Conflict of Interest Policy

Transparency and disclosure of conflicts of interest are essential to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly publishing process. The Linguistics Journal is committed to ensuring that no personal, financial, or academic interests influence editorial decisions, the peer review process, or the content of published research. This policy applies to authors, reviewers, and editorial board members.

  1. Definition of Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest arises when personal, financial, institutional, academic, or other interests influence professional judgment or decisions in the publication process. Conflicts of interest can be potential or actual.

  2. For authors:

    • Mandatory Disclosure: All authors must disclose any potential or actual conflicts of interest that may influence the results or interpretation of their research. This includes, but is not limited to, financial support, relationships with commercial entities that may benefit from the research, patents, or any personal interests.

    • Disclosure Form: Authors are required to provide a clear statement regarding conflicts of interest within the submitted manuscript, or in a designated field when submitting the manuscript via the journal's electronic system. If no conflicts of interest exist, this must be explicitly stated.

    • Author's Responsibility: The authors are fully responsible for the accurate and complete disclosure of all conflicts of interest.

  3. For arbitrators:

    • Refusal to Review: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflict of interest immediately upon receiving an invitation to review a particular manuscript. If a conflict of interest exists (such as a personal relationship with the author, employment at the same institution, or direct competition for similar research), the reviewer must decline the invitation to review and inform the editorial board.

    • Objectivity: Reviewers must conduct their evaluations with complete objectivity, not allowing any personal interests or prior knowledge of the authors to influence their judgment.

  4. For the editorial board:

    • Disengagement: Any member of the editorial board must disclose any potential conflict of interest that may arise between them and the authors of a particular paper or the relevant reviewers. If a conflict of interest exists, the editorial board member must recuse themselves from the process of handling the paper in question (for example, by not participating in the decision to accept or reject the paper) and assign the matter to another member of the editorial board.

    • Confidentiality of Information: Editorial Board members must not use any unpublished information obtained from submitted research for their personal benefit.

  5. Consequences of Non-Disclosure: Failure to disclose a conflict of interest will be treated seriously. If a significant, undisclosed conflict of interest is discovered after publication, it may result in the publication of a correction, a statement of concern, or even retraction in severe cases, in accordance with research integrity guidelines.

The conflict of interest policy contributes to enhancing confidence in the scientific publishing process and ensuring that research published in the Linguistics Journal is based on sound and objective scientific foundations.