Conflicts of Interest
A potential conflict of interest may arise whenever there is anything that interferes, or could reasonably be taken to interfere, with the full, objective and unbiased presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making or publication of an article. The disclosure of potential conflicts of interest with respect to manuscripts submitted to Organon F is obligatory for authors, reviewers and editors.
When submitting their manuscripts, authors are required to disclose:
- the names of all funding sources of the research reported in the manuscript (such as providers of research grants, travel grants, etc.)
- the names of all individuals not acting as co-authors who were in any case involved in the research reported in the manuscript or who acted as consultants with respect to the manuscript or its predecessor;
- whether they were or currently are in a close personal relationship (spouse, family member, supervisor, etc.) with a member (or members) of the editorial board or advisory board;
- whether they have served or currently serve on the editorial board of Organon F;
- any other source they may deem to lead to a potential conflict of interest.
When considering invitations to review manuscripts, reviewers are required to disclose:
- whether they have already reviewed the manuscript or its purported predecessor for another journal or publisher;
- whether they were involved in the research reported in the manuscript;
- whether they are in a close personal relationship (spouse, family member, supervisor, etc.) with the author(s);
- whether they are positive about the authorship of the manuscript regardless of close personal relationships;
- whether they feel ideological, ethical or other biases with respect to any part of the content of the manuscript;
- any other source they might deem to lead to a potential conflict of interest.
When making decisions with respect to manuscripts, the editors are required to disclose:
- whether they were or currently are in a close personal relationship (spouse, family member, supervisor, etc.) with the author(s) of the manuscript or the reviewer(s) of the manuscript;
- whether they were involved in the research reported in the manuscript or acted as a consultant with respect to the manuscript or its predecessor;
- whether they recently were or currently are collaborating with an author of the manuscript on joint research or a joint publication;
- whether they recently were or currently are working at the same institution as the author(s) of the manuscript;
- whether they feel ideological, ethical or other biases with respect to any part of the content of the manuscript;
- any other ground that might be deemed to lead to a potential conflict of interest.
Editors must take into account all disclosed potential conflicts of interest and act so as to prevent any harms that might result from a potential conflict of interest. For example, editors cannot invite reviewers that might have a potential conflict of interest with respect to a manuscript. Similarly, editors that might have a potential conflict of interest with respect to a manuscript are excluded from making any decisions regarding the manuscript.
