Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Introduction

Journal of Scientia Technologiae is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, and integrity throughout the editorial and publication process. A conflict of interest (COI) arises when personal, financial, professional, or institutional relationships may influence—or be perceived to influence—the conduct, evaluation, or reporting of scientific and technological research.

2. Types of Conflict of Interest

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

2.1 Financial Conflicts

  • Research grants, funding, or sponsorships

  • Employment, consultancy, or advisory roles

  • Honoraria, speaker fees, or travel support

  • Stock ownership, equity interests, patents, or royalties

2.2 Non-Financial Conflicts

  • Personal or family relationships

  • Academic competition or professional rivalry

  • Institutional affiliations or leadership roles

  • Ideological or advocacy positions related to scientific or technological issues

3. Author Responsibilities

  • Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission.

  • Disclosure applies to all authors and includes both financial and non-financial interests.

  • If no conflict exists, authors must include the statement:
    “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

  • Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in manuscript rejection, publication correction, or retraction.

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

  • Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment.

  • Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts if a conflict could compromise objectivity.

  • Reviewers must maintain strict confidentiality and must not use unpublished information for personal benefit.

5. Editor Responsibilities

  • Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

  • Editorial responsibility will be reassigned to another qualified editor when necessary.

  • Editorial decisions must be based solely on scientific merit, originality, technical rigor, and relevance.

6. Management of Conflicts

  • All disclosed conflicts are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief.

  • Appropriate actions may include:

    • Disclosure of conflicts in the published article

    • Appointment of independent reviewers or editors

    • Request for additional clarification or disclosure

    • Rejection of the manuscript if objectivity is compromised

7. Transparency in Publication

  • Conflict of interest statements are published alongside articles.

  • Transparent disclosure allows readers to assess potential influences on research outcomes.

8. Ethical Standards

This policy follows:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines

  • International best practices in scientific and technological publishing

9. Policy Review and Updates

Journal of Scientia Technologiae reserves the right to revise this policy in response to evolving ethical standards, technological developments, and scholarly publishing practices.