Conflict of Interest Policy – IJMSAR

1. Disclosure Requirement

All authors submitting manuscripts to the International Journal of Medical Sciences and Academic Research (IJMSAR) are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence, or appear to influence, the content or outcomes of their study.

This includes, but is not limited to, financial, personal, professional, or academic relationships.

2. Types of Conflicts of Interest

a) Institutional Conflicts
Any relationship with institutions or organizations that may have a stake in the subject matter of the manuscript.

b) Financial Conflicts
Funding, sponsorship, or financial support from organizations or entities with a vested interest in the findings, products, or services discussed in the manuscript.

c) Product-Related Conflicts
Any direct or indirect financial interest with companies or individuals associated with products or services mentioned in the article. This may include paid consultations, stock ownership, or other financial engagements.

d) Competing Products or Services
Authors must disclose any products or services that compete with those described in the manuscript, whether mentioned directly or indirectly.

e) Examples of Non-Financial COI

Non-financial conflicts may include personal relationships, academic competition, political or religious beliefs, or intellectual passion that could influence objective judgment.

3. Importance of Disclosure

Disclosure ensures transparency, credibility, and integrity in research and publishing. It allows readers and reviewers to be aware of potential biases that may influence the study’s interpretation or conclusions.

4. Submission and Publication

• All conflicts of interest must be disclosed at the time of submission.

• Disclosures will be published with the article if accepted.

• Authors are responsible for ensuring that all co-authors comply with this policy.

• Authors should also disclose all sources of research funding in the Funding Statement of the manuscript.

5. Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before handling or reviewing a manuscript. Individuals with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from the editorial or peer review process.

6. Failure to Disclose

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may result in editorial action, including manuscript rejection, publication of a correction, retraction of the published article, or other actions in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policy.

7. No Conflicts

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors must clearly state:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.”

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The journal follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding conflict of interest disclosure.