Afarand journals require every participant in the publication process to disclose conflicts of interest, because undisclosed conflicts damage public trust in the scientific process and in published articles. A conflict of interest exists when a secondary interest (financial, professional, personal, political or ideological) could influence professional judgment about a primary interest, such as the validity of research or the fairness of a review. Perceived conflicts matter as much as actual ones. Disclosure does not by itself disqualify anyone; concealment does.

Authors. All authors disclose relationships and activities that could be perceived as influencing the submitted work, during the past 36 months and including those of their institutions where relevant, using the ICMJE Disclosure Form or an equivalent journal form. They name all funders, describe the funders' role (if any) in design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing and the decision to publish, and declare any payment for writing assistance. Each article includes a conflict of interest statement and a funding statement. Where there is nothing to disclose, the statement says so.

Peer reviewers. Reviewers disclose, before accepting an invitation, any conflict related to the manuscript, its authors or the topic (for example recent collaboration, shared institution, competition, financial interest, or a close personal relationship), and decline the review when the conflict could affect their judgment.

Editors and editorial board members. Editors do not handle manuscripts when they have a conflict of interest, and they disclose their relevant interests when appointed and annually. Such manuscripts, including submissions from editors, board members and Afarand staff, are handled by an independent editor, and the conflicted person has no access to the review process or the decision.

The journal and publisher. Editorial decisions are independent of owners, sponsors, advertisers, funders and publication fees. Afarand discloses its own relevant interests, including ownership and sources of revenue (see Sections 7.8 and 7.11).

Undisclosed conflicts. When a conflict is discovered after publication, the editor requests a statement from the author, assesses its relevance, and publishes a correction or, in serious cases, an expression of concern or retraction, following COPE guidance.

This page is part of the Afarand Best Practice Statement, which contains the complete text of all sections.