Conflict of Interest

Journal EPiC is committed to transparent, impartial, and evidence-based scholarly publishing. Authors, reviewers, editors, and other participants in the publication process must disclose relationships or activities that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their professional judgment.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct or invalidate a study. Disclosure enables the journal to assess relevant circumstances, manage potential bias, and provide readers with information needed to evaluate the published work.

1. Definition and Scope

A conflict of interest exists when a secondary interest, such as financial benefit, a personal relationship, or professional advantage, could compromise or appear to compromise the impartial conduct, evaluation, reporting, or publication of research.

Relevant interests may be financial or non-financial, direct or indirect. They may involve an individual, an institution, a commercial organization, a funding body, or another party connected to the work.

2. Financial Interests

Financial relationships that may require disclosure include, but are not limited to:

Employment, consultancy, or paid advisory roles with organizations that could be affected by the research findings.
Research grants, sponsorship, donated equipment, materials, software, or other support relevant to the work.
Honoraria, speaking fees, paid expert testimony, travel support, or other payments.
Stock ownership, stock options, or other relevant financial investments.
Patents, patent applications, royalties, licensing arrangements, or commercial interests connected to the research.

3. Non-Financial Interests

Non-financial relationships or activities may also affect impartial judgment. Relevant circumstances may include:

Close personal or family relationships involving authors, reviewers, editors, or other relevant parties.
Current or recent collaboration, supervisory relationships, or institutional connections that could affect independent evaluation.
Academic competition, professional disputes, or personal rivalries directly relevant to the work.
Leadership, advocacy, or unpaid advisory roles in organizations with a direct interest in the findings.
Strong personal or intellectual commitments that could reasonably be perceived to compromise an impartial assessment of the specific manuscript.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Each author must disclose relevant relationships, activities, and interests at submission. The corresponding author is responsible for collecting the disclosures from all co-authors and ensuring that the manuscript includes an accurate Conflict of Interest statement. Each author remains responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their own disclosure.

Disclosures must be updated if relevant circumstances change during review or publication. Authors who become aware of an omitted or inaccurate disclosure after publication must promptly notify the editorial office.

If no relevant conflicts exist, the manuscript should include the following statement:

The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest relevant to this study.

If a relevant relationship exists, the statement should identify the author concerned, the organization or party involved, and the nature of the relationship. The following is an illustrative example:

Author A has received consulting fees from Organization X, which develops the software evaluated in this study. The remaining authors declare no relevant conflicts of interest.

5. Funding and the Role of Sponsors

Authors must identify financial and material support for the research in a separate Funding statement. Funding disclosure does not replace the requirement to declare relevant conflicts of interest.

Authors must describe any role of the funder or sponsor in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the work for publication. Any restrictions affecting access to data or publication independence must also be disclosed.

Where accurate, authors may use the following statement:

The funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

6. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose relevant interests before accepting a review invitation. They should decline or withdraw from reviewing when a relationship or activity could compromise their impartiality. If uncertain, reviewers should explain the circumstances to the handling editor before proceeding.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage. They must notify the editor if a relevant conflict becomes apparent during the review.

7. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors and editorial staff must disclose relevant interests and recuse themselves from manuscript assessment or decisions when those interests could compromise their impartiality.

Manuscripts submitted by an editor, an editorial board member, or an individual with a close connection to the handling editor must be assigned to an independent editor without a relevant conflict. The author concerned must not participate in reviewer selection, access confidential review information through their editorial role, or influence the editorial decision.

Concerns involving the Editor-in-Chief must be referred to the publisher or an appropriately independent editorial representative.

8. Assessment and Management

The editorial team will assess disclosed interests according to their relevance, nature, and potential effect on the publication process. Disclosure alone will not automatically result in manuscript rejection.

Appropriate management may include requesting further information, publishing a disclosure statement, appointing independent reviewers, reassigning editorial responsibility, or taking other proportionate steps to protect independent evaluation.

9. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Suspected omissions will be assessed fairly, and the relevant individual will normally be given an opportunity to explain. The journal will consider whether the omission was material and whether it affected the research, peer review, or editorial decision.

Before publication, the journal may request an updated disclosure, arrange independent reassessment, or take other appropriate editorial action. After publication, a correction may be issued to add or amend the disclosure. More serious concerns will be addressed under the journal’s policy on allegations of research misconduct.

An undisclosed conflict does not automatically justify retraction. Any further action must be based on the evidence and its effect on the reliability or integrity of the published record.

10. Reporting Concerns

Concerns about a possible undisclosed conflict may be submitted through the official editorial contact listed on the journal’s Contact page. Reports should identify the manuscript or article, describe the relevant relationship, and provide supporting information where available.

11. Policy Guidance

This policy draws on the principles described in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommendations on Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest . Reference to these recommendations does not imply membership in or endorsement by ICMJE.