Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest (COI) refers to any relationship, interest, or activity involving authors, reviewers, editors, or journal staff that may influence, or may reasonably be perceived to influence, the objective presentation of research, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of a manuscript. Conflicts may be financial or non-financial, personal or professional, and may involve an individual, institution, organization, or other entity.

Authors

When submitting a manuscript, authors are responsible for declaring all financial and non-financial relationships or activities that could influence or be perceived to influence their work. These may include employment, consultancy, research funding or contracts, grants, honoraria, ownership of stocks or shares, patents and patent licenses, advisory roles, memberships, or other relevant relationships.

Authors should provide a clear conflict-of-interest statement during manuscript submission and disclose any relevant interests that may affect the interpretation or presentation of their research.

JTPST follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding author responsibilities and disclosure of conflicts of interest. Where required, authors may be asked to provide a completed and signed conflict-of-interest disclosure form.

Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose to the handling editor any financial, professional, personal, academic, or other relationship that could potentially influence their assessment of a manuscript.

A reviewer should decline an invitation to review when a significant conflict of interest exists or when there is a reasonable possibility that the conflict could affect their impartial judgment. Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively and maintain the confidentiality of all information obtained during the review process.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information, data, ideas, or findings obtained through the peer-review process for personal, professional, or financial benefit.

Editors and Journal Staff

Editors and editorial staff involved in the evaluation or decision-making process must disclose and appropriately manage any personal, professional, financial, or other conflicts of interest.

Editors should not participate in the review or final decision-making process for manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest, including manuscripts involving close colleagues, collaborators, family members, institutional relationships, or other circumstances that could affect their impartiality.

Editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not use information obtained through their editorial responsibilities for personal or professional advantage.

When an editor or editorial board member submits their own manuscript to JTPST, the manuscript will be handled independently by another qualified editor who has no conflict of interest with the authors. The submitting editor will not participate in the peer-review process or editorial decision concerning the manuscript.

JTPST expects all authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff to disclose relevant conflicts of interest openly and responsibly to maintain the integrity, transparency, and impartiality of the publication process.

Additional Information

JTPST follows recognized standards of publication ethics and considers the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when addressing conflict-of-interest matters.