CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE (NO CONFLICT BETWEEN GOVERNANCE, EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS, REVIEWERS AND AUTHORS; ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICTS MUST BE DISCLOSED):

Governance:

The author(s) hereby declare that no conflict of interest exists between governance processes, governance bodies, or any form of administrative influence and the preparation, methodology, or outcomes of this research. All views expressed are independent and free from any governance-related bias. The author(s) affirm that there is no conflict of interest related to governance structures, governance authorities, or institutional decision-making processes in connection with the conception, execution, analysis, or reporting of this study. All interpretations and conclusions are derived solely from academic inquiry and are not influenced by any governance-related considerations.

Editorial Board Members:

Editorial board members must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, even if they believe there are none. Declaring no conflict of interest is necessary to maintain transparency and objectivity, and is often required in a formal statement or disclosure form. This ensures that impartiality is maintained and any potential conflicts, such as a personal, professional, or financial relationship, are managed appropriately. Disclosure ensures that editorial decisions are free from personal bias, financial influence, or other conflicts of interest. Ensures fairness because it upholds the integrity of the publication and peer-review process, ensuring all submissions are judged fairly and without prejudice. Many journals require editors to complete and sign a Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosure form regularly, which might include a declaration of no conflict or a detailed listing of any existing conflicts. Failing to disclose a relevant conflict of interest can be considered a form of scientific misconduct. The disclosure also included the any financial ties to companies or organizations related to the manuscript’s subject matter; collaborations, mentorship, or any professional connections with the authors or their institutions and family members or close personal relationships with authors. When declaring no conflict, use a clear and direct statement, such as no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose or no conflicts of interest to declare; complete and submit any required disclosure forms to the journal’s editorial office and remember to update the disclosure if a conflict of interest arises during your term as an editor.

Reviewers:

A statement that no conflict of interest exists is a type of conflict of interest disclosure and must be formally stated, often by confirming a statement of no conflict of interest, using a specific declaration, or stating that all authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. All reviewers are required to make this disclosure to ensure transparency and integrity in the publication process, as failing to disclose potential conflicts can lead to blacklisting from future reviews. Disclosure is critical for maintaining the integrity of the peer review process by ensuring that a reviewer’s or author’s opinions have not been unfairly influenced by personal, financial, or professional relationships. It makes the process transparent to editors, authors, and readers by making sure any potential biases are known. Reviewers who intentionally fail to disclose a conflict of interest may be blacklisted by the journal for future review activities. The journal requires a statement of no conflict to be included in the manuscript or submitted through the review form as part of their official policies. Reviewers are often asked to click a box or confirm a statement like, “I hereby confirm that I don’t have any conflict of interest related to the manuscript”. Disclose conflicts or confirm no conflict using the provided form in the reviewer’s login area. While declaring no conflict, reviewers must still follow confidentiality standards and not use knowledge of the work for personal gain.

Authors:

When authors have no conflicts of interest, they must still disclose this fact in their manuscript. This is often done with a specific statement, such as “The authors declare no conflict of interest” or “The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose”. Disclosing the absence of a conflict is important for transparency and allows for a more complete and objective evaluation of the work. Transparency provides clarity to readers, editors, and reviewers that potential conflicts have been considered and none exist. Integrity is a declaration of honesty and a standard practice in academic publishing to ensure the integrity of the research process. Completeness ensures that all authors have had the opportunity to review and agree on the absence of any competing interests. The authors declare no conflict of interest. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Always check the specific journal’s author guidelines for their preferred wording. Whichever statement is used, it should be clear and unambiguous. The statement should be included in the appropriate section, often the manuscript’s introduction or a dedicated conflict of interest section.

Any Potential Conflicts:

A statement confirming “no conflict of interest” must be disclosed, even if no conflicts exist. This is because disclosure is required to ensure transparency, build trust, and allow readers to evaluate potential influences on the work. The process requires that all potential conflicts, even if none are present, be disclosed to maintain transparency. Disclosing no conflicts provides readers with confidence in the objectivity of the work. It is the standard practice in research and professional settings to disclose all affiliations and interests to allow for a more comprehensive evaluation of the work. Even if a conflict isn’t actual, the perception of one can affect the credibility of the work. Therefore, disclosing that no conflicts exist pre-empts any potential misperceptions. Disclose all relationships that could potentially be seen as a conflict, even if believed they are not relevant.

AI GENERATED CONTENT POLICY (JOURNAL HAS SPECIFIC POLICY WITH RESPECT TO USE OF AI):

Journal policies regarding the use of AI in content creation are centered on transparency, author accountability, and ethical conduct. Authors must disclose the use of AI tools in their manuscript and remain fully responsible for the accuracy and originality of all content, including any AI-generated portions. AI tools, such as ChatGPT or other Large Language Models, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot take responsibility or accountability for the published work. Authorship requires human accountability for the content’s integrity. The use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in any part of the manuscript preparation (text generation, data analysis, image creation, etc.) must be clearly disclosed. The disclosure should be placed in the Acknowledgements, Methods section, or a specific disclosure statement, as per the journal’s guidelines. Authors are entirely responsible for verifying all AI-generated content, including fact-checking sources, ensuring data privacy, and checking for plagiarism or bias. AI “hallucinations” (fabrications) are a significant risk, and any incorrect information is the author’s liability. Most journals permit the use of AI for minor tasks that improve readability and language, such as grammar correction, phrasing refinement, or spell-checking, provided the core intellectual content and ideas remain the author’s own. Using AI to generate the core intellectual content, such as analysis, interpretation, conclusions, or critical commentary, is generally prohibited. The use of AI-generated images as a substitute for actual experimental data or results is strictly prohibited and considered academic misconduct. Reviewers and editors are typically prohibited from entering confidential manuscript information into public AI tools, as this can breach the confidentiality of the peer-review process. Journals reserve the right to use AI-detection software and plagiarism checkers to ensure compliance with their policies and maintain academic integrity.

JOURNAL IMPACT CRITERIA:

SELF-CITATION SCORE (SHOULD BE WITHIN A PRESCRIBED RANGE COMPARED TO PEER JOURNALS):

A self-citation score should ideally be within a typical range of 10% to 20% compared to peer journals, though this can vary by field, with some disciplines showing acceptable rates between 5% and 25%. Higher self-citation rates, especially above 20%, may be seen as potentially inflated and can raise concerns about self-promotion rather than genuine merit.

TOTAL CITATION RATE (AS COMPARED WITH SIMILAR PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS):

The phrase “total citation rate (as compared with similar peer-reviewed journals)” refers to how often a journal’s articles are cited relative to the average for other journals in the same subject category or field. This comparison is essential because citation patterns and frequencies vary significantly across different scientific disciplines.

CITE SCORE (JOURNAL’S CITATION IMPACT OVER A SPECIFIC PERIOD):

CiteScore (CS) of an academic journal is a measure reflecting the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal. Absolute rankings and percentile ranks are also reported for each journal in a given subject area. Instead of this, it is calculated by dividing the number of citations received by all documents published in the journal over the last four years by the number of documents published in the same four-year period. This metric is used to assess a journal’s impact and can also show a journal’s ranking within its subject area.