Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Commitment to Editorial Independence and Publication Integrity

Jurnal MSA (Matematika dan Statistika serta Aplikasinya) is committed to maintaining editorial independence, objectivity, transparency, and integrity throughout the scholarly publication process.

Jurnal MSA requires all parties involved in research and publication, including authors, editors, reviewers, and members of the Editorial Board, to disclose any relationships, interests, or circumstances that may influence or be perceived to influence the objectivity of research, interpretation of findings, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

This policy follows the ethical principles and recommendations established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) concerning the disclosure and management of conflicts of interest.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically constitute research or publication misconduct. However, failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may compromise transparency, credibility, and public confidence in scholarly publications.

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when an individual's professional judgment or primary responsibilities in conducting research, evaluating manuscripts, or making editorial decisions may be influenced by secondary interests of a financial, personal, professional, academic, institutional, or other nature.

Conflicts of interest may be classified into the following categories:

  1. Actual Conflict of Interest: A situation in which a competing interest directly affects, or has demonstrably influenced, professional responsibilities or decision-making.

  2. Potential Conflict of Interest: A situation or relationship that may develop into a conflict of interest under existing or foreseeable circumstances.

  3. Perceived Conflict of Interest: A situation that could reasonably create the appearance of a conflict of interest, even when no actual influence has been demonstrated.

All individuals involved in the publication process must disclose relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived as affecting their independence, impartiality, or professional judgment.

3. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Jurnal MSA recognizes several categories of conflicts of interest that should be disclosed.

3.1. Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts of interest arise when an individual has financial relationships that may influence, or appear to influence, the conduct of research or scholarly decision-making.

Such interests may include research funding, consulting fees, honoraria, stock ownership, royalties, patents, intellectual property rights, or other financial relationships with organizations that have an interest in the research findings.

3.2. Personal Conflicts of Interest

Personal conflicts of interest may arise from family relationships, close personal relationships, personal disputes, or other interpersonal circumstances that could compromise an individual's objectivity in fulfilling academic or editorial responsibilities.

3.3. Professional and Academic Conflicts of Interest

Professional or academic conflicts of interest may arise from research collaborations, academic supervision, professional competition, involvement in the same research projects, or other professional relationships that could affect the independence of scholarly evaluation.

3.4. Institutional Conflicts of Interest

Institutional conflicts of interest may arise when organizational relationships, institutional affiliations, administrative responsibilities, or institutional interests could influence research evaluation or editorial decisions.

Sharing the same institutional affiliation does not automatically establish a conflict of interest. However, such relationships must be considered alongside other professional circumstances that may affect independent judgment.

3.5. Intellectual Conflicts of Interest

Intellectual conflicts of interest may arise when an individual has a strong commitment to particular scientific theories, methodological approaches, mathematical models, or academic positions that could interfere with objective evaluation of competing research.

Legitimate differences in scientific opinion do not, by themselves, constitute conflicts of interest.

4. Authors' Responsibilities for Conflict of Interest Disclosure

All authors submitting manuscripts to Jurnal MSA must disclose relationships, activities, or interests that may influence the conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of their research.

Conflict of interest disclosures must be accurate, complete, and transparent at the time of manuscript submission.

Authors are required to:

  1. Disclose relevant sources of research funding and financial support.

  2. Declare professional, academic, or institutional relationships that may affect research objectivity.

  3. Disclose relevant commercial interests, patents, royalties, or intellectual property rights.

  4. Explain the role of sponsors or funding organizations in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript preparation, where applicable.

  5. Ensure that all co-authors have disclosed their relevant conflicts of interest.

  6. Update conflict of interest declarations if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.

If no relevant conflicts of interest exist, authors must explicitly state that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research and publication of the manuscript.

Disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically result in manuscript rejection. Instead, disclosure enables the editorial team to evaluate and manage potential influences appropriately.

5. Conflicts of Interest Involving Editors and Editorial Board Members

The Editor-in-Chief, handling editors, and members of the Editorial Board must maintain independence, fairness, and objectivity throughout manuscript evaluation and editorial decision-making.

Editors must disclose any conflicts of interest that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their handling of a manuscript.

Editors must not participate in the evaluation or decision-making process for manuscripts when relevant conflicts of interest exist.

If a conflict of interest is identified, the Editor-in-Chief or another independent editor will assign the manuscript to an editor who has no relevant competing interests.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest, editorial responsibility and decision-making authority must be transferred to an independent member of the Editorial Board.

Manuscripts submitted by editors or Editorial Board members may be considered for publication provided that they undergo an independent editorial and peer review process.

Editors or Editorial Board members who are authors of a submitted manuscript must not participate in reviewer selection, manuscript evaluation, or editorial decisions concerning their own work.

6. Conflicts of Interest Involving Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers are responsible for maintaining objectivity, independence, confidentiality, and professional integrity throughout the peer review process.

Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must determine whether any personal, professional, academic, financial, or institutional relationships could compromise their ability to provide an impartial evaluation.

Reviewers must disclose to the handling editor any relevant circumstances, including:

  1. Personal or family relationships with the authors.

  2. Recent or ongoing research collaborations with the authors.

  3. Academic supervision or mentoring relationships that may influence objectivity.

  4. Financial or commercial interests related to the research.

  5. Academic competition or professional disputes that may compromise independent judgment.

  6. Institutional relationships or other interests that may create actual, potential, or perceived conflicts.

Reviewers whose competing interests could compromise the objectivity of the review must decline the invitation or withdraw from the review process.

If a conflict of interest becomes apparent after the review has begun, the reviewer must immediately inform the handling editor.

The editor will determine whether the review can continue or whether the manuscript should be reassigned to another independent reviewer.

7. Identification and Management of Conflicts of Interest

Jurnal MSA implements a systematic procedure for identifying, evaluating, and managing conflicts of interest to ensure the independence and credibility of editorial decisions.

The procedure consists of the following stages:

Stage 1 — Identification

Authors, editors, and reviewers identify relationships, activities, or interests that may influence their professional responsibilities.

Stage 2 — Disclosure

The concerned individual communicates relevant conflict of interest information to the editorial team through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform or the journal's official communication channels.

Stage 3 — Assessment

The Editor-in-Chief or a designated independent editor evaluates the nature, relevance, and potential impact of the disclosed conflict on the research and publication process.

Stage 4 — Management Decision

Depending on the assessment, the editorial team may implement one or more of the following measures:

  1. Continue editorial processing when the disclosed conflict can be appropriately managed.

  2. Request additional clarification or supporting disclosure.

  3. Appoint an independent handling editor or peer reviewer.

  4. Restrict the involvement of the conflicted individual in specific editorial activities.

  5. Transfer editorial decision-making authority to an independent editor.

Stage 5 — Documentation

Disclosures, assessments, management measures, and relevant editorial decisions must be appropriately documented in the journal's editorial management system.

8. Conflicts of Interest in Editorial Decision-Making

All editorial decisions must be based exclusively on scholarly quality, originality, methodological validity, scientific contribution, and the manuscript's relevance to the aims and scope of Jurnal MSA.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by personal relationships, academic rank, institutional position, financial support, or other interests unrelated to the scientific merits of the manuscript.

Individuals with relevant conflicts of interest must not participate in editorial decisions concerning the affected manuscript.

Jurnal MSA ensures that manuscripts submitted by authors affiliated with the journal's publishing institution or members of its Editorial Board do not receive preferential treatment.

The principle of editorial independence applies to all stages of publication, including initial screening, reviewer selection, peer review evaluation, and final decisions regarding manuscript acceptance or rejection.

9. Conflict of Interest Statement in Published Articles

All articles published in Jurnal MSA must include a Conflict of Interest Statement.

Authors must provide this declaration in the section specified by the journal's author guidelines or manuscript template.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should use the following statement:

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

If conflicts of interest exist, authors must clearly disclose the relevant relationships, activities, or interests.

The disclosure must provide sufficient information to allow readers to evaluate the potential influence of those interests on the research and its published findings.

The Conflict of Interest Statement must be distinguished from the Funding Statement, although financial support may also constitute a relevant competing interest.

10. Handling Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If Jurnal MSA becomes aware of a potentially relevant conflict of interest that was not disclosed by an author, editor, or reviewer, the editorial team will conduct an appropriate assessment based on the available evidence.

The procedure may include:

  1. Identifying the relationship or interest that was allegedly not disclosed.

  2. Evaluating its relevance and potential influence on the research or publication process.

  3. Requesting clarification from the individual concerned.

  4. Assessing whether the undisclosed interest may have affected peer review, editorial decisions, or the reliability of the published work.

  5. Determining appropriate corrective or preventive measures according to the nature and seriousness of the issue.

When an undisclosed conflict is identified before publication, the journal may request an updated disclosure, arrange additional independent review, or reconsider the editorial decision.

If the issue is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction to the Conflict of Interest Statement or take other editorial action appropriate to the circumstances.

In serious cases involving evidence of publication misconduct or compromised research reliability, further action may be taken in accordance with the journal's Allegations of Research Misconduct Policy and relevant COPE guidelines.

11. Confidentiality and Transparency

Conflict of interest information submitted to Jurnal MSA will be managed responsibly in accordance with the principles of confidentiality, transparency, and professional accountability.

Information relevant to readers' assessment of potential competing interests will be disclosed in the published article.

Personal information or supporting documentation that is not necessary for public disclosure will be treated confidentially in accordance with applicable requirements.

Jurnal MSA is committed to maintaining an appropriate balance between transparency, personal information protection, and editorial integrity.

12. Policy Statement

Jurnal MSA requires all individuals involved in the research, peer review, and scholarly publication process to disclose any actual, potential, or reasonably perceived conflicts of interest that may influence their independence and objectivity.

Conflict of interest disclosure is an essential professional responsibility that supports transparency, accountability, and trust in scholarly publications.

Jurnal MSA reserves the right to implement appropriate measures for managing conflicts of interest, including requesting clarification, appointing independent editors or reviewers, conducting additional evaluations, or taking corrective action concerning published articles.

Through the implementation of this policy, Jurnal MSA is committed to ensuring that all editorial decisions are based on scientific merit and research integrity rather than personal, financial, academic, professional, or institutional interests.