Conflict of Interest Policy
Policy Statement
The International Journal of Environmental and Agriculture Research (IJOEAR) requires full transparency regarding any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could influence or be perceived to influence research, peer review, or editorial decisions. All parties involved in the publication process—authors, reviewers, and editors—must disclose potential conflicts of interest.
What is a Conflict of Interest?
A conflict of interest exists when an individual's personal, financial, or professional interests could compromise (or appear to compromise) their objectivity, judgment, or decision-making in the research or publication process.
Financial Conflicts
Employment, stock ownership, consulting fees, honoraria, research funding, patents, or other financial relationships with organizations that have an interest in the research.
Personal Conflicts
Family relationships, close personal friendships, professional rivalries, or ideological commitments that could affect impartiality.
Institutional Conflicts
Affiliation with organizations that may benefit or be disadvantaged by the research findings.
Intellectual Conflicts
Competing research interests, unpublished findings, or prior work that could bias evaluation.
Important: The presence of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify an individual from participating. However, full disclosure is mandatory, and IJOEAR will manage disclosed conflicts appropriately.
Reviewer Conflict of Interest
Reviewers must decline review invitations if any potential conflict of interest exists.
Personal Conflicts
- Current or recent collaboration with any author (past 3 years)
- Close personal relationship with any author
- Professional rivalry or competition
- Previous negative interactions with authors
Institutional Conflicts
- Same institution as any author
- Competing research group affiliation
- Financial interest in the outcome
- Prior review of the same manuscript elsewhere
Reviewer Declaration
Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must declare any potential conflicts. If uncertain, disclose the potential conflict to the editorial office for guidance. Reviewers who discover a conflict after accepting must immediately notify the editor.
Editor Conflict of Interest
Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts exist.
| Situation | Required Action |
|---|---|
| Manuscript submitted by the editor's student/mentee | Assign to another editor; recuse from decision |
| Manuscript from the editor's institution | Assign to external editor; disclose affiliation |
| Manuscript competing with editor's unpublished work | Full recusal; assign to another editor |
| Financial relationship with author's institution | Disclose and recuse if significant |
| Personal relationship with any author | Full recusal; assign to another editor |
| Editor is a co-author on the manuscript | Full recusal; cannot handle at any level |
Editor-in-Chief Oversight: The Editor-in-Chief monitors editorial assignments to ensure no conflicts exist. Any editor with a conflict must disclose it immediately.
Disclosure Requirements by Role
Authors
Disclose at submission via:
- Cover letter
- COI Disclosure Form
- Manuscript declaration section
Reviewers
Disclose when accepting/declining invitation or during review process
Editors
Disclose to Editor-in-Chief upon assignment or when conflict arises
COI Management Procedures
IJOEAR follows these procedures when conflicts are disclosed:
Disclosure
Individual discloses potential COI to editorial office
Assessment
Editor-in-Chief evaluates significance of conflict
Action
Recusal, alternative assignment, or publication of disclosure
| Conflict Type | Management Action |
|---|---|
| Minor/Non-significant COI | Disclosure noted; no further action required |
| Significant financial COI (author) | Published with the article; peer review unaffected |
| Reviewer COI discovered after invitation | Replace reviewer; original reviewer recused |
| Editor COI | Recusal; reassign to another editor |
| Undisclosed COI discovered post-publication | Investigation; possible correction or retraction |
Consequences of Non-Disclosure
Failure to disclose a significant conflict of interest constitutes a breach of publication ethics.
| Violation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Author fails to disclose significant COI before publication | Manuscript rejection; 1-year publication ban; institution notified |
| Author fails to disclose significant COI after publication | Published correction or retraction; 2-year publication ban |
| Reviewer fails to disclose COI and provides biased review | Removal from reviewer panel; reported to institution |
| Editor fails to recuse despite COI | Removal from editorial role; reported to publisher |
| Repeated COI non-disclosure by any party | Permanent ban from IJOEAR; reported to COPE |
COPE Referral
Serious or repeated COI non-disclosure violations may be reported to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the individual's institutional ethics committee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions About Conflict of Interest?
For questions about disclosure requirements or to report an undisclosed conflict, please contact us.
+91-7665235235
Please include "COI QUERY" or "COI DISCLOSURE" in the email subject line. For urgent COI reports, mark as "URGENT - COI REPORT".