Competing Interests Policy

Vexido Publications LLP is dedicated to ensuring transparency and impartiality in academic publishing. To maintain the integrity of the publication process, all authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any competing interests that could potentially influence their work.

1. Definition of Competing Interests

A competing interest exists when personal, financial, professional, or other relationships could:

• Bias the content of a manuscript, review, or editorial decision.
• Influence the perception of impartiality in the research or publication process.

Examples of competing interests include:

• Financial Interests: Employment, consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, or grants related to the manuscript.
• Non-Financial Interests: Personal relationships, academic rivalry, or ideological beliefs.
• Professional Conflicts: Involvement in competing projects, businesses, or organizations.

2. Disclosure Requirements

2.1 For Authors

Authors must:

• Declare any competing interests in a Competing Interests Statement included in the manuscript.
• Specify funding sources or financial relationships that may influence the research.
• Confirm that all conflicts have been disclosed, even if they appear irrelevant to the study.

Example Statement:

• No Competing Interests: “The author(s) declare no competing interests.”
• Declared Interests: “The research was funded by [Organization], and the author serves as a consultant for [Company].”

2.2 For Reviewers

Reviewers must:

• Disclose any conflicts that might affect their ability to provide an impartial review.
• Recuse themselves if a conflict of interest exists that could compromise the review process.

2.3 For Editors

Editors must:

• Recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist.
• Disclose their competing interests and transfer editorial responsibilities to another qualified editor.

3. Management of Competing Interests

The editorial team will:

• Evaluate disclosed competing interests and determine their impact on the research or publication process.
• Publish disclosed competing interests alongside the article, ensuring transparency for readers.
• If undisclosed competing interests are discovered post-publication, investigate and issue appropriate corrections or retractions.

4. Ethical Oversight

• The policy aligns with guidelines from COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).
• Cases of undisclosed competing interests may be escalated to the author’s institution or funding agency.

5. Consequences of Non-Disclosure

Failure to disclose competing interests may result in:

• Manuscript Rejection: During the submission or review process.
• Retraction: If competing interests are discovered post-publication.
• Ban from Future Submissions: In severe cases of intentional non-disclosure.

6. Reporting Competing Interests

If a competing interest is identified that was not disclosed, it should be reported immediately to the editorial office.