Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Veterinary Journal (OVJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct, transparency, objectivity, and editorial independence. This Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy establishes the responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher for identifying, disclosing, and appropriately managing conflicts of interest that may influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, research, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication.
The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. The purpose of disclosure is to ensure transparency and to allow potential conflicts to be appropriately assessed and managed.
1. Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest exists when an individual's personal, financial, professional, academic, institutional, or other relationships or interests could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, their objectivity, judgment, or actions in connection with research or its publication.
Conflicts may be:
Actual — a conflict currently exists;
Potential — circumstances could develop into a conflict; or
Perceived — a reasonable person could believe that a conflict exists, even if the individual considers their judgment to be unaffected.
Conflicts of interest may involve authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, or the publisher.
Examples may include, but are not limited to:
employment or consultancy;
research funding or financial support;
honoraria or other payments;
ownership of stocks or other financial interests;
patents or patent applications;
paid expert testimony;
commercial or financial relationships;
personal or professional relationships;
institutional affiliations;
academic competition or rivalry; and
other interests that could reasonably affect objectivity.
2. Author Responsibilities
2.1. Disclosure Requirement
All authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the research, analysis, interpretation, or presentation of the manuscript.
Authors must make the disclosure at the time of submission and update it if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.
2.2. Financial Interests
Authors should disclose relevant financial relationships, including, where applicable:
employment;
consultancies;
research grants or other financial support;
honoraria;
speaker fees;
travel support;
stock ownership or other financial interests;
patents and patent applications;
royalties;
paid expert testimony; and
other financial relationships relevant to the submitted work.
2.3. Non-Financial Interests
Authors should also disclose relevant non-financial interests, including personal, professional, academic, institutional, or intellectual relationships that could reasonably influence the research or its interpretation.
2.4. Funding Disclosure
Funding disclosure is distinct from conflict-of-interest disclosure.
Authors must clearly identify all sources of financial or material support for the research, including the name of the funding organization and grant or award number where applicable.
Authors should also state the role of the funder in:
study design;
data collection;
data analysis;
interpretation of results;
manuscript preparation;
the decision to submit the manuscript; and
any other relevant aspect of the research.
If the funder had no involvement in these activities, this should be stated explicitly.
2.5. Disclosure Statement
A relevant COI statement should be included in the manuscript in accordance with the journal's Author Guidelines.
If no relevant conflict exists, authors should provide an appropriate statement indicating that they have no conflicts of interest to declare.
3. Editor and Editorial Board Responsibilities
3.1. Editorial Independence
Editors must make editorial decisions independently and objectively. Decisions must be based on scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, significance, and relevance to the journal's scope.
Editorial decisions must not be influenced by commercial interests, advertising, sponsorship, institutional pressure, authors' ability to pay publication charges, or personal relationships.
3.2. Disclosure and Recusal
Editors and editorial board members must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest relating to manuscripts they are asked to handle.
An editor must recuse themselves from the editorial evaluation and decision-making process when a conflict could reasonably compromise, or appear to compromise, their impartiality.
The manuscript should then be assigned to an independent editor whenever reasonably possible.
3.3. Manuscripts Authored by Editors or Editorial Board Members
Editors and editorial board members may submit manuscripts to OVJ but must not receive preferential treatment.
When an editor or editorial board member is an author of a submitted manuscript, they must not participate in the editorial decision-making for that manuscript. The manuscript should be handled by an independent editor and undergo the same double-blind peer-review process and scientific evaluation applied to other submissions.
3.4. Commercial and Financial Interests
The publisher, editors, and editorial board must ensure that commercial considerations, advertising, sponsorship, or publication fees do not influence editorial decisions.
Payment or non-payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC) must not determine the scientific evaluation or editorial decision regarding a manuscript.
4. Reviewer Responsibilities
4.1. Objective Evaluation
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, fairly, and constructively and must not allow personal, professional, financial, academic, or other interests to influence their assessment.
4.2. Disclosure and Recusal
Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting an invitation to review or as soon as a conflict becomes apparent.
A reviewer should decline the assignment when a conflict could reasonably compromise, or appear to compromise, their impartiality.
Examples include close professional or personal relationships with the authors, direct competition involving closely related unpublished research, recent collaboration, institutional conflicts, or significant financial interests relevant to the manuscript.
4.3. Confidentiality
Reviewers must maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscripts and all information obtained through the peer-review process.
Reviewers must not use unpublished information from a manuscript for personal, academic, professional, or financial advantage.
Reviewers must not share manuscript content or review materials with unauthorized individuals.
5. Publisher Responsibilities
The publisher of Open Veterinary Journal supports editorial independence and transparent publication practices.
The publisher must not interfere with editorial decisions on the basis of commercial, financial, institutional, or personal interests.
The publisher will support the journal in implementing appropriate procedures for identifying and managing conflicts of interest and protecting the integrity of the editorial process.
6. Management of Conflicts of Interest
6.1. Assessment
Disclosed conflicts are assessed by the responsible editor or other appropriate journal representative to determine whether additional management measures are necessary.
Disclosure of a conflict does not automatically prevent publication. The journal will determine whether the conflict can be appropriately managed through transparent disclosure, reassignment, recusal, independent editorial handling, additional peer review, or other safeguards.
6.2. Editorial Recusal
Where an editor or reviewer has a significant conflict of interest, the individual will be removed from the relevant editorial or peer-review role and, where appropriate, replaced by an independent individual.
6.3. Undisclosed Conflicts
If a previously undisclosed conflict is identified after submission or publication, OVJ may investigate the circumstances and take appropriate action.
Depending on the nature and significance of the conflict, the journal may request a disclosure statement, correction, clarification, editorial notice, or other corrective action.
Where the undisclosed conflict is associated with broader research or publication misconduct, the matter may be handled under the journal's Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policy.
7. Conflict of Interest and Peer Review
OVJ's double-blind peer-review process is designed to promote impartial evaluation. However, anonymity alone does not eliminate potential conflicts of interest.
Editors remain responsible for taking reasonable measures to ensure that reviewers are appropriately selected and that known conflicts are identified and managed.
8. Transparency of Disclosures
Relevant conflict-of-interest and funding disclosures are made available with the published article where applicable.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their disclosures are complete and accurate. The journal may request clarification or additional information when a disclosure is incomplete or unclear.
9. Conflict of Interest and Citation Practices
Editors and reviewers must not require authors to cite particular publications solely to increase citation counts, journal metrics, author metrics, or the visibility of specific researchers or journals.
Authors must ensure that citations are relevant and scientifically justified. Excessive or irrelevant self-citation or citation manipulation may constitute inappropriate publication practice.
10. Resolution of Disputes
When a disagreement concerning a conflict of interest arises, the responsible editor will assess the matter in accordance with this policy and other applicable OVJ policies.
Where necessary, the matter may be referred to the Editor-in-Chief, an independent editor, the Editorial Board, or another appropriate authority, provided that individuals with a relevant conflict are excluded from the decision.
11. Policy Review
OVJ periodically reviews this Conflict of Interest Policy to ensure that it remains consistent with recognized international standards, publication-ethics principles, and developments in scholarly publishing.
The journal may update the policy whenever necessary to strengthen transparency, editorial independence, and the integrity of the publication process.
12. Commitment to Transparency and Editorial Independence
Open Veterinary Journal recognizes that transparent disclosure and appropriate management of conflicts of interest are essential to maintaining confidence in the scientific and editorial process.
All authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher are expected to disclose and appropriately manage relevant conflicts of interest.
Through transparent disclosure, appropriate recusal procedures, independent editorial handling, and protection of editorial independence, OVJ seeks to ensure that conflicts of interest do not compromise the fairness, credibility, or integrity of its published research.
