Conflict of Interest Policy

Policy Statement

Jurnal Surya Masyarakat (JSM), published by the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), Universitas Muhammadiyah Semarang, is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, accountability, and integrity throughout the scholarly publication process.

JSM recognizes that conflicts of interest may arise from financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the preparation, review, evaluation, or publication of scholarly articles.

This policy establishes procedures for identifying, disclosing, and managing potential conflicts of interest involving authors, reviewers, editors, and other parties participating in the publication process.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual's professional responsibilities or scholarly judgment may be influenced by competing interests or relationships.

Potential conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to:

  1. Financial interests: Research funding, sponsorship, consultancy payments, employment, ownership interests, or financial benefits associated with the reported work.

  2. Professional interests: Employment relationships, professional collaboration, consultancy arrangements, or organizational responsibilities.

  3. Institutional interests: Relationships between authors, reviewers, editors, funding institutions, and organizations involved in the reported activities.

  4. Personal relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may compromise impartiality.

  5. Academic interests: Professional competition, academic rivalry, recent research collaboration, or other circumstances that may influence scholarly evaluation.

  6. Commercial interests: Financial or professional involvement with products, technologies, services, or organizations discussed in the manuscript.

A potential conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, relevant interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to JSM are responsible for disclosing potential conflicts of interest related to their work.

Authors must provide accurate information about financial support, institutional affiliations, sponsorship, and other relevant relationships.

For manuscripts reporting community service activities, potential conflicts may include relationships with community partners, government agencies, funding organizations, commercial sponsors, or providers of products and technologies used in the reported programs.

Authors must disclose whether external parties influenced the design, implementation, evaluation, interpretation, or reporting of community service activities.

Authors are also responsible for ensuring that relevant conflicts of interest involving co-authors are accurately disclosed.

Failure to disclose relevant interests may result in editorial action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

3. Conflict of Interest Declaration

All manuscripts submitted to JSM must include a Conflict of Interest statement.

When no conflict of interest exists, authors should use the following declaration:

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the publication of this article."

When a potential conflict exists, authors must provide an appropriate disclosure describing the nature of the relationship or interest.

For example:

"The authors declare that the community service activities reported in this article received financial support from [name of organization]. The supporting organization was involved in [description of involvement]. The authors disclose this relationship as a potential conflict of interest."

Funding acknowledgment and conflict of interest disclosure serve different purposes. Authors should provide both statements when applicable.

4. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers are expected to conduct manuscript evaluations objectively, independently, and confidentially.

Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment.

Potential conflicts may arise from:

  • Close personal or professional relationships with the authors.

  • Employment at the same institution as the authors.

  • Recent research collaboration or joint projects.

  • Direct academic competition or professional rivalry.

  • Financial or commercial interests related to the manuscript.

  • Other circumstances that may reasonably compromise impartial evaluation.

Reviewers must decline or withdraw from an assignment when a significant conflict of interest exists.

If a potential conflict becomes apparent during the review process, reviewers must immediately inform the editorial team.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal, professional, or commercial advantage.

5. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must maintain independence, impartiality, and transparency when managing manuscripts and making publication decisions.

Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly quality, originality, relevance to the journal's focus and scope, methodological appropriateness, and ethical integrity.

Editors must disclose potential conflicts of interest involving manuscripts assigned to them.

An editor who has a significant conflict of interest must withdraw from the editorial handling and decision-making process for the affected manuscript.

The Editor-in-Chief or another authorized editor will assign an appropriate independent editor to manage the manuscript.

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, or individuals closely associated with the journal must undergo an independent editorial assessment and peer-review process.

Individuals with conflicts of interest must not influence reviewer selection, editorial recommendations, or final publication decisions concerning their own manuscripts.

6. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher supports editorial independence and the transparent management of conflicts of interest.

Financial support, institutional relationships, or organizational interests must not improperly influence editorial decisions.

Manuscript acceptance or rejection must be determined through appropriate editorial and peer-review procedures rather than financial, personal, or institutional considerations.

Publication fees, where applicable, must not influence the scholarly assessment or acceptance of submitted manuscripts.

7. Management of Conflicts of Interest

When a potential conflict of interest is identified, the editorial team will assess its relevance and potential influence on the publication process.

Depending on the circumstances, JSM may take one or more of the following actions:

  1. Request additional disclosure or clarification.

  2. Require an appropriate conflict of interest statement.

  3. Assign an independent reviewer or editor.

  4. Exclude individuals with significant conflicts from relevant editorial decisions.

  5. Request appropriate manuscript revisions or supporting information.

  6. Reject a manu