Conflict of Interest Policy

Introduction

Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin, published by Jayapangus Press, is committed to upholding high standards of academic integrity, transparency, objectivity, fairness, and editorial independence throughout the scholarly publication process. The journal recognizes that conflicts of interest, also referred to as competing interests, may arise during research, manuscript preparation, peer review, editorial decision-making, and scholarly publication.

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual's professional judgment or responsibilities may be influenced, or may reasonably be perceived as being influenced, by financial, personal, professional, institutional, political, or other interests. The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate an ethical violation or diminish the quality of scholarly work. However, all relevant interests must be disclosed transparently and managed appropriately to safeguard the integrity, independence, and credibility of the publication process.

This policy applies to scholarly publications within the journal's Focus and Scope, encompassing the humanities, social sciences, management, and related multidisciplinary fields. It covers all accepted manuscript types, including Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Studies, and Literary Studies.

The policy applies to all parties involved in the journal's publication process, including authors, peer reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and other individuals with responsibilities in scholarly publishing.

Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics, including the guidance and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), to ensure that potential conflicts of interest are appropriately identified, disclosed, evaluated, and managed.

Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following categories.

1. Financial Interests

Financial conflicts of interest may arise from research funding, employment relationships, consultancy activities, honoraria, shareholdings, intellectual property rights, paid advisory positions, research sponsorships, or other financial relationships that may influence the conduct of research, interpretation of findings, or publication process.

Within the humanities, social sciences, and management, financial interests may involve organizations, institutions, companies, funding agencies, or other parties that could benefit from or be affected by the research findings.

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose relevant financial relationships when these could reasonably influence, or appear to influence, their scholarly judgment or professional responsibilities.

2. Personal and Professional Relationships

Conflicts of interest may arise from family relationships, close personal ties, professional collaborations, research partnerships, academic competition, supervisory relationships, or other connections that may compromise the independence and objectivity of scholarly assessment.

Such relationships may involve authors, reviewers, editors, research institutions, organizations, or other parties associated with the manuscript.

Individuals involved in the publication process must disclose relationships that could reasonably create concerns regarding impartiality, preferential treatment, or inappropriate influence.

3. Institutional and Academic Interests

Conflicts of interest may arise from institutional affiliations, competing academic interests, professional responsibilities, research collaborations, or involvement in organizations that may benefit from or experience disadvantages resulting from the publication of particular research findings.

Potential conflicts may involve institutional authority, academic appointments, research partnerships, organizational responsibilities, or other professional commitments.

Institutional affiliation alone does not automatically constitute a conflict of interest. However, relationships or responsibilities that could reasonably compromise independent scholarly judgment must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

4. Political, Ideological, and Other Non-Financial Interests

Political affiliations, ideological commitments, organizational memberships, advocacy activities, religious affiliations, or other non-financial relationships may constitute conflicts of interest when they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the interpretation, evaluation, or publication decisions concerning scholarly work.

This consideration is particularly relevant when research addresses political institutions, public policy, religion, philosophy, cultural traditions, social movements, organizational governance, or other subjects involving potentially competing interests.

Differences in academic perspectives, theoretical approaches, religious beliefs, philosophical interpretations, or political opinions do not automatically constitute conflicts of interest.

Disclosure is required when a relevant relationship, role, commitment, or external interest could reasonably raise concerns about the independence, objectivity, or credibility of scholarly assessment.

Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin must disclose actual, potential, or reasonably perceived conflicts of interest that may affect their research, interpretation of findings, or preparation of the manuscript.

Authors must:

Disclose all relevant financial and non-financial interests at the time of manuscript submission.
Identify research funding sources and, where relevant, explain the funders' roles in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication.
Disclose professional, institutional, personal, organizational, or other relationships that could reasonably influence the research or interpretation of its findings.
Ensure that the corresponding author has obtained accurate conflict-of-interest information from all contributing authors.
Promptly inform the editorial team if any new conflict of interest arises or becomes known during peer review, revision, acceptance, or publication.
Ensure that disclosed interests are accurately represented and do not conceal circumstances that could materially affect the credibility or independence of the research.

These requirements apply to Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Studies, and Literary Studies, regardless of the disciplinary field or methodological approach.

For Original Research Articles, relevant disclosures may concern research funding, institutional relationships, data access arrangements, organizational affiliations, or other interests affecting the research process.

For Review Articles, authors must disclose relationships or interests that could influence the selection, evaluation, interpretation, or synthesis of scholarly literature.

For Case Studies, authors must disclose relevant relationships with the institutions, organizations, communities, individuals, or other parties examined in the research.

For Literary Studies, authors must disclose relevant interests or relationships involving the analyzed materials, intellectual property rights, sponsoring organizations, or other circumstances that could reasonably influence scholarly interpretation.

All authors must provide a conflict-of-interest statement, including when no conflicts of interest are present.

Where no relevant conflicts exist, authors may use the following declaration:

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article."

Disclosure does not automatically result in manuscript rejection. The editorial team will evaluate whether the disclosed interests can be appropriately managed without compromising research integrity, academic objectivity, or the independence of the publication process.

Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers are responsible for providing independent, objective, fair, confidential, and impartial assessments of submitted manuscripts.

Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or reasonably perceived conflicts of interest that may compromise their independence.

Reviewers must decline or withdraw from a review assignment when a conflict of interest could reasonably impair their objectivity.

Such conflicts may include:

Close personal or family relationships with the authors.
Recent or ongoing research collaborations involving the authors.
Direct academic competition or professional relationships that may influence impartiality.
Significant financial or institutional interests associated with the research.
Supervisory, advisory, or other professional relationships that could compromise independent assessment.
Other circumstances that may reasonably create concerns regarding the fairness or independence of the review process.

Under the journal's single-blind peer-review system, reviewers are aware of the authors' identities, while reviewers' identities remain confidential.

Reviewers must use the available authorship information responsibly to identify and disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information, unpublished research findings, intellectual contributions, or other materials obtained during peer review for personal, professional, financial, institutional, or academic advantage.

If reviewers are uncertain whether a potential conflict exists, they must consult the editorial team before accepting or continuing the review assignment.

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts exclusively on scholarly merit, methodological rigor, analytical quality, disciplinary relevance, originality, and academic contribution.

These standards apply equally to manuscripts within the humanities, social sciences, management, and related multidisciplinary fields.

Responsibilities of Editors and the Editorial Board

Editors and editorial board members must maintain independence, fairness, confidentiality, transparency, and accountability throughout the editorial decision-making process.

Editors must disclose any relevant conflicts of interest associated with manuscripts under their responsibility.

An editor who has an actual or potential conflict of interest that could compromise impartiality must not participate in managing the peer-review process, evaluating the manuscript, or making the final publication decision.

The manuscript must be reassigned to another qualified editor or an appropriately authorized editorial board member who has no relevant conflict of interest.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest, editorial responsibility must be delegated to a suitably qualified independent editor.

Manuscripts authored by editors, editorial board members, or individuals with close professional or personal relationships with the editorial team must undergo independent initial assessment and peer review in accordance with the journal's established academic and ethical standards.

The journal must ensure that:

Editorial decisions are based exclusively on scholarly merit and publication ethics.
Editors with relevant conflicts of interest are excluded from the affected editorial evaluation and decision-making processes.
Reviewer selection remains independent and appropriate to the manuscript's disciplinary field.
Manuscripts submitted by editorial board members receive no preferential treatment.
Editorial positions, institutional authority, personal relationships, and financial contributions do not influence publication decisions.
Manuscripts are evaluated consistently with the journal's Focus and Scope, Author Guidelines, Review Guidelines, and Publication Ethics.

The final editorial decision must remain independent of financial considerations, institutional influence, personal relationships, and other interests unrelated to scholarly quality.

The payment of submission fees, publication fees, or other administrative charges must not influence manuscript acceptance, rejection, reviewer assignment, or editorial decisions.

Disclosure and Management Procedures

Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin requires relevant conflict-of-interest declarations during manuscript submission and throughout the publication process when new circumstances arise.

The editorial team will assess disclosed interests and determine appropriate measures to manage them.

These measures may include:

Requesting additional information or clarification regarding a disclosed conflict of interest.
Appointing an independent editor or alternative peer reviewer.
Excluding individuals with conflicts of interest from specific editorial evaluations or decisions.
Including relevant author conflict-of-interest statements in published articles.
Temporarily suspending the editorial process when a significant conflict requires further investigation.
Requiring appropriate management or disclosure of financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships.
Rejecting a manuscript when a serious conflict cannot be adequately managed or when deliberate concealment has compromised the integrity of the submission or review process.

Conflict-of-interest information must be handled in accordance with appropriate confidentiality principles.

Relevant author declarations will be made available to readers in the published article.

The editorial team must distinguish between disclosed interests that can be appropriately managed and serious conflicts that fundamentally compromise the independence or integrity of the publication process.

All management decisions must be reasonable, proportionate, transparent, and supported by appropriate editorial assessment.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified before publication, the editorial team will assess its nature, seriousness, and potential impact on the integrity of the research or editorial process.

The editorial team may request clarification, examine supporting evidence, reassign editorial responsibilities, suspend peer review, or take other appropriate measures.

Authors, reviewers, or editors involved in the matter must be given a reasonable opportunity to provide explanations or relevant documentation.

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication, Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin will evaluate whether the omission materially affected the research, interpretation of findings, editorial independence, or reliability of the published article.

Depending on the available evidence and seriousness of the issue, the journal may:

Update the published conflict-of-interest declaration.
Issue a formal correction to the published article.
Publish an Expression of Concern when credible concerns remain unresolved.
Retract the article when serious ethical violations or compromised publication processes substantially undermine its integrity.
Request further investigation or clarification from relevant institutions when necessary.

An undisclosed conflict of interest does not automatically justify retraction. Corrective actions must be proportionate to the seriousness of the issue, its implications for the reliability of the scholarly record, and the available supporting evidence.

All necessary scholarly corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions must be handled in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics, Allegations of Research Misconduct, and Retraction Policy.

Corrections required to preserve research integrity, scientific accuracy, ethical compliance, or the reliability of the scholarly record shall not incur additional fees.

Editorial decisions regarding undisclosed conflicts of interest must remain independent of financial considerations and be guided by internationally recognized publication ethics principles, including COPE recommendations.

Compliance and Policy Review

All parties involved in the publication process at Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin are required to comply with this Conflict of Interest Policy.

The journal reserves the right to investigate suspected violations and implement appropriate measures to protect academic integrity, editorial independence, research credibility, and responsible scholarly publication.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest, deliberate concealment of competing interests, or inappropriate interference in editorial decisions may result in corrective actions proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the violation.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to, accepted by, or published in Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin, including Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Studies, and Literary Studies within the humanities, social sciences, management, and related multidisciplinary fields.

The policy will be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect developments in publication ethics standards, editorial practices, and internationally recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing.

Through this policy, Metta: Jurnal Ilmu Multidisiplin seeks to ensure transparency in competing-interest disclosures, independence in manuscript evaluation, fairness in editorial decision-making, and public trust in multidisciplinary scholarly communication.

References and Ethical Guidelines

This policy is informed by internationally recognized publication ethics principles and editorial practices developed by reputable scholarly organizations and academic publishers, including:

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Elsevier Publishing Ethics Policies.
Springer Nature Editorial Policies and Editors' Code of Conduct.
Taylor & Francis Competing Interests Policy.
SAGE Publishing Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Guidelines.