A conflict of interest (COI), also referred to as a competing interest, exists when financial, personal, professional, academic, or institutional interests or relationships could reasonably be perceived as having influenced, or having the potential to influence, the objectivity, integrity, interpretation, or reporting of scholarly work.
Conflicts of interest may be actual, potential, or perceived and may arise from financial or non-financial relationships. Examples include, but are not limited to, employment, consultancy, research funding, grants, honoraria, stock ownership, patents or patent applications, commercial interests, advisory relationships, personal or family relationships, close professional collaborations, academic competition, institutional affiliations, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the work.
This policy applies to all individuals involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, the journal owner, the publisher, and journal staff.
JMSMO is committed to maintaining the independence, integrity, transparency, and impartiality of its editorial and peer-review processes.
The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply misconduct or prevent publication. However, all relevant conflicts must be disclosed so that the journal can assess their potential impact and take appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the publication process.
All authors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest at the time of manuscript submission.
Authors should disclose relevant financial and non-financial interests, including relationships or circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of the work.
Authors must also disclose relevant sources of financial support and, where applicable, the role of the funder in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
If no relevant conflict of interest exists, authors should provide a clear statement such as:
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
The Conflict of Interest Statement must appear in a clearly identifiable section of the manuscript before the References and will be included in the published article.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that the disclosure is complete and accurate and for notifying the journal if relevant circumstances change during the review or publication process.
Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript.
A reviewer should decline the invitation when their relationship with the authors, institutions, research, or subject matter could reasonably compromise, or be perceived to compromise, the impartiality of their review.
Potential conflicts may include, but are not limited to:
Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained through the peer-review process for personal or professional advantage.
Editors and editorial board members must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and must recuse themselves from handling or making decisions on manuscripts with which they have a conflict.
An editor should not participate in the editorial decision-making process when the manuscript involves:
When an editor is recused, an independent editor with no relevant conflict of interest will be appointed to manage the manuscript and make the editorial decision.
Members of the editorial team, including the Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members, may submit manuscripts to JMSMO. However, their manuscripts must be handled independently from their editorial responsibilities.
When an editorial team member is an author or co-author:
The journal will take appropriate measures to ensure that editorial position or affiliation provides no preferential treatment.
The journal owner, publisher, and journal staff must not interfere with editorial decisions based on commercial, personal, institutional, or other interests.
Where a conflict of interest involving the journal owner, publisher, or staff could affect editorial independence, appropriate safeguards will be implemented to ensure that editorial decisions remain independent and are made according to the journal's established editorial and peer-review policies.
When a conflict of interest is disclosed, the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately appointed independent editor will assess whether the conflict could affect the impartiality or integrity of the review and decision-making process.
Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:
Disclosure of a conflict does not automatically constitute a reason for rejection. The journal will assess each case individually and take proportionate measures to protect the integrity of the publication process.
If a previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after submission, acceptance, or publication, JMSMO will investigate the matter and take appropriate action in accordance with applicable publication-ethics standards and relevant COPE guidance and flowcharts.
Depending on the circumstances and severity of the case, possible actions may include:
The specific action will depend on the nature and seriousness of the case and will be determined in accordance with the journal's publication-ethics procedures.
Information concerning conflicts of interest will be handled confidentially during the editorial and peer-review process, except where disclosure is necessary to protect the integrity of the publication process or is required by applicable policies or regulations.
The journal will maintain appropriate records of disclosed conflicts and actions taken in response to them.
Every published article must contain a clearly identifiable Conflict of Interest Statement.
Where a conflict exists, the authors must provide an accurate and transparent description of the relevant conflict.
Where no relevant conflict exists, the article should include an appropriate declaration, such as:
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
The statement will be published as part of the article and placed before the References.
This policy applies equally to articles published in Persian or English and does not depend on the language, article type, or format of the publication.
JMSMO is committed to following recognized international standards of publication ethics. Conflicts of interest will be managed in accordance with the principles of transparency, editorial independence, fairness, and integrity reflected in relevant Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance.