Conflict of Interest Policy

A conflict of interest exists when a financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationship may influence, or may reasonably be perceived to influence, the objectivity and integrity of research, peer review, editorial decisions, or publication.

• Authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest related to their submitted manuscript.
• Authors should disclose relevant employment, consultancy, research funding, grants, patents, honoraria, advisory positions, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, or other interests that may affect the interpretation or publication of their work.
• Authors must provide a clear Conflict of Interest statement with every manuscript. Where no conflict exists, authors should state that there is no conflict of interest to declare.
• Reviewers must disclose any relationship or activity that could affect their impartial evaluation of a manuscript and should decline the review when a significant conflict exists.
• Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, academic, professional, or financial advantage.
• Editors and Editorial Board members must disclose relevant conflicts and must not participate in editorial decisions where their impartiality may reasonably be questioned.
• Editors or Editorial Board members who submit manuscripts to IJDST shall not participate in the review or editorial decision-making process for their own submissions. Such manuscripts shall be handled independently by another qualified editor.
• Editorial staff shall not use confidential information obtained through manuscript handling, peer review, or editorial activities for personal or professional benefit.
• Where a conflict of interest is identified after publication, IJDST may request clarification, publish an appropriate correction or disclosure, or take other action necessary to maintain the integrity of the published record.
• Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in appropriate editorial action, including manuscript rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction where warranted.
• IJDST is committed to managing conflicts of interest transparently and consistently so that financial, personal, professional, or institutional interests do not compromise the fairness and independence of the publication process.