Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest Policy

Journal CERITA (Creative Education of Research in Information Technology and Artificial Informatics) requires all authors, reviewers, and editors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, the objectivity, integrity, or evaluation of the submitted work.

A conflict of interest exists when financial, personal, professional, or institutional relationships could compromise unbiased judgment during the research, writing, peer review, or editorial decision-making processes.

1. Responsibilities for Authors

During the submission process via the Open Journal System (OJS), authors must explicitly disclose any financial or personal relationships that could introduce bias into their research. Examples of potential conflicts include, but are not limited to:

  • Financial Support: Funding, grants, employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, or patent/licensing agreements related to the research.
  • Personal or Professional Relations: Close personal relationships or professional rivalries with individuals who may be involved in the review or editorial process.
  • Affiliations: Membership in organizations or advisory boards that stand to gain or lose financially or reputationally from the publication of the article.

Action required: If a conflict exists, authors must declare it within the manuscript (e.g., in a "Conflict of Interest" section before the References). If no conflict exists, authors must state: "The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article."

2. Responsibilities for Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must decline to evaluate a manuscript if they recognize any conflict of interest that could impair their ability to provide an objective, unbiased critique. Reviewers must notify the Editorial Office immediately if they encounter any of the following situations:

  • Recent or current collaboration with any of the authors (within the past 3 years).
  • Direct financial or professional competition with the authors' research group or organization.
  • A close personal relationship with any of the authors that hinders an impartial evaluation.

3. Responsibilities for Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board members of Journal CERITA are bound by strict ethical standards to prevent biased editorial decisions:

  • Editors will recuse themselves from handling or making decisions on manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest (e.g., articles authored by colleagues from their own department, close collaborators, or family members).
  • An independent editor or board member will be assigned to handle the peer review and final decision for such submissions.
  • If an editor submits a manuscript to Journal CERITA as an author, the entire review process will be managed completely independently of that editor, and they will have no access to the review tracking system for their own paper.

4. Managing Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is discovered either during the review stage or after the article has been published, Journal CERITA will initiate an inquiry following the standard flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). If a severe, intentional nondisclosure is proven post-publication, the journal reserves the right to issue a formal correction or, in extreme cases, an Article Retraction notice.