1. Purpose of the Policy
Zoological Records and Reviews is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, and trust in scholarly publishing. This policy requires the disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest (COIs) that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the research, review, or editorial decision-making process.
Transparent disclosure helps readers assess the objectivity and credibility of published work.
2. Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as research integrity or impartial review) may be influenced by a secondary interest. Conflicts may be financial, personal, professional, or institutional in nature.
The existence of a conflict does not necessarily imply wrongdoing; failure to disclose it does.
3. Disclosure by Authors
All authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to their manuscript. These may include, but are not limited to:
- Financial relationships (e.g., grants, funding, employment, consultancies, honoraria)
- Institutional affiliations or advisory roles
- Personal or professional relationships that could influence the work
- Intellectual property interests (e.g., patents, copyrights)
Authors must include a Conflict of Interest Statement in their manuscript.
Example Statements
- “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
- “Author A has received research funding from [Organization]. Author B serves as a consultant for [Company].”
4. Disclosure by Reviewers
Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript. If a conflict exists, reviewers should decline the invitation.
Potential reviewer conflicts include:
- Collaboration or personal relationships with the authors
- Competitive or directly related research interests
- Financial or institutional affiliations related to the manuscript content
5. Disclosure by Editors
Editors involved in manuscript handling must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their impartiality. When a conflict is identified, the manuscript will be reassigned to an alternative editor.
Editors must not make decisions on manuscripts where conflicts exist.
6. Funding Disclosure
Authors must clearly disclose all sources of funding supporting the research. The role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and publication decisions must be stated.
If the funder had no role, this should be explicitly declared.
7. Management of Conflicts
Disclosed conflicts are reviewed by the editorial team and managed transparently. Disclosure does not automatically lead to rejection; instead, it enables informed editorial and reader assessment.
8. Failure to Disclose
Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may be considered a breach of publication ethics. If undisclosed conflicts are identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, in accordance with COPE guidelines.
9. Confidentiality
All conflict-of-interest disclosures are handled confidentially during the editorial process. Relevant disclosures may be published alongside the article to ensure transparency for readers.
10. Policy Review
This policy is reviewed periodically to ensure alignment with international best practices and indexing requirements.