Conflict of Interest

The Journal of Advanced Electrical and Electronic Engineering (JAEEE) is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, accountability, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process.

Conflicts of interest, whether financial, institutional, professional, academic, or personal, may influence or appear to influence the conduct, interpretation, evaluation, or publication of scientific research.

JAEEE requires authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could reasonably affect their professional judgment.

This policy is informed by internationally recognized ethical publishing principles, including the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the transparency standards promoted by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Relevant Resources:

COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
DOAJ Guidance: https://doaj.org/apply/guide/

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when an individual's professional responsibilities or judgment concerning research, peer review, editorial evaluation, or publication may be influenced by secondary interests.

Such interests may be financial or non-financial and may involve relationships or circumstances that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, objectivity and independence.

Potential conflicts include, but are not limited to:

Financial Interests: Research grants, employment, consultancy agreements, honoraria, shareholdings, patents, royalties, or other financial benefits.
Institutional Interests: Employment, institutional affiliations, research partnerships, or organizational relationships.
Personal Relationships: Family connections, close friendships, or other personal associations.
Academic and Professional Interests: Research competition, professional rivalries, supervisory relationships, or recent collaborations.
Commercial Interests: Relationships with engineering firms, electronics manufacturers, technology developers, software companies, or industrial sponsors.
Intellectual Property Interests: Patent ownership, licensing arrangements, proprietary technologies, or commercial applications of research findings.
Other Relevant Interests: Political, ideological, or professional commitments that could reasonably affect impartial judgment.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, relevant interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

Author Responsibilities

All authors submitting manuscripts to JAEEE must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could reasonably influence the research or its interpretation.

Relevant disclosures may include:

Sources of research funding and financial support.
Institutional or industrial sponsorship.
Employment or consultancy relationships.
Commercial involvement in technologies, products, or engineering systems discussed in the manuscript.
Patents, intellectual property rights, or licensing arrangements.
Personal or professional relationships relevant to the research.
Other circumstances that could create an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their declarations are accurate, complete, and updated if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.

A Conflict of Interest Statement must be included in each submitted manuscript.

Examples of Conflict of Interest Statements

When no conflicts exist:

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest."

When conflicts exist:

"The authors declare the following potential conflicts of interest"

Where applicable, research funding and sponsorship information should be disclosed separately in a Funding Statement.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in editorial investigation and appropriate action.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before accepting a manuscript review assignment.

Reviewers are expected to:

Declare relevant financial, institutional, personal, and professional relationships.
Decline review assignments where conflicts could compromise impartiality.
Maintain objectivity and independence during manuscript evaluation.
Avoid using confidential manuscript information for personal or commercial advantage.
Inform the editorial office if a conflict becomes apparent during the review process.

Reviewers with significant conflicts of interest must not participate in the evaluation of affected manuscripts.

Reviewer responsibilities are informed by the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Reference: https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors and Editorial Board members are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions remain independent, objective, and free from inappropriate influence.

Editors must:

Disclose relevant financial, institutional, professional, or personal interests.
Withdraw from handling manuscripts where significant conflicts exist.
Avoid preferential treatment of submissions from colleagues, collaborators, or affiliated institutions.
Ensure that manuscript evaluation is based on scientific merit, originality, technical quality, and ethical compliance.
Maintain confidentiality and impartiality throughout the editorial process.

Editors must not participate in editorial decisions concerning their own manuscripts.

Where an editor submits a manuscript to JAEEE, responsibility for editorial assessment and decision-making must be assigned to an independent editor.

The same principle applies to manuscripts submitted by individuals whose relationships with an editor could compromise impartiality.

Funding and Sponsorship Disclosure

JAEEE requires authors to disclose relevant financial support received for their research.

Funding information should identify the funding organization or sponsor and, where applicable, relevant grant numbers.

Authors should also disclose any significant role played by the funding organization in:

Research design and methodology.
Data collection and analysis.
Interpretation of research findings.
Manuscript preparation.
Decisions concerning submission or publication.

Funding or sponsorship must not compromise the independence of research findings or editorial decisions.

Where no external funding was received, authors may state:

"This research received no external funding."

Disclosure and Management of Conflicts

All disclosed conflicts of interest are evaluated by the editorial office according to their nature, relevance, and potential effect on the integrity of the publication process.

Appropriate management measures may include:

Reassignment of editors or reviewers.
Appointment of independent reviewers.
Additional editorial oversight.
Requests for clarification or further disclosure.
Publication of relevant conflict of interest information.
Exclusion of individuals whose interests could compromise independent evaluation.

The objective is to protect the integrity of scholarly publishing while allowing legitimate academic and industrial research collaborations.

Handling Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a potentially significant undisclosed conflict of interest is identified during peer review or after publication, JAEEE will assess the matter fairly and confidentially.

The journal may request an explanation and supporting documentation from the individuals concerned.

Depending on the findings and seriousness of the matter, appropriate action may include:

Updating or correcting a Conflict of Interest Statement.
Reassigning editorial responsibilities.
Conducting an additional independent review.
Issuing a correction or editorial expression of concern.
Retracting an article where serious misconduct or unreliable findings justify such action.
Notifying relevant institutions where appropriate.

Editorial responses will be proportionate to the circumstances and informed by relevant COPE guidance.

COPE Flowcharts: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts

Transparency in Published Articles

JAEEE requires published articles to include a Conflict of Interest Statement indicating whether relevant competing interests have been declared.

Where applicable, funding and sponsorship information should be presented separately.

The journal aims to ensure that these disclosures are clearly accessible to readers and accurately reflect the authors' declarations.

Transparent reporting allows readers to assess potential influences on the research and its interpretation.

Appeals and Complaints

Authors, reviewers, editors, and readers may report suspected undisclosed conflicts of interest or concerns regarding impartiality in the editorial process.

Complaints should be submitted to the journal's editorial office with relevant supporting information.

All complaints will be considered fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the journal's established Complaints and Appeals Policy.

Where practicable, appeals will be reviewed by senior editors who were not directly involved in the original decision.

Editorial Contact: editor@jaeee.org

Editorial Independence

JAEEE maintains independent editorial decision-making and does not permit financial, commercial, institutional, or personal interests to influence the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.

The payment of article processing charges does not guarantee manuscript acceptance or favorable editorial treatment.

Editorial decisions are based on originality, scientific merit, methodological rigor, technical significance, research integrity, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope.

Policy Review and Updates

JAEEE may periodically review this policy to reflect developments in research ethics, scholarly publishing standards, and conflict of interest management practices.

Any significant updates will be communicated through the journal's official website.

Commitment to Ethical Publishing

The Journal of Advanced Electrical and Electronic Engineering (JAEEE) is dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, impartiality, and responsible scholarly publishing.

By participating in the journal's submission, peer-review, editorial, or publication processes, authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with this Conflict of Interest Policy and disclose relevant interests appropriately.

Official Journal Website: https://jaeee.org/index.php/JAEEE/index