ECJ

Conflict of Interest Policy

CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

English Community Journal (ECJ) is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, academic integrity, and public trust in scholarly publishing. A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, arises when financial, personal, professional, institutional, or academic relationships may influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the objectivity of research, peer review, or editorial decisions.

In accordance with the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), English Community Journal requires authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members to disclose relevant actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest throughout the publication process.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct or automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication. However, such conflicts must be disclosed and appropriately managed to safeguard the credibility and independence of the scholarly record.

1. Author Obligations

All authors are responsible for identifying and disclosing relationships or circumstances that could influence the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of their research.

1.1. Financial Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose relevant financial relationships, including:

  • Research grants and financial support from funding agencies.

  • Corporate or institutional sponsorship.

  • Employment, consultancy, or paid advisory roles.

  • Honoraria, royalties, or other financial benefits.

  • Stock ownership or relevant financial investments.

  • Patents, licensing agreements, or commercial interests.

  • Paid expert testimony or other financial arrangements related to the research.

1.2. Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose relevant non-financial relationships or interests that could reasonably affect their objectivity, including:

  • Personal or family relationships.

  • Professional collaborations or academic partnerships.

  • Institutional affiliations or administrative responsibilities.

  • Academic competition or professional disputes.

  • Ideological, political, religious, or other commitments that could materially influence the research.

  • Relationships with organizations or individuals directly involved in the subject of the study.

In research involving educational institutions, teachers, students, or research participants, authors should also disclose institutional or professional relationships that could affect participant recruitment, data interpretation, or reporting.

1.3. Conflict of Interest Declaration

Every submitted manuscript must include a Conflict of Interest Statement before the References section.

If no relevant conflict of interest exists, authors should use the following statement:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this work.”

If a conflict exists, authors must describe its nature and explain how it relates to the research or publication.

1.4. Funding Disclosure

Authors must identify all relevant funding sources, including the names of funding agencies and grant numbers, where applicable.

Authors should also describe the role of funders in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the article.

If the funders had no role in these activities, this should be stated explicitly.

2. Reviewer Obligations

Peer reviewers must conduct evaluations objectively, independently, fairly, and confidentially.

Reviewers are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript.

2.1. Identification of Conflicts

Relevant conflicts may include:

  • Close personal or professional relationships with the authors.

  • Recent co-authorship or research collaboration.

  • Current institutional affiliations or