Conflict of Interest
Peer-Reviewed · Open Access · Multidisciplinary
Conflict of Interest
The International Journal of Social World (IJSW) is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness, and integrity throughout the research, peer-review, and publication process. Authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process should disclose any conflict of interest that may affect, or may reasonably appear to affect, their objectivity or judgment. Particular care should be taken in social research involving human participants, communities, institutions, social relationships, and sensitive personal or social information.
What Is a Conflict of Interest?
A conflict of interest may arise when an individual's personal, professional, financial, academic, institutional, or other interests could influence their judgment or create a reasonable perception of bias in relation to a manuscript or publication decision.
In social research, potential conflicts may also arise from relationships with research participants, community organizations, survey sponsors, interview subjects, public institutions, advocacy groups, or other parties connected with the research.
A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. Disclosure allows potential conflicts to be considered transparently and, where appropriate, managed to protect the integrity of the research, editorial, and peer-review processes.
Roles and Responsibilities
Authors
Authors should disclose relevant conflicts of interest associated with their manuscript, including, where applicable:
- Research funding, grants, or financial support
- Financial relationships or sponsorship connected with the research
- Paid consultancies or advisory roles
- Professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation
- Relationships with organizations, communities, survey sponsors, or other parties that may have an interest in the research findings
- Other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, data interpretation, or presentation of findings
Where a manuscript reports surveys, interviews, focus groups, community-based research, or other research involving human participants, authors should disclose relevant relationships that could affect the collection, interpretation, or reporting of the data.
Where no relevant conflict exists, authors should provide a clear Conflict of Interest declaration stating this. Authors should provide this declaration at the time of manuscript submission.
Reviewers
Reviewers should disclose any circumstance that could create an actual or perceived conflict in relation to a manuscript they are invited to review. This may include, for example, a recent collaboration, a close personal relationship, a shared institutional affiliation, or a competing professional interest with the author.
For manuscripts involving social surveys, interviews, community studies, or sensitive social issues, reviewers should also consider whether their personal, professional, institutional, or community relationships could reasonably affect their impartial assessment.
A reviewer should not participate in the review where a conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, the impartiality of the evaluation.
Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and should not use information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, or other advantage. They should not disclose identifiable participant information or confidential research data encountered during the review process.
Editors and Editorial Team
Editors and members of the editorial team should identify and disclose relevant conflicts that could affect their editorial judgment.
Where a conflict exists, the editor should, where appropriate, recuse themselves from handling the manuscript, and appropriate arrangements may be made to ensure that the manuscript is handled independently and objectively.
Editors should exercise particular care when handling submissions involving their own institutions, research collaborators, personal relationships, or organizations with which they have relevant professional or financial connections. They should also consider relevant ethical concerns where manuscripts contain sensitive social data or information about identifiable individuals or communities.
Disclosure and Transparency
Conflict-of-interest disclosures should be made accurately at the appropriate stage of the submission or publication process.
Disclosure enables IJSW to assess relevant circumstances and, where necessary, take appropriate measures to protect the fairness, independence, and integrity of editorial and peer-review decisions.
For social research involving surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or community-based studies, relevant disclosures should help clarify whether funding arrangements, organizational relationships, personal interests, or other circumstances could have influenced the research design, data collection, interpretation, or reporting of findings.
Conflict-of-interest disclosures should be handled with due regard for confidentiality and the privacy of research participants. Disclosure of a conflict does not, by itself, justify publishing personal or sensitive information that is not necessary for transparency.
Undisclosed Conflicts
If a relevant conflict of interest is identified after submission or publication, IJSW may review the circumstances and request clarification or an appropriate disclosure from the individuals concerned.
Where necessary, IJSW may take further action in accordance with its applicable editorial and publication policies. The action considered will depend on the nature of the conflict, the available evidence, and its potential effect on the integrity of the research or publication process.
Responsibility
Authors, reviewers, editors, and other relevant participants share responsibility for providing complete and truthful disclosures of conflicts of interest.
Failure to disclose a relevant conflict may be considered when assessing the integrity of the submission, review, or publication process. In social research, this responsibility also extends to transparently reporting relevant interests that may have influenced participant recruitment, data collection, interpretation, or the presentation of findings.
Policy Review
IJSW may review and update this policy periodically to ensure that it remains consistent with recognized standards and responsible practices in scholarly publishing.