors’ disclosures. Authors are required to upload the duly filled and signed form under the additional files section during manuscript submission. They may also send it by email to jptneditor@gmail.com. For detailed ICMJE recommendations, see disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships and activities, and conflicts of interest.
Reviewers
Reviewers must disclose to journal editors any relationships or activities that could bias their opinions of the manuscript and should recuse themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if a potential for bias exists. Reviewers must not use knowledge of the work they are reviewing before its publication to further their own interests. Use the review form provided at your reviewer login area to disclose conflicts of interest.
Editors and Journal Staff
JPTN editors who make final decisions about manuscripts must have no personal, professional, or financial involvement in any of the issues they might judge. Other members of the editorial staff, if they participate in editorial decisions, must provide editors with a current description of their financial interests (as they might relate to editorial judgments) and recuse themselves from any decisions in which a conflict of interest exists. Editorial staff must not use information gained through working with manuscripts for private gain. When editors submit their own work to this journal, a colleague in the editorial office should manage the manuscript, and the editor/author should recuse themselves from discussion and decisions about it.
Note: These policies are based on the ICMJE recommendations.
Additional Information
You may find the following resources useful for more information on conflict-of-interest policies, codes of practice, and good practice in relation to journal publication ethics:
