Conflict of Interest

Bioedukasi is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions, peer review, and research reporting are conducted fairly, transparently, and independently. Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the conduct, evaluation, or reporting of research.

A competing interest is any financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationship or circumstance that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the objectivity of research reporting or its assessment. Disclosure enables the journal to assess and appropriately manage such interests. Disclosure alone does not establish bias, misconduct, or a lack of research integrity.

1. Interests to Be Disclosed

Relevant interests may include, but are not limited to:

• Financial and commercial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, paid expert services, shareholdings, patents, royalties, or other commercial benefits related to the research or manuscript.

• Funding and sponsorship: Research grants, financial or in-kind support, sponsor involvement, or other funding arrangements that may influence the research or its interpretation.

• Personal and professional relationships: Close personal relationships, supervisory relationships, current or recent collaborations, professional disputes, or competitive relationships that could compromise impartial assessment.

• Institutional interests: Affiliations, responsibilities, or institutional commitments that may affect the evaluation or interpretation of the work.

• Editorial and professional roles: Editorial appointments, journal-related responsibilities, or other professional relationships that require independent editorial handling.

Ordinary scholarly disagreement or differences in academic interpretation do not automatically constitute a disqualifying conflict of interest. When uncertain, authors, editors, and reviewers should disclose the relevant circumstances to the responsible editorial authority so that an appropriate assessment can be made.

2. Author Declarations and Funding Disclosure

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests associated with their manuscript. The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating the disclosure of interests on behalf of all co-authors and ensuring that the submitted statement is accurate and complete.

The manuscript must include a Competing Interests Statement. Where no relevant competing interests exist, the authors should explicitly state:

“The authors declare no competing interests.”

Funding must be reported separately in a Funding Statement, identifying the sources of financial or in-kind support, the names of funding organisations, and grant numbers or identifiers where applicable.

Authors must also disclose the role of any funder or sponsor in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the funder had no involvement in these activities, this should be stated explicitly.

Funding disclosure does not replace the competing interests declaration. Both statements must be updated when relevant circumstances change.

Instructions on the placement and presentation of these statements are provided in Manuscript Preparation. Requirements for submitting confidential disclosures during anonymous peer review are described in Submission Requirements.

3. Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must disclose relevant conflicts of interest before accepting a manuscript assignment and promptly report any conflicts identified during the review or editorial process.

A non-conflicted editor or other appropriately authorised editorial authority determines whether the disclosed circumstances can be managed through safeguards or whether reassignment is necessary.

Editors must not make editorial decisions on their own manuscripts or on submissions for which their impartiality may reasonably be questioned. Such manuscripts must be handled by an independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest and who can exercise full editorial authority over the assessment and decision.

Reviewers must decline an invitation or withdraw from an ongoing review if a conflict of interest could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality. The journal may appoint an alternative reviewer where necessary.

Further information about the allocation of editorial responsibilities and reviewer appointments is provided in Editorial Roles and Reviewer Selection.

4. Assessment and Management of Disclosed Interests

The journal assesses disclosed interests on a case-by-case basis, considering their nature, relevance, timing, and potential effect on the objectivity of research reporting or editorial assessment.

Depending on the circumstances, appropriate measures may include:

• Publishing a relevant competing interests disclosure with the article.

• Requesting clarification or additional information from the authors.

• Obtaining an additional independent review or assessment.

• Reassigning the manuscript to an editor or reviewer without the relevant conflict.

• Taking other proportionate measures necessary to protect editorial independence and research integrity.

The existence of a competing interest does not automatically prevent publication. The journal determines whether the interest can be adequately disclosed and managed without compromising the integrity of the editorial process.

5. Incomplete, Inaccurate, or Late Disclosures

If a relevant interest was omitted, inaccurately reported, or disclosed only after submission or publication, the journal will assess the circumstances and the potential effect on the integrity of the research or editorial process.

Depending on the findings, the journal may request a corrected disclosure, seek additional independent assessment, reassign editorial responsibilities, or take other appropriate action.

An incomplete or inaccurate declaration does not automatically warrant retraction. Any decision concerning correction, retraction, or other editorial action must be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the issue and supported by the available evidence.

Substantive concerns involving possible misconduct are handled in accordance with the journal's Allegations of Misconduct and Integrity Investigations policies. Necessary updates to published articles are managed under the Corrections policy.

Through this policy, Bioedukasi seeks to ensure that competing interests are disclosed transparently and managed appropriately to safeguard fair peer review, independent editorial decision-making, and the integrity of the scholarly record.