Conflict of Interest

 

1. Policy Statement

Algoritma: Jurnal Ilmu Komputer dan Informatika is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, fairness, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their research, manuscript evaluation, editorial decisions, or publication outcomes.

The journal handles conflicts of interest in accordance with established publication ethics principles and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, professional, financial, institutional, or other relationships could improperly influence, or create the perception of influencing, the objectivity and independence of research or editorial decisions.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine the transparency, credibility, and integrity of the publication process.

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

  1. Financial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, research funding, grants, stock ownership, patents, or other financial relationships related to the research.

  2. Personal relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that could affect impartiality.

  3. Professional relationships: Current or recent collaboration, supervisory relationships, mentorship, competition, or other professional connections between authors, editors, and reviewers.

  4. Institutional interests: Affiliations or responsibilities that may influence the evaluation or publication of a manuscript.

  5. Academic or intellectual interests: Strong academic commitments, competing research interests, or personal positions that could compromise objective assessment.

  6. Other relevant interests: Any other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as affecting independent judgment.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript to the journal.

Authors must provide a conflict-of-interest statement during submission, even when no conflicts exist. If there are no relevant conflicts, the following statement may be used:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

If one or more conflicts exist, authors must clearly describe the nature of the conflict, the parties involved, and any relevant financial or non-financial relationships.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that disclosures are accurate, complete, and agreed upon by all co-authors. Any relevant conflict identified after submission or publication must be reported promptly to the editorial office.

Failure to disclose a significant conflict may result in additional editorial review, correction of the published record, rejection, or other appropriate action.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their ability to evaluate a manuscript objectively.

An editor must not handle a manuscript when they have a relevant personal, financial, professional, institutional, or collaborative relationship with any of its authors or when another circumstance could compromise their impartiality.

In such cases, the manuscript must be reassigned to an independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through the editorial process for personal advantage or professional gain.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scholarly merit, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological quality, originality, and compliance with publication ethics, rather than personal or institutional considerations.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must assess manuscripts fairly, objectively, and confidentially. Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers must consider whether any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest exists.

Reviewers must notify the editor and decline the assignment when a conflict could compromise their impartiality. Relevant circumstances may include recent collaboration with an author, a direct competitive interest in the research, a close personal relationship, or a financial interest related to the manuscript.

If a potential conflict becomes apparent during the review process, the reviewer must inform the editor immediately. The editor will determine whether the review should continue or be reassigned.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal benefit, competitive advantage, or any purpose unrelated to the review.

6. Management of Conflicts of Interest

When a conflict of interest is disclosed or identified, the editorial team will assess its nature, relevance, and potential impact on the integrity of the publication process.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

  1. Request additional information or clarification from the relevant party.

  2. Require a more detailed conflict-of-interest declaration.

  3. Reassign a manuscript to an independent editor or reviewer.

  4. Ensure that relevant disclosures are included in the published article.

  5. Seek independent advice when necessary.

  6. Publish a correction or take other appropriate action if an undisclosed conflict is identified after publication.

The journal will handle all disclosures confidentially and share information only with individuals who need it to manage the conflict or protect the integrity of the publication process.

7. Disclosure in Published Articles

Relevant conflicts of interest must be disclosed transparently in the published article. The disclosure should be placed in a dedicated section titled “Conflict of Interest” or “Declaration of Conflicting Interests.”

Where applicable, funding sources and the role of funders in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decision should also be disclosed separately.

A declaration that no conflict exists should be included when applicable, in accordance with the journal's submission requirements.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a potential undisclosed conflict of interest is identified before or after publication, the journal will evaluate the available evidence and give the relevant parties an appropriate opportunity to respond.

If the conflict is confirmed, the journal may request a disclosure statement, publish a correction, reconsider an editorial decision, or take other actions proportionate to the circumstances.

If the undisclosed conflict has materially compromised the reliability or integrity of the published article, further action, including an expression of concern or retraction, may be considered in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

9. Commitment to Transparency

Algoritma: Jurnal Ilmu Komputer dan Informatika is committed to maintaining an independent, transparent, and ethical editorial process. All participants are expected to act responsibly and disclose relevant conflicts so that manuscripts can be evaluated on their scholarly merit.

The journal will manage conflicts of interest consistently and fairly to safeguard the trust of authors, reviewers, readers, research institutions, and the wider academic community.

Contact Information

Algoritma: Jurnal Ilmu Komputer dan Informatika
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology
Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara
Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia
Website: https://jurnal.uinsu.ac.id/index.php/algoritma/index
Email: algoritma@uinsu.ac.id