What Constitutes a Competing Interest?

 

A competing interest refers to any factor that may affect, or could be perceived to affect, the impartial presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of research or non-research articles submitted to Ukwuru Science.

 

Competing interests may be financial or non-financial, as well as professional or personal in nature. They can arise in connection with an institution, organization, or individual.

 

Declaring all potential competing interests is mandatory for all submissions to Ukwuru Science and is vital for the transparent reporting of research findings.

 

Failure to disclose competing interests may lead to the immediate rejection of a manuscript. If an undisclosed competing interest is revealed after publication, Ukwuru Science will follow COPE guidelines and notify the community publicly.

 

What to Disclose

 

Everyone involved in the peer review process—authors, editors, reviewers, and readers—must declare all potentially competing interests that occurred within the last five years related to the research or article preparation. Interests outside this five-year window must also be declared if they could reasonably be seen as competing.

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Financial Competing Interests

 

Examples of financial competing interests include, but are not limited to:

• Ownership of stocks or shares

• Paid employment or consultancy roles

• Membership on a board

• Pending or actual patent applications, including those related to the authors' institution

• Research grants (both restricted and unrestricted)

• Travel grants and honoraria for speaking or participating in events

• Gifts

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Non-financial Competing Interests

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Examples of non-financial competing interests include, but are not limited to:

• Acting as an expert witness

• Membership in government or advisory boards

• Relationships (paid or unpaid) with organizations and funding bodies, including NGOs, research institutions, or charities

• Membership in lobbying or advocacy groups

• Consulting or writing for educational companies

• Personal relationships (e.g., friendships, family ties, previous mentors, or adversaries) with individuals involved in the submission or evaluation of a paper, such as authors, reviewers, or editors

• Personal beliefs (political, religious, ideological, etc.) related to the paper's subject that could interfere with unbiased publication

 

Who is Required to Declare Competing Interests?

• Authors: At the time of submission, authors must disclose all relevant competing interests. This includes:

  • Names of all funding sources

  • Descriptions of the funder’s role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, and submission decisions

  • Any service on the editorial board of the journal to which they are submitting

  • Participation as an expert witness in related legal proceedings

  • Involvement in committees for organizations that could benefit from the publication

• Editors and Reviewers: Editors (whether professional or academic, paid or unpaid) and reviewers must disclose their own competing interests and should disqualify themselves from evaluating a manuscript if necessary. Common reasons for recusal may include:

  • Current or recent employment at the same institution as an author

  • Recent collaborations with an author

  • Publications with an author within the past five years

  • Holding grants with an author, currently or recently

  • Financial relationships with the company funding the research

  • Personal relationships with an author that could hinder objective evaluation

• Readers: Anyone commenting on published articles in Ukwuru Science must declare all competing interests (financial or non-financial) at the time of posting their comments.

 

Editorial Actions and Decisions

 

Editors at Ukwuru Science must consider all declared competing interests during the review process and ensure that any relevant interests are disclosed in the published article.

Ukwuru Science will not publish commissioned or other non-research articles if there is knowledge of a competing interest that could introduce bias or a perception of bias.

Editors will refrain from consulting reviewers with competing interests that could affect an unbiased review.