Conflict of Interest Policy

The Cosmic Journal of Chemistry (CJC) adheres to standard academic and publishing ethics guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding conflicts of interest.

A conflict of interest (COI) arises when financial, personal, academic, or professional relationships inappropriately influence (or bias) the design, execution, interpretation, or reporting of research.

Key Requirements by Role

1. For Authors

  • Mandatory Disclosure: All authors must disclose any potential financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could be perceived as influencing their research or manuscript.

  • Types of Conflicts to Declare:

    • Financial: Grants, honoraria, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, patent applications/registrations, or other funding sources.

    • Non-Financial: Personal or professional relationships, academic rivalries, or strong ideological/political affiliations directly relevant to the work.

  • COI Statement: Manuscripts should include a dedicated "Conflict of Interest" section before the reference list. If no conflicts exist, authors must state:

    "The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript."

2. For Reviewers

  • Recusal: Reviewers must decline to evaluate a manuscript if they have a known conflict of interest with any of the authors or institutions involved (e.g., recent co-authorship, personal relationship, direct institutional connection, or direct financial competition).

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers are strictly prohibited from using unpublished information or ideas from a manuscript under review for their own personal or professional advantage.

3. For Editors

  • Editorial Independence: Editors must recuse themselves from managing or making editorial decisions on manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest (e.g., papers authored by colleagues from their own department, close collaborators, or family members).

  • Delegation: In such cases, the handling of the manuscript is delegated to an independent member of the Editorial Board to maintain unbiased peer review.

Actions on Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is discovered post-publication:

  1. The journal will follow COPE guidelines to investigate the matter.

  2. If confirmed, a formal Correction (Corrigendum) or Expression of Concern may be published alongside the article.

  3. In severe cases involving compromised data integrity or significant bias, the article may be subject to retraction.

Official Resources