Conflict of Interest Policy

Conflict of Interest Policy

Diwan Al-Ma'rifah Journal for Applied and Human Sciences is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, and integrity throughout the research, peer-review, editorial, and publication processes. All authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the editorial board must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or appear to influence, their professional judgment.

A conflict of interest may arise from financial, personal, professional, academic, institutional, intellectual, or other relationships that could affect the objectivity of the research or publication process.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript, including:

  • Financial support, grants, employment, consultancy, or paid advisory roles.
  • Ownership of shares, patents, intellectual property rights, or other financial interests related to the research.
  • Personal, professional, or academic relationships that may influence the study.
  • Institutional affiliations or competing interests relevant to the submitted work.
  • Any role of a funding body in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the work.

Authors must include a conflict-of-interest statement in their manuscript. When no conflict exists, they should state:

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewers must decline a review or immediately inform the editorial office if they have:

  • A personal, professional, financial, or academic relationship with any author.
  • Recent collaboration or direct competition with the authors.
  • Prior involvement in the submitted research.
  • Any interest that may prevent an objective and impartial evaluation.

Reviewers must not use confidential or unpublished information obtained through the peer-review process for personal or professional advantage.

Editors’ Responsibilities

Editors and editorial board members must withdraw from handling a manuscript when they have a conflict of interest involving the authors, institutions, research topic, funding source, or any other relevant party.

In such cases, the manuscript will be assigned to another qualified editor who has no conflict of interest. Editorial decisions must be based solely on the manuscript’s scientific quality, originality, relevance, and compliance with the journal’s policies.

Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is discovered before publication, the journal may suspend the review process, request clarification, reassign the manuscript, or reject the submission.

If it is discovered after publication, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the seriousness and effect of the conflict.

Disclosure of a conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication. Its purpose is to ensure transparency and allow the journal and readers to evaluate any potential influence appropriately.