Conflicts of Interest (COI) Statement Policy

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (COI) STATEMENT POLICY

Pedagogical Perspective (PedPer)

ISSN: 2822-4841 | DOI Prefix: 10.29329

Quick Summary

Pedagogical Perspective (PedPer) (eISSN: 2822-4841) is committed to editorial independence, transparency, and integrity. All parties involved in the publication process — editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher — must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence (or be seen to influence) the handling, review, or interpretation of a manuscript. PedPer’s conflict of interest policies are aligned with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1) What Constitutes a Conflict of Interest?

A conflict of interest (COI) exists when any participant in the publication process has a competing interest that could — or could reasonably be perceived to — compromise objectivity, integrity, or trust in the research, its review, or its editorial handling. Conflicts of interest need not involve actual misconduct; even the appearance of a conflict can undermine confidence in the scholarly record.

Conflicts of interest may be:

Financial — Direct or indirect financial gain or loss related to the research, including employment, consultancies, honoraria, grants, patents, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, or funding from organisations with a commercial interest in the outcome.
Academic/intellectual — Competitive research interests, ongoing academic rivalry, recent co-authorship or close collaboration, membership of the same research group, or supervisor–student relationships.
Personal/relational — Family relationships, close friendships, or personal animosity that may affect judgment.
Institutional — Affiliation with the same institution or department as another party in the publication process, or institutional pressures that may influence editorial or authorial decisions.
Political/ideological — Strong advocacy positions or organisational memberships that may create a perception of bias on the topic of the manuscript.

When in doubt, all parties should err on the side of disclosure. The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify participation; rather, it must be transparently declared so that it can be appropriately managed.

2) Editors

Editors must oversee peer review objectively and maintain independence in editorial decisions. Editors:

Must not handle manuscripts where a personal, academic, institutional, or financial conflict of interest exists;
Must recuse themselves immediately if they are authors/co-authors, recent collaborators (within the past 3 years), close colleagues, family members, or otherwise have a relationship that may affect judgment;
Must not participate in editorial decisions for manuscripts submitted by authors from the editor’s own institution or department;
Must delegate editorial responsibility to another qualified and independent editor when a conflict arises;
Must not use information obtained through the editorial process for their own research, publications, or any other personal or professional advantage.

Where a conflict is identified at any stage, the journal will reassign the manuscript to an independent editor or take other appropriate editorial action to preserve integrity.

Guest editors (thematic/special issues)

Guest editors of thematic or special issues are subject to the same COI requirements as regular editors. Additionally:

Guest editors must not handle manuscripts authored or co-authored by themselves, their close collaborators, or individuals from their own institution. Such manuscripts must be managed by an independent editor (typically the Editor-in-Chief or a designated associate editor).
Guest editors must declare all potential conflicts of interest to the Editor-in-Chief before the review process begins.
The Editor-in-Chief retains final decision-making authority for all articles in thematic issues.

For further details, see the Thematic Issue Policy.

3) Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts impartially and in confidence. Reviewers:

Must decline review invitations when a conflict exists (e.g., personal relationships, financial ties, competitive research interests, institutional affiliation with the authors, supervisor–student relationship, or recent substantial collaboration);
Should notify the handling editor if uncertain whether a relationship constitutes a conflict;
Must not use confidential information obtained during peer review for personal advantage or to disadvantage others;
Must not accept review assignments for manuscripts in which they have a financial, personal, or intellectual stake in the outcome.

To support transparency, PedPer does not normally invite reviewers from the same institution as the authors. Reviewers are asked to declare any potential conflicts of interest when responding to a review invitation.

4) Authors

Authors must disclose all relationships and conditions that may constitute conflicts of interest. Specifically, authors must:

Declare any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence — or appear to influence — the research, its design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or reporting;
Disclose all funding sources, including the name(s) of the funding organisation(s), grant/award number(s), and the role of the funder in the study (e.g., study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation). If the funder had no role, this should be explicitly stated;
Provide a clear Conflict of Interest statement during submission via the journal system and on the Title Page;
Ensure that authorship reflects genuine contributions, consistent with PedPer’s Authorship & Contributorship

If no conflicts exist, authors must include the following statement: “The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.”

If no external funding was received, authors must include the following statement: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

5) Publisher

The publisher is committed to ensuring that commercial, financial, or institutional interests do not influence editorial decisions. Specifically:

The publisher does not interfere with the Editor-in-Chief’s independent authority over manuscript selection, evaluation, and publication decisions.
Advertising, sponsorship, or other commercial revenue does not influence editorial content or decision-making.
The publisher supports the journal’s COI policies and cooperates with editors in managing conflicts when they arise.

6) How COI Declarations Appear in Published Articles

All published articles in PedPer include a Conflict of Interest statement and a Funding statement as part of the article’s Declarations section. These statements are visible to all readers and are included in the article metadata to ensure full transparency.

If a conflict of interest is disclosed, the statement will describe the nature of the conflict. If no conflicts exist, the statement will read: “The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.”

7) How to Declare a Conflict of Interest

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest statement and a Funding statement on the Title Page at the time of submission. Declarations should cover:

All financial and non-financial competing interests
All funding sources, grant numbers, and the role of the funder
Any other relationships or conditions that could be perceived as a conflict

If authors become aware of a previously undisclosed conflict of interest after submission or publication, they must notify the editorial office promptly.

8) Post-Publication Discovery of Undisclosed COI

If a conflict of interest that was not declared at the time of submission is discovered after publication, PedPer will:

Contact the authors and request an explanation;
Assess the significance of the undisclosed conflict and its potential impact on the research or its interpretation;
Take appropriate action, which may include:
Publication of a Correction to add the missing COI or funding disclosure;
Publication of an Expression of Concern if the undisclosed conflict raises questions about the reliability of the findings;
Publication of a Retraction if the undisclosed conflict is sufficiently serious that it invalidates the conclusions or indicates misconduct.

Post-publication actions are handled in accordance with the Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern Policy and COPE flowcharts.

9) Consequences of Non-Disclosure

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest is a serious violation of publication ethics. Depending on the timing and severity, PedPer may: