Conflict of Interest Policy

Conflict of Interest Policy

Seltics Journal: Scope of English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Journal

Seltics Journal: Scope of English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Journal is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, editorial independence, and ethical integrity throughout the scholarly publication process. Conflicts of interest may arise when financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal relationships have the potential to influence, or may reasonably be perceived to influence, research conduct, data interpretation, peer review, or editorial decisions.

To safeguard the credibility of published scholarship and maintain the trust of authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider academic community, Seltics Journal requires the identification, disclosure, and appropriate management of actual, potential, and perceived conflicts of interest involving authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and other individuals participating in the publication process.

This policy is informed by internationally recognized publication ethics principles, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), where applicable to the journal's scope and practices.

  1. Policy Statement

Seltics Journal recognizes that conflicts of interest may compromise, or appear to compromise, the objectivity, fairness, and credibility of academic research and scholarly publishing.

All individuals involved in manuscript submission, peer review, editorial evaluation, and publication must disclose any relationships, interests, or circumstances that could influence their professional judgment or responsibilities.

Conflicts of interest do not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration for publication. Rather, transparent disclosure allows the journal to assess the nature and significance of the conflict and implement appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the editorial process.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's originality, scholarly contribution, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal's scope, ethical compliance, and overall academic quality, rather than on personal relationships, financial considerations, institutional influence, or other competing interests.

  1. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial and may arise directly or indirectly from relationships or circumstances associated with research or scholarly publication.

2.1. Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

  • Research grants, funding, or financial sponsorship that may influence the conduct or reporting of research.
  • Employment, consultancy, or paid professional relationships with organizations relevant to the research.
  • Honoraria, speaker fees, or other financial benefits related to the research topic.
  • Financial interests in educational products, language-learning platforms, publishing services, or technologies evaluated in the manuscript.
  • Patents, royalties, copyrights, or other intellectual property interests relevant to the research.
  • Financial relationships with organizations that may benefit from the publication or dissemination of the research findings.

2.2. Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest

Non-financial conflicts may include:

  • Personal, family, or close professional relationships between authors, reviewers, and editors.
  • Current or recent research collaborations, joint publications, or other substantial academic partnerships.
  • Institutional affiliations or professional responsibilities that may influence impartial judgment.
  • Academic competition, professional rivalry, or disputes involving the authors or the subject of the research.
  • Personal, ideological, theoretical, or professional commitments that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the evaluation or interpretation of research.
  • Involvement in organizations, educational institutions, or professional networks that may benefit from the publication's findings.
  • Other circumstances that may affect, or appear to affect, independent scholarly judgment.

2.3. Research-Related Conflicts of Interest

Research-related conflicts may arise when individuals have direct relationships with the institutions, educational programs, participants, materials, or interventions examined in a study.

Examples relevant to the scope of Seltics Journal include:

  • Evaluating an English language teaching method developed or promoted by the author or the author's institution.
  • Conducting research on a language-learning application, educational technology, textbook, or instructional material in which the author has a financial or professional interest.
  • Evaluating a curriculum, teaching program, assessment instrument, or educational intervention in which the researcher is directly involved.
  • Analyzing literary works, linguistic materials, or language policies in circumstances involving relevant professional, financial, or personal interests.
  • Conducting research in an institution where the researcher holds a position of authority over participants, such as students, teachers, or colleagues.

Such relationships do not necessarily constitute misconduct. However, they must be disclosed when they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of findings.

  1. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to Seltics Journal must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest relevant to their research or manuscript.

Authors are required to:

  1. Provide complete and accurate conflict-of-interest declarations during manuscript submission.
  2. Disclose relevant financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal relationships that may influence the research or its interpretation.
  3. Identify all sources of research funding, grants, sponsorship, or other financial support.
  4. Explain the role of funders or sponsors, where applicable, in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
  5. Disclose relevant relationships with educational institutions, research participants, publishers, educational technology providers, or other organizations associated with the study.
  6. Ensure that the reporting and interpretation of findings remain academically independent and are not improperly influenced by undisclosed interests.
  7. Update their declarations if relevant conflicts emerge or change during the editorial process.
  8. Cooperate with reasonable requests from the editorial team for clarification or additional information.

The corresponding author is responsible for collecting conflict-of-interest declarations from all co-authors and ensuring that the information provided to the journal is accurate and complete.

  1. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, fairly, independently, and confidentially.

Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must consider whether any financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal relationship could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, their impartiality.

Potential conflicts include:

  • Recent or ongoing research collaborations or joint publications with one or more authors.
  • Close personal, family, or professional relationships with the authors.
  • Direct academic competition or substantial professional rivalry.
  • Institutional relationships that could affect the reviewer's independence.
  • Financial interests associated with the research topic, findings, or potential publication.
  • Other circumstances that may prevent an impartial assessment of the manuscript.

Reviewers must inform the handling editor of any relevant conflict before proceeding with the review. Where a conflict could reasonably compromise impartiality, the reviewer must decline the invitation or withdraw from the review process.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, academic, or financial advantage. They must also protect manuscript confidentiality and comply with the journal's applicable AI Policy.

  1. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members must uphold editorial independence, fairness, transparency, and confidentiality throughout the publication process.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and must not handle manuscripts when their personal, financial, professional, institutional, or academic relationships could compromise their impartiality.

When a conflict exists, responsibility for the manuscript must be transferred to an independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. The independent editor must oversee the evaluation and decision-making process without inappropriate influence from the conflicted individual.

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, or individuals with close professional relationships with the editorial team must undergo independent editorial handling and the journal's established peer-review procedures.

Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance to the journal's scope, research integrity, and compliance with publication ethics requirements.

Commercial interests, institutional pressure, personal relationships, academic favoritism, and potential publication revenue must not determine editorial decisions.

  1. Conflict of Interest Declaration

All manuscripts submitted to Seltics Journal must include a Conflict of Interest Statement, regardless of whether the authors have any conflicts to disclose.

The statement must accurately reflect the circumstances of all authors and must be included in the manuscript in accordance with the journal's submission guidelines.

6.1. Declaration When No Conflict Exists

When no relevant conflicts of interest exist, authors may use the following statement:

"The authors declare that they have no known financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest that could have influenced the research reported in this manuscript."

6.2. Declaration When a Conflict Exists

When relevant conflicts exist, authors must clearly identify and describe the nature of the relationships involved.

The following statement may be adapted to the circumstances:

"The authors declare the following potential conflicts of interest: [provide a clear description of the relevant financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal relationships]. These relationships have been disclosed to the journal, and the authors take responsibility for ensuring the integrity and independent reporting of the research."

Authors must modify the statement to reflect the actual circumstances. Disclosure must be sufficiently specific to allow the editorial team and readers to understand the nature of the potential conflict.

6.3. Funding Disclosure

Funding information must be provided separately from the Conflict of Interest Statement.

Where applicable, authors must identify the funding organization, grant number, or other relevant funding details and explain the funder's role in the research.

If the research received no external funding, authors may use the following statement:

"This research received no external funding."

A declaration of no external funding does not necessarily mean that no conflict of interest exists. Authors must assess and disclose other relevant interests independently.

  1. Management of Conflicts of Interest

The editorial team of Seltics Journal will assess disclosed conflicts and determine whether additional measures are necessary to protect the fairness and integrity of the publication process.

Depending on the circumstances, appropriate measures may include:

  1. Requesting additional information or clarification from the individuals involved.
  2. Requiring more detailed or revised disclosure statements.
  3. Assigning independent reviewers or transferring editorial responsibility to an unconflicted editor.
  4. Excluding conflicted individuals from specific review or editorial decisions.
  5. Requesting clarification regarding the role of funders, institutions, or other interested parties.
  6. Requiring additional documentation where necessary to assess the nature of a disclosed relationship.
  7. Publishing relevant conflict-of-interest and funding disclosures alongside the article.

The journal will adopt measures proportionate to the nature and significance of the conflict. A disclosed conflict will not automatically lead to rejection if the matter can be appropriately managed and the manuscript otherwise meets the journal's standards.

All decisions concerning conflict-of-interest management will be guided by transparency, fairness, confidentiality, proportionality, and recognized publication ethics principles.

  1. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may constitute a breach of publication ethics, particularly when the omission is deliberate or materially affects the credibility, independence, or interpretation of the research.

When a potential undisclosed conflict is identified before publication, the editorial team may request clarification, require an amended declaration, suspend editorial processing while the matter is assessed, or reject the manuscript when justified by the circumstances.

If an undisclosed conflict is identified after publication, Seltics Journal will evaluate the available evidence and determine an appropriate response.

Depending on the seriousness and implications of the issue, possible actions may include:

  • Publishing a correction to the conflict-of-interest or funding statement.
  • Publishing an editorial notice when additional transparency is necessary.
  • Referring the matter to the relevant institution or organization, where appropriate.
  • Considering retraction if the undisclosed conflict is associated with serious misconduct or materially compromises the reliability or integrity of the published work.

Any action will be proportionate to the evidence and the nature of the concern, and will follow the journal's applicable publication ethics procedures and relevant COPE guidance.

  1. Transparency and Compliance

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are expected to comply with this Conflict of Interest Policy.

Relevant interests must be disclosed accurately and in a timely manner throughout the submission, peer-review, editorial decision-making, and publication processes.

Seltics Journal recognizes that the existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply misconduct or invalidate research findings. Transparent disclosure enables editors, reviewers, and readers to assess whether a relationship may have influenced the research or its interpretation.

The journal is committed to ensuring that scholarly work is evaluated on the basis of academic merit and that conflicts of interest are managed consistently, fairly, and transparently.

By submitting a manuscript to Seltics Journal or participating in its editorial and peer-review processes, individuals are expected to comply with the requirements set out in this policy.

Seltics Journal
Scope of English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Journal