Competing Interest
Last Updated: April 2026
The integrity of the scholarly record is paramount. To maintain public trust and ensure scientific objectivity, all participants in the publication process must disclose any relationships or interests that could be perceived as inappropriately influencing their judgment.
Scope of Interests
Competing interests encompass a broad range of ties, which may be categorized as follows:
Financial Ties: Including, but not limited to, employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, or direct funding from for-profit entities.
Non-Financial Ties: Such as political affiliations, academic competition, personal beliefs, or professional collaborations that may bias the research or its evaluation.
Intellectual & Legal Interests: Intellectual property rights affected by the publication or advisory roles for government agencies related specifically to the research topic.
Management and Disclosure Protocols
The responsibility for transparency is shared across the editorial board and the contributing authors.
For Authors: All potential interests must be declared at the point of submission via the online form. This includes a clear description of the specific role of funders in the study design, data collection, and the final publication process.
For Editors and Reviewers: Any individual with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from the peer-review or decision-making process. In such instances, editors will delegate responsibility to qualified, independent peers to ensure an unbiased handling of the manuscript.
Discovery of Undeclared Conflicts
Should undisclosed interests be identified after an article has been published, an investigation will be triggered in strict accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) procedures. Depending on the severity of the omission, actions may include the issuance of a formal Correction, an Expression of Concern, or a Retraction. Serious breaches may result in the rejection of future submissions, notification of the author's home institution, or a temporary suspension of publishing privileges.
Appeals and Transparency Standards
We recognize the complexity of professional relationships; therefore, authors may appeal conflict-related editorial decisions by submitting supporting evidence for independent reconsideration by our Integrity Officer at legal@etflin.com.
As a standard of transparency, every published article includes a mandatory "Competing Interests" statement, even in cases where no conflicts are declared. All records related to these disclosures are stored securely and handled in full compliance with global data protection laws.