Conflict of Interest Policy
Albahit Journal of Applied Sciences is committed to transparency and maintaining the integrity of the scientific publishing process. A conflict of interest (COI) arises when an individual's personal relationships, financial interests, or other competing loyalties could potentially influence their professional judgment in the publication process. This policy applies to authors, reviewers, and editors.
For Authors
Authors are required to disclose any financial, personal, or other relationships that might be perceived to bias their work. This includes, but is not limited to:
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Financial Interests: Employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, or grants/other funding from any organization that has an interest in the submitted work.
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Personal Relationships: Close relationships with individuals who might benefit or be disadvantaged by the publication.
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Academic Competition: Direct competition with organizations or individuals mentioned in the work.
Authors must:
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Declare all potential conflicts of interest in their manuscript, typically in a dedicated section or footnote.
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Ensure that all sources of funding for the research are clearly acknowledged.
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If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."
For Reviewers
Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the peer-review process. They must decline to review a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest that could bias their judgment. Potential conflicts of interest for reviewers include:
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Direct Competition: Being a direct competitor of the authors or having a competing research interest.
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Collaboration/Supervision: Having recently collaborated with any of the authors or being a supervisor/student of any of the authors.
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Financial Interests: Any financial interest in the outcome of the manuscript.
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Personal Relationships: Close personal relationships with the authors.
Reviewers are asked to:
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Inform the editor immediately if they identify a potential conflict of interest upon receiving a manuscript.
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Decline the review if a significant conflict exists, or seek guidance from the editor on whether to proceed with the review.
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Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.
For Editors
Editors (including the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors) of the Albahit Journal of Applied Sciences are also subject to this policy and must avoid conflicts of interest in their editorial decisions. Editors will:
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Decline handling manuscripts where they have a direct or indirect conflict of interest with the authors or the content.
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Delegate the manuscript handling to another editor without a conflict of interest.
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Not use information gained during the editorial process for personal advantage.
Managing Conflicts of Interest
All disclosed conflicts of interest are carefully considered by the editorial board. The Albahit Journal of Applied Sciences reserves the right to decline publication if a conflict of interest is deemed to compromise the integrity of the research or the publication process. In cases of undeclared conflicts of interest discovered after publication, the journal will follow COPE guidelines, which may include publishing a correction or retraction.