IJMTFM follows internationally recognized principles and recommendations concerning the disclosure and management of conflicts of interest in scholarly publishing, including the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Maintaining public trust in scientific research and the peer-review process requires transparency regarding relationships and interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, the objectivity, integrity, or interpretation of scholarly work.
A conflict of interest may arise when an author, reviewer, editor, or other participant in the publication process has financial, professional, personal, academic, or other relationships or interests that could inappropriately influence their judgment or actions. Such relationships may also be described as competing interests, competing loyalties, or dual commitments.
Not every relationship or interest constitutes a conflict of interest. However, the potential for a conflict may exist regardless of whether an individual believes that the relationship has influenced their professional judgment. Transparency in disclosure enables Editors, reviewers, and readers to assess potential sources of bias appropriately.
All authors are required to disclose any financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work.
Authors must disclose conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission. This includes, but is not limited to:
Authors must explicitly state whether or not any conflicts of interest exist.
Where no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include an appropriate declaration, such as:
“The authors declare that they have no known conflicts of interest that could have influenced the work reported in this manuscript.”
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors have reviewed and approved the conflict-of-interest declaration and that all relevant interests have been disclosed.
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, institutional funding, commercial sponsorship, charitable funding, and other forms of financial assistance.
Authors should clearly describe the role of the funding organization or sponsor, if any, in:
If the funding organization had no involvement in these activities, this should be explicitly stated in the manuscript.
Authors should ensure that funding arrangements do not compromise their access to research data, independent analysis, interpretation of results, or the right to publish their findings.
Where a sponsor has a proprietary or financial interest in the research outcomes, the Editors may request additional information regarding the funding agreement, study protocol, or contractual arrangements.
IJMTFM reserves the right to decline consideration of a manuscript if the terms of sponsorship or funding compromise the authors’ academic independence or restrict their ability to report research findings objectively and transparently.
Authors must disclose any significant assistance received in the preparation of the manuscript, including writing, editing, statistical analysis, or other professional assistance.
Where professional writing or editorial assistance has been provided, the identity of the individual or organization providing the assistance and the source of financial support for such assistance should be appropriately disclosed.
All individuals who have made substantive contributions to the manuscript should be appropriately acknowledged or considered for authorship in accordance with applicable authorship standards.
Where applicable, investigators should disclose relevant conflicts of interest to research participants in accordance with applicable ethical requirements and institutional policies.
Authors should state in the manuscript whether relevant disclosures were made to study participants and whether appropriate measures were taken to manage potential conflicts.
Editors and members of the editorial team must disclose any personal, professional, financial, academic, or institutional relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their editorial decisions.
An Editor must not participate in the editorial evaluation or final decision-making process for a manuscript when the Editor has a relevant conflict of interest.
Where a conflict exists, the manuscript should be handled by an appropriately independent Editor.
Editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of unpublished information and must not use information obtained through the editorial process for personal, professional, or financial advantage.
Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript.
Reviewers should decline an invitation to review when:
Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, academic, or financial benefit.
If a potential conflict becomes apparent after accepting a review invitation, the reviewer should immediately inform the Editor and, where appropriate, withdraw from the review process.
Authors may suggest potential reviewers during submission where the journal permits such recommendations. Authors may also identify individuals who they believe should not review their manuscript because of a potential conflict of interest.
Any such request must be supported by a legitimate and reasonable justification. The final decision regarding reviewer selection rests entirely with the Editors.
Editorial decisions must be based on the scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and ethical integrity of the manuscript and must not be influenced by undisclosed personal, financial, or professional interests.
Editors responsible for making final decisions must not have personal, professional, financial, or other relationships that could influence their judgment regarding the manuscript.
Where an Editor has a conflict of interest, responsibility for the manuscript should be transferred to an independent Editor.
Information concerning relevant conflicts of interest may be published alongside the article when the Editors consider such disclosure important for transparency and for the appropriate interpretation of the published work.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their conflict-of-interest declarations are complete and accurate. Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in editorial action, including requests for clarification, correction of the published record, retraction where appropriate, or other measures consistent with applicable publication ethics standards.
If a conflict of interest becomes apparent after publication, authors must promptly notify the Editors.
Where necessary, IJMTFM may publish a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or other appropriate notice to ensure that the scholarly record accurately reflects relevant conflicts of interest.
IJMTFM considers transparent disclosure of conflicts of interest an essential component of responsible scholarly publishing.
All authors, Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff are expected to comply with this policy and to disclose any relationship or interest that could reasonably affect, or be perceived as affecting, the integrity, objectivity, or interpretation of scholarly work.
The journal reserves the right to request additional information regarding disclosed conflicts of interest when necessary to ensure the transparency and integrity of the editorial and publication process.