Conflicts of Interest Policy

Conflicts of Interest Policy

Introduction

Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan is committed to maintaining the integrity, objectivity, transparency, and credibility of the scholarly work it publishes. Disclosure of actual or potential conflicts of interest is an important part of maintaining trust in the academic publishing process.

This policy establishes the responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal staff in identifying, disclosing, and managing conflicts of interest that may affect professional judgment, research integrity, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan follows the ethical principles and publication standards promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other recognized standards of responsible scholarly publishing.

Definition

A conflict of interest (COI), also referred to as a competing interest, occurs when an individual's professional judgment or responsibilities in relation to research, peer review, or editorial decision-making may be influenced, or may reasonably be perceived to be influenced, by secondary interests.

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

1. Financial Interests

Financial conflicts may include:

• employment or consultancy relationships;
• research grants or other financial support;
• honoraria or professional fees;
• ownership of stocks, shares, or other financial interests;
• patents or patent applications;
• royalties;
• paid advisory positions;
• expert witness fees; or
• travel or other expenses related to the research or publication.

2. Non-Financial Interests

Non-financial conflicts may include:

• personal, family, or close relationships with authors or other individuals involved in the manuscript;
• academic or professional collaborations;
• supervisory, mentoring, or institutional relationships;
• institutional affiliations;
• direct academic competition;
• involvement with related unpublished research;
• strong personal, religious, political, or ideological views that may reasonably affect professional judgment; or
• other relationships or interests that may influence the objectivity of research or editorial decisions.

Having a conflict of interest does not necessarily constitute unethical conduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine the transparency and credibility of the research and publication process.

This policy applies to all individuals involved in the publication process of Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan, including authors, peer reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal staff.

Policy

1. Principle of Disclosure

All participants in the publication process are expected to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that may influence their responsibilities.

When no relevant conflict of interest exists, the individual must provide an explicit declaration stating that no conflict of interest exists.

Disclosure is intended to promote transparency and enable the journal to determine whether appropriate measures are necessary to protect the integrity of the publication process.

2. Timing of Disclosure

Authors

Authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission. Authors are also required to update their disclosure if a new conflict arises during the review, revision, or publication process.

Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest when receiving an invitation to review a manuscript and before accepting the review assignment. Any conflict that becomes apparent during the review process must be immediately reported to the editor.

Editors and Journal Staff

Editors, editorial board members, and journal staff must disclose any conflict of interest that may affect their editorial responsibilities. Individuals with a material conflict must not participate in editorial decisions concerning the affected manuscript.

3. Assessment and Management of Conflicts

Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan will assess disclosed conflicts of interest and determine whether they may affect the integrity or impartiality of the research, peer review, or editorial process.

Appropriate measures may include:

• requiring a more detailed conflict-of-interest statement;
• publishing the conflict-of-interest declaration together with the article;
• assigning an alternative reviewer or editor;
• requiring additional disclosure or clarification from the authors;
• requesting an independent assessment of the manuscript; or
• rejecting a manuscript when a conflict of interest creates a serious threat to research integrity or editorial impartiality.

The existence of a conflict of interest will be assessed based on its relevance and potential impact rather than treated automatically as grounds for rejection.

4. Publication of Conflict-of-Interest Statements

All published articles in Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan must contain an appropriate conflict-of-interest statement.

When no relevant conflict exists, the article should include a statement such as:

“The authors declare that there are no known conflicts of interest that could have influenced the research or publication of this article.”

When a conflict exists, the nature of the conflict must be clearly disclosed.

Authors must also provide information concerning research funding. The funding statement should identify the source of financial support and, where applicable, describe the role of the funder in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the article for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, this should be explicitly stated.

5. Post-Publication Discovery of Undisclosed Conflicts

If a significant undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication, Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan will investigate the matter in accordance with applicable publication ethics standards and COPE guidance.

Depending on the nature and severity of the conflict and its impact on the article, the journal may take appropriate corrective action, including:

• requesting clarification from the authors;
• publishing a correction or disclosure statement;
• issuing an Expression of Concern; or
• retracting the article when the conflict has materially affected the validity or integrity of the published work.

Implementation Procedures

A. For Authors

1. What Authors Must Disclose

Authors must disclose financial and non-financial interests that may reasonably be perceived as influencing their research.

Financial interests may include research grants or financial sponsorship, employment or consultancy relationships, ownership of shares or other financial interests, patents or royalties, honoraria or professional fees, and other financial relationships relevant to the research.

Non-financial interests may include institutional affiliations, professional or academic relationships, personal relationships that may influence the research, academic competition, supervisory or mentoring relationships, and strong personal, religious, ideological, or other interests directly related to the subject of the research.

2. Funding Sources

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support received for the research.

The funding statement should explain, where applicable, the role of the funder in research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, revision of the manuscript, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

If the funder had no role in these activities, the authors should explicitly state this.

3. How to Disclose

Authors must provide a conflict-of-interest statement during manuscript submission. The statement should also be included in the manuscript before the reference list or in another designated section of the journal's article template.

If there is no conflict of interest, authors should provide a clear declaration of no conflict.

4. Consequences of Non-Disclosure

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in delays in the editorial process, requests for additional information, rejection of the manuscript, or post-publication corrective action when the article has already been published.

Where an undisclosed conflict materially affects the integrity of a published article, the journal may issue a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction as appropriate.

B. For Peer Reviewers

1. What Reviewers Must Disclose

Reviewers must disclose any circumstance that may affect their ability to provide an objective and impartial evaluation.

Potential conflicts may include recent or ongoing collaboration with the authors, close personal or professional relationships with the authors, academic or professional rivalry, financial interests related to the research, involvement in competing research, prior substantial involvement with the manuscript, institutional relationships that may affect impartiality, or strong personal, religious, ideological, or other views that may substantially influence the review.

2. How to Disclose

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflict when accepting or declining an invitation to review.

If a conflict becomes apparent after the review has begun, the reviewer must immediately inform the editor.

3. Management of Reviewer Conflicts

When a reviewer has a material conflict of interest, the editor may request the reviewer to decline or withdraw from the review assignment.

The editor will determine whether another reviewer should be appointed to maintain the impartiality of the peer-review process.

Reviewers must also maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, academic, or professional advantage.

C. For Editors, Editorial Board Members, and Journal Staff

1. What Editors and Journal Staff Must Disclose

Editors, editorial board members, and journal staff must disclose relationships or interests that may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their editorial decisions.

These may include financial relationships with organizations connected to the manuscript, personal or professional relationships with authors or reviewers, institutional affiliations, academic collaboration or competition, submission of manuscripts by themselves, colleagues, or close associates, and research interests that may create a direct conflict with the manuscript under consideration.

2. Disclosure and Recusal

Editors or journal staff who have a material conflict of interest must recuse themselves from handling the affected manuscript.

The manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict of interest.

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, or journal staff must be handled through an independent editorial process and evaluated by reviewers who have no relevant conflict of interest.

3. Editorial Independence

Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan is committed to maintaining editorial independence.

Editorial decisions must be based on the scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and academic contribution of the manuscript.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by commercial interests, institutional pressure, personal relationships, or ideological considerations.

D. Journal-Level Conflicts of Interest

Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan and its publisher are committed to maintaining the independence and integrity of the journal's editorial process.

Any institutional, financial, or organizational relationship that may affect editorial independence must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

The journal will ensure that editorial decisions remain independent from commercial sponsorship, institutional interests, or other external influence.

E. Record Keeping and Confidentiality

Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan maintains appropriate records of conflict-of-interest disclosures submitted by authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal staff.

Information concerning conflicts of interest will be handled confidentially and used only for the purposes of maintaining research integrity and ensuring an impartial editorial process, except where disclosure is required for publication or by applicable ethical or legal standards.

Policy Review

This Conflict of Interest Policy will be reviewed periodically by the editorial team of Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan to ensure that it remains consistent with developments in scholarly publishing ethics and internationally recognized publication standards.

Through this policy, Istifkar: Media Transformasi Pendidikan seeks to promote transparency, accountability, fairness, and integrity throughout the research and publication process.