how to write no conflict of interest in research paper

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Conflicts of interest

What is a ‘conflict of interest’.

Any financial interests or connections, direct or indirect, or other situations that might raise the question of bias in the work reported or the conclusions, implications or opinions stated – including pertinent commercial or other sources of funding for the individual author(s) or for the associated department(s) or organization(s), personal relationships, or direct academic competition.

How can I be sure if I should declare something?

Please consider the following Conflict of Interest test: is there any arrangement that would compromise the perception of your impartiality or that of your co-authors if it was to emerge after publication and you had not declared it?

Who should make the declaration?

The corresponding author is expected to obtain the relevant information from all co-authors.

How should the declaration be made?

Most journals require a declaration of any Conflict of Interest to be included in the manuscript upon submission. This information will be available to the Editors. If your manuscript is published, this information will be communicated in a statement in the published paper.

Depending on the journal, you may also be asked to submit signed Conflict of Interest form(s) if your article is accepted for publication.

In both cases the corresponding author has to be in a position to report for all co-authors.

What happens if I do not know about any potential Conflict of Interest for my co-authors?

On submission any potential Conflict of Interest should be clearly stated for each author – the Editors reserve the right to require further information before the paper is reviewed. As corresponding author it is your responsibility to confirm with your co-authors whether they have any conflicts to declare. If you are unable to do this you will need to co-ordinate the completion of written forms from all co-authors, and submit these to the editorial office before the manuscript can be processed.

Are referees and editors covered by a similar code?

All referees are either asked to decline to review a manuscript if they have a potential conflict or declare any potential conflict.

All Editors have submitted a Conflict of Interest statement to the publisher or society. Editors would not handle the review of a manuscript if there was a potential Conflict of Interest, and instead would pass it on to another editorial colleague.

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What are Conflict of Interest Statements, Funding Source Declarations, Author Agreements/Declarations and Permission Notes?

Many Journals request that the Author(s) supply them with one or more of these items at initial submission stage.

Please note:  Most journals require a formal format for these items. A generic form can be found further down this page.

To create one of these items, you're required to:

• Have located a journal to submit to.
• Have checked the Guide for Authors for that journal (sometimes a sample form is provided for you to download and complete).

If these are part of journal requirements, it'll be listed at the 'Attach File/Upload Files' step during the submission process.

Journals may request one or more of the following be uploaded as part of your submission:

An  Author Agreement  is a statement to certify that all authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript being submitted. They warrant that the article is the authors' original work, hasn't received prior publication and isn't under consideration for publication elsewhere.

A  Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest  is defined as a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest, such as the validity of research, may be influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain. See the  Competing Interests Factsheet  for more information.

A  Declaration of Interest  (sometimes called a Disclosure Statement) is a notification from the author that there's no financial/personal interest or belief that could affect their objectivity, or if there is, stating the source and nature of that potential conflict. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential competing interests do or don't exist, so you may be asked to provide one, even if no competing interests exist.

• Many Elsevier journals use our Declaration Tool helps authors step-by-step through the process of preparing well-considered and ICMJE-compliant Please watch this short video on  how to use the Declaration Tool in Editorial Manager .
• Many medical journals follow  ICMJE Recommendations . For these titles, you can download the  ICMJE COI form , complete it and save it on your computer, then submit the completed form to the journal along with your manuscript.

Please refer to each journal’s guide for authors for information on how to provide a Declaration of Interest statement for that journal.

A  Funding Source Declaration  contains a declaration of any funding or research grants (and their source) received in the course of study, research or assembly of the manuscript.

A  Permission Note  is a statement that permission has been received to use any material in the manuscript such as figures etc. which isn't original content. See Elsevier's  Permission Guidelines  for more information.

When in doubt, always consult with your professor, advisor, or someone in a position of authority who can guide you to the right course of action.

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How to Avoid Conflicts of Interest in Research

Ethical integrity is essential to promoting a healthy collaborative environment among academics. Due to the information explosion of the digital age, it has become even more imperative that we do our part to encourage transparency, trust, and reliability in the research publication system. These qualities allow us to promote the efficient sharing of vital information to improve our understanding of various academic matters.

To that end, this article provides a quick overview of an author’s obligation to disclose any conflicts of interest and what pitfalls an author should avoid in order to retain the trust of publishers and fellow academics.

What is a conflict of interest in research?

Simply put, a conflict of interest arises when a person’s ability to act objectively is impaired. In the research publication world, we’re talking about both positive and negative influences on the validity of a research paper’s contents or the project’s findings.

Obvious sources of conflict stem from potential financial rewards or personal gains like career advantages and networking opportunities. However, even seemingly benign matters can raise flags regarding the integrity of a research project. For example, imagine a person who, without having any control over designing an experiment or influencing the supply of materials for a project, happens to be close friends with the project’s supplier and failed to disclose that fact. The project’s results could still be doubted.

While there is no presumption of guilt and we know that this person had no control of the project’s decision-making process, failure to disclose potential conflicts of interest can trigger feelings of unease in other people. It fuels doubt when there needn’t be one. We wonder, “why didn’t the person simply say there was a personal connection? If the person were innocent, there would be nothing to hide.”

We admit a situation like our example would rarely raise any genuine ethical concerns since we highlighted the fact that the person did not control the decision-making process for the project. Additionally,  even   if a conflict of interest existed, it does not mean that anything unethical occurred.  However, perception can strongly influence people. Therefore, researchers should carefully review applicable rules regarding the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.

Finally, for studies involving human subjects, it is important that participants are given the opportunity to make an informed decision when consenting to participate. Failure to disclose potential conflicts is gravely unethical.

What information do you need to disclose?

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) recommends that journals have  clear policies on handling conflicts of interest  and where  conflicting interests exist, they must be declared to editors  who should then disclose relevant conflicts to readers. As a result, most journals require that you include a conflict of interest statement when you submit your manuscript for review. When in doubt, it is better to disclose and let the journal decide if the conflict is one that should be included with the publication of your article.

Examples of the types of relationships that might trigger a conflict of interest are described below in the section “Types of relationships that might trigger a potential conflict of interest.”

Information to include in a conflict of interest statement

• Suggested language for cover letter: “To the best of our knowledge, the named authors have no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise.”
• Suggested language for article footnotes: “All authors have [completed the XXX disclosure form] and declare that: (i) no support, financial or otherwise, has been received from any organization that may have an interest in the submitted work; and (ii) there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
• NOTE:  relevant institutional review boards (IRBs) will likely have specific language you should include in your manuscripts, please make sure to comply with those requirements.
• Suggested language: Informed consent has been obtained from all patients included in this study.
• If a conflict exists , the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors  (ICMJE) rec ommends  including the following information regarding the conflict:

[1] Sources of support for the work, including sponsor names along with explanations of the role of those sources if any in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the report; the decision to submit the report for publication; or a statement declaring that the supporting source had no such involvement; and [2] Whether the authors had access to the study data, with an explanation of the nature and extent of access, including whether access is on-going. [3] To support the above statements, editors may request that authors of a study sponsored by a funder with a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome sign a statement, such as “I had full access to all of the data in this study and I take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.”

Suggested language: Author A receives research support/consulting fees from [sponsor name]; a detailed listing of Author A’s financial disclosures is available at [website]; Author B has equity in [organization] and serves on the board of directors [organization]; a detailed listing of Author B’s financial disclosures is available at [website]. No other author has reported a potential conflict of interest relevant to this article.

Relationships that might trigger a conflict of interest

The following is a list of conflicts that should be disclosed. This list is not meant to be exhaustive; rather we provide it to give researchers a sense of the type of information that may trigger concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

• Funding sources. identify the sponsor, the degree of support, and the role of such sponsor in the research process.
• Financial connections. These can include consultancy relationships, equity ownership employment contracts, other perks such as payments for travel and speaking engagements, and insurance fund investments (where the fund participant has some control over investment in certain financially interested companies). Identify the organization with whom a potential conflict arises and the extent of the connection/financial involvement.
• Amount of financial interest. Many journals and institutional review boards require disclosure of the exact amounts of any financial support received. The financial support does not have to have been directly invested in the research project discussed in the manuscript. When a sponsor might be seen to have a vested interest in the outcome of a study, all financial contributions should be disclosed. Additionally, a statement that the financial contributions have been reviewed and approved by a conflict of interest or ethics committee would improve transparency and dispel doubts regarding the impact of the financial interest on the research project.
• Nonfinancial connections. This category can include personal connections (family, partnership, etc.), political connections, and academic relationship. Identify the source of the connection and the extent of the potential interest.

After accounting for any potential conflicts of interest, be sure to receive proofreading for your manuscript or article, including paper editing services and manuscript editing services .

Additional Resources

• Elsevier “ Conflict of Interest ” fact sheet
• ICMJE’s  recommendations  regarding reporting conflicts of interest
• Springer guidelines regarding conflict of interest
• University of Oxford,  examples of potential conflicts of interest
• An inquiry into the efficacy of disclosure requirements

Educational resources and simple solutions for your research journey

Conflicts of Interest in Research and Why You Should Declare Them

Table of Contents

What is Conflict of Interest in Research?

Conflicts of interest in research are situations where professional objectivity may be compromised, or perceived to be compromised, because of competing financial, personal, or professional connections or personal values and stands. It is quite common to see some type of conflict of interest in research and academic publishing. While their mere existence is not deemed unethical not recognizing or declaring them is, and this mistake can mar the reputation of a researcher. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in research and publication, especially authors, to identify and declare potential conflicts to ensure the smooth processing of a manuscript.

Types of Conflicts of Interest in Research

All types of submissions to a journal, such as original research articles, review articles, opinion pieces, and editorials should include a conflict of interest statement. Here are the major types of conflicts of interest to look out for when working on your research paper.

Financial/tangible

The most common type of conflict of interest in research is financial connections, such as sources of funds/grants for the research conducted, receipt of a consulting fee from a company manufacturing the drugs/equipment used in the research, stocks in such a company, or other financial connections that might influence an individual’s thinking and affect the research outcome.

Some journals may require authors to declare not just any competing financial connections they may have individually, but also any that their immediate family members (spouse, parent, or child) may have, since these may also pose indirect conflicts of interest in research.

Non-financial/intangible

The most common non-financial conflicts of interest in research are personal relationships or professional affiliations. For example, this type of conflict of interest would exist if an author is the spouse/sibling/child of the editor of the journal to which they submit a manuscript or if the editor is, or was until recently, a supervisor who the author reported to.

Some of the more complicated conflicts of interest in research are private or publicly held beliefs and ideologies that can give rise to potential biases in a researcher’s work. For example, it is considered a conflict of interest in research if the author has a strongly held religious belief or political opinion related to the topic of research, which can influence how the research was conducted and the results presented.

Not only can conflicts of interest exist for authors but also others involved in academic publishing, such as peer reviewers, journal editorial staff, and publishers. Strong professional rivalries among individuals working in the same specialization can also constitute conflicts of interest in research, especially at the peer review or editorial decision-making stages. In such cases too, individuals are expected to declare these competing conflicts and ideally consider recusing themselves from being involved in evaluating an author’s manuscript.

How to declare conflicts of interest in research papers

A recent review of the Retraction Watch Database suggests that the conflicts of interest in research accounted for around 1% of the retraction notices issued between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020. While this accounts for a small proportion of retractions, it is still as serious a problem as any other form of academic misconduct. Individuals assessing a manuscript and those who read the published manuscript should have all the information they need to judge the quality of the research. Therefore, it is an ethical obligation to be upfront and disclose any potential conflicts of interest in research.

Here is how you can identify and appropriately declare conflicts of interest in research:

• List down all sources of financial support you and your co-authors receive that may be considered as posing a conflict to your research objectives. These need not be just the support you receive for the research you are trying to publish now but any other grants/funds that you receive for other projects.
• List down any social or personal activities/interests that may be considered to influence how you conduct your research.
• Review any institutional ties you may have in the present or have had in the recent past (where you worked/volunteered, etc.) that can be said to affect your objectivity in your work.
• Review and comply with all the guidelines provided by your target journal on what they define as conflicts of interest in research and how they want authors to disclose them. Some journals provide form templates to declare conflicts of interest, which need to be filled out and signed by all co-authors.
• Potential for conflicts and ways to deal with them are constantly evolving. Keep yourself updated and seek out new information.

As per the US Office of Research Integrity, “Having a conflict of interest is not in itself unethical, and some are unavoidable. Full transparency is always the best course of action, and, if in doubt, disclose.”

Ensuring your manuscript is submission-ready

As an author, you likely spend several years putting in painstaking efforts to conduct your research. So, your biggest aspiration would naturally be to have your manuscript accepted for publication without many hassles. The best way toward achieving this is to ensure that your manuscript is ready and has all the important components typically needed for a submission to be considered complete, including conflict of interest statements.

One sophisticated manuscript assessment tool that can help you do this is My Research Projects by Researcher.Life , which saves authors valuable time and effort by doing a thorough check of their manuscript. Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, this AI powered manuscript optimizer gives users a one-stop solution to check their manuscript against multiple parameters.

By signing up for free for the Researcher.Life Essentials Pack, users get full access to My Research Projects, which is designed to help you plan, manage and communicate your research effectively. Users can simply upload their file on the platform to receive a free report that provides an in-depth assessment of the language quality and references, and checks for image copyrights, facts and figures, structural completeness, and ethical declarations, including those related to conflicts of interest in research, while maintaining total confidentiality. The report comes with premium features such as a globally accepted plagiarism check, full access to language issues in your paper, a downloadable WORD file with improvements suggested in Track Changes, and unlimited checks for your chosen manuscript.

The tool screens a manuscript to check if authors have added any conflict of interest statements. If none are present, it flags this absence in the report and suggests authors check for and declare any and all potential conflicts of interest in research. The AI tool also identifies any sentences in the manuscript that talk about financial support such as funding or grants, and points out certain non-financial conflicts of interest in research that are typically included in the acknowledgments section (e.g., fellowships). It highlights for authors a list of these specific conflict of interest statements and their locations in the manuscript.

Additionally, while My Research Projects helps authors deliver a ready-to-publish document, it also offers suggestions on which journals to approach for publishing, and provides detailed article summaries to help convey your findings more effectively.

The journey from conceptualizing your research to seeing your name in print can be daunting and overwhelming. But Researcher.Life, based on 20+ years of STEM editing experience, is the ideal partner to collaborate with on your publishing journey. Finally, by keeping in mind the diktats of the publishing world in mind, like declaring conflicts of interest in research, and effectively using smart tools like My Research Projects, you can have a fulfilling experience as a published author.

Editage All Access is a subscription-based platform that unifies the best AI tools and services designed to speed up, simplify, and streamline every step of a researcher’s journey. The Editage All Access Pack is a one-of-a-kind subscription that unlocks full access to an AI writing assistant, literature recommender, journal finder, scientific illustration tool, and exclusive discounts on professional publication services from Editage.  

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Academic Writing: What Is a Conflict of Interest?

• 3-minute read
• 23rd November 2020

When conducting research , you may need to think about potential conflicts of interest. But what is a conflict of interest? This post will explain the basics of what conflicts of interest are, why they are important in the research world, and why you may need to declare them in your work.

What Is a Conflict of Interest?

The “interest” in the term “conflict of interest” isn’t just what we mean when we say someone is “interested in” (i.e., curious about) something. Rather, it is more like we see in “business interests” or “vested interests.”

In other words, an “interest” is a commitment, involvement, or connection to something. And in the scientific world, a conflict of interest is any connection or investment that may undermine your research.

The issue is that science aims for objectivity . And the desire to produce objective results is a governing “interest” of scientific research. Thus, if you have a connection or relationship that could impair your objectivity – or even just give the impression of bias – it could be a problem.

Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest can be either financial or non-financial.

Financial conflicts are related to commercial interests. This can include:

• How a study was funded (e.g., if research is sponsored by a business whose product sales may rely on the outcomes of your work, such as tobacco companies funding studies related to smoking).
• Direct financial benefits received by researchers from organizations with an interest in their work (e.g., if a researcher also works for a company that stands to gain from a specific set of results).

Non-financial conflicts of interest, meanwhile, can involve:

• Political or religious affiliations (e.g., seeking results that justify a particular government policy or promote a specific moral world-view).
• Personal connections (e.g., wanting to support a colleague’s theory).
• Involvement in legal action connected to the work.

In other words, there are many things that can constitute a conflict of interest! And researchers need to be aware of these possibilities.

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Declaring Your Interests

Undeclared conflicts of interest can call your results into question. It doesn’t even matter if your work was genuinely biased: just the perception of a conflict of interests can lead to damaged reputations or loss of funding.

It is, therefore, important to declare any conflicts of interest when you submit your research for publication. The exact procedure for this will depend on your situation, but most organizations will have some guidelines. Some will even have a template “disclosure statement” you can use.

When you come to submit your work, then:

• Note any personal or financial relationships that could be seen to affect your research, even if they’re not directly related to the study.
• Check what the organization you’re submitting to (e.g., the university or academic journal) says about declaring interests.
• Follow these guidelines carefully and draft a declaration of interests.

Even if you cannot think of a single possible source of bias, you will usually need to submit a declaration. In this case, though, you will simply say that there are no conflicts of interest you wish to declare.

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How to Best Handle Conflicts of Interest in Research | Orvium

In the research world, conflict of interest (COI) is always a risk, and this usually occurs when a researcher has competing interests that may interfere with their research. These interests could be financial, personal, or institutional and could lead to bias, mistrust, and a lack of transparency in research findings.

In this article, we will define conflict of interest in research, give examples of COI, explore how it affects research, and discuss potential solutions to minimize its impact.

What is Conflict of Interest in Research?

Conflict of research interest refers to a situation where a researcher has external interests that may influence their research findings’ objectivity, integrity, and credibility. COI can arise when a researcher has financial, personal, or institutional relationships that could affect their research, such as:

• Financial conflicts of interest : when a researcher has economic interests in the outcome of their study, such as ownership of a company or stock in a pharmaceutical company that develops drugs.
• Personal conflicts of interest : when a researcher has personal relationships that could affect their research, such as close friendships or family ties with participants or co-authors.
• Institutional conflicts of interest : when a researcher’s institution has financial or other interests in the research outcome, such as a university that receives funding from a pharmaceutical company.

Examples of Conflict of Interest in Research

Conflict of interest can take many forms and is not always easy to detect. Here are some examples of COI in research:

• a researcher that is employed by a company that produces a product they are researching;
• a researcher who serves on the advisory board of a pharmaceutical company that produces a drug that they are researching;
• a researcher who receives funding from a government agency has a vested interest in the outcome of their research;
• a researcher with a financial interest in publishing their research, such as receiving royalties from a book or article;
• a researcher with a personal relationship with a participant in their study could compromise the objectivity of their research, such as a romantic partner or close friend.

How Conflict of Interest Affects Research

Conflict of interest can affect research in several ways:

• Bias : COI can lead to bias in research findings, as the researcher may consciously or unconsciously skew the results in favor of their interests or those who fund or employ them.
• Credibility : conflict of interest can also damage the credibility of the research and the researcher. When a conflict of interest is discovered, it can cast doubt on the study’s validity and the researcher’s motives.
• Ethics : COI can raise ethical concerns about the treatment of research participants. For example, a researcher with a financial interest in a particular outcome may be tempted to manipulate data or withhold information from participants to achieve that outcome.
• Public perception : last but not least, conflict of interest can also have a negative impact on public perception of research and science as a whole. When the public becomes aware of conflicts of interest, it can erode trust in the scientific community and lead to skepticism about the legitimacy of research findings.

Researchers need to be aware of these potential impacts and take steps to minimize the risks associated with conflict of interest. This can include being transparent about potential conflicts , involving independent reviewers or advisors, and establishing clear guidelines for ethical conduct in research.

Solutions to Conflict of Interest in Research

To minimize the impact of conflict of research interest, there are several potential solutions:

• Disclosure : researchers should disclose any potential conflicts of interest at the outset of their research. This can help mitigate the conflict’s impact by making others aware of the potential bias and allowing for independent review and oversight.
• Separation of roles : in cases where a researcher has a potential conflict of interest, it may be necessary to separate their roles. For example, a researcher employed by a company that produces a product they are researching may need to hand off specific responsibilities to another researcher who does not have a conflict of interest.
• Independent oversight : establishing independent oversight or research review can help identify and mitigate potential conflicts of interest. This can include separate ethics review boards, external peer reviewers, or independent statisticians to analyze the data.
• Funding transparency : funding sources should be publicly disclosed and available. This can help to identify potential conflicts of interest and allow for independent review of the research findings.
• Collaboration : collaboration between researchers and stakeholders with diverse perspectives can help to identify and address potential conflicts of interest. This can include involving patient groups, community organizations, or independent experts in the research process.

These are just a few examples of potential solutions to address conflict of research interest. Ultimately, it is up to individual researchers, institutions, and funding agencies to implement policies and procedures that effectively manage and mitigate the risks associated with conflict of interest.

Conflict of research interest is a complex issue that can affect research findings’ objectivity, integrity, and credibility. Researchers, institutions, and peer reviewers should work together to minimize the impact of COI on research by disclosing external interests, subjecting research to rigorous peer review, separating roles, and establishing oversight mechanisms. By doing so, we can ensure that research remains trustworthy and credible.

Thanks to blockchain technology, our platform can offer several potential benefits in addressing conflict of research interest:

• Transparency : our platform allows for transparent tracking of the entire research process, from the data collection phase to publication. This can help to identify potential conflicts of interest and increase the credibility and transparency of research findings.
• Immutable records : by using blockchain technology, Orvium can ensure that records of the research process are tamper-proof and cannot be altered or manipulated. This can help increase trust in scientific publishing and reduce the risk of conflicts of interest.
• Decentralization : our decentralized platform allows for a more democratic and inclusive approach to scientific publishing, reducing the influence of specific stakeholders or funding sources that may have a conflict of interest. This can help to ensure that financial or other interests do not unduly influence research findings.
• Incentives : lastly, we offer a reward system for peer reviewers and authors, which can incentivize ethical behavior and reduce the risk of conflicts of interest. By offering rewards for high-quality research and peer review, we promote transparency and objectivity in the scientific publishing process.

While our platform cannot eliminate conflicts of research interest entirely, its blockchain-based platform offers several potential solutions to address them and improve the transparency and credibility of the scientific publishing process.

If you want to learn more about our platform, make sure to visit our website and platform . And also, make sure to follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Linkedin , or Instagram to keep up with the latest news and product features.

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Conflict of Interest in Research: What Is It and How It Can Impact

Learn how a conflict of interest might be employed in research, how they can impact, what the types are and how to dodge them.

When submitting a research paper to a journal, magazine, or other platform, you may be required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest are widespread in academic and scientific publications. Conflicts of interest have the potential to skew several aspects of research, including how a study is designed, how data is collected, processed, and published, and who is involved in the work.

Their sheer presence is not unethical; but, failing to recognize or declare them is, and this can tarnish a researcher’s reputation. It is the obligation of everyone engaged in research and publishing, particularly researchers, to identify and declare any conflicts for the publication to go smoothly.

Understanding the conflict of interest in research

A conflict of interest in research occurs when financial or other personal factors affect or appear to impair a researcher’s professional judgment in doing or reporting research. The circumstances, not the actions or character of an individual investigator, define a conflict of interest.

The key ethical dilemma is what to do with such circumstances, if not handled appropriately, it may cast doubt on the impartiality of your research or your unbiased participation in a specific decision-making process. 

A conflict of interest emerges when a researcher does evaluative research for a firm in which the researcher has a financial interest, or when the researcher accepts funding from a company with an interest in your research. The most serious kind of conflict of interest occurs when researchers start negotiating with a company in which they or their relatives have a monetary interest.

How can conflict of interest affect research?

Conflicts of interest can taint people’s perceptions of researchers and the scientific industry. When large amounts of money are at stake, it can be difficult to convince the public, lawmakers, the legal system, and even colleagues that the conclusions were not influenced for personal gain.

Unintentional wrongdoing can have the same harmful consequences as intended wrongdoing. With increased media, governmental, and public scrutiny, a researcher’s reputation, research funding, and career might be as dependent on perceptions of honesty as they are on genuine integrity. 

Types of conflict of interest in research

The following are the primary forms of conflicts of interest to be aware of:

Financial connections are the most prevalent source of conflict of interest in research, as they may influence an individual’s thinking and hence alter the research output. It is normal to require the researcher to report not just any conflicting financial relationships they may have individually, but also those of their closest family members, as these may potentially represent indirect conflicts of interest.

Personal ties or affiliations are the most prevalent non-financial conflicts of interest in research. A personal conflict of interest exists, for example, if a researcher is related to the editor of the journal to which they submit a paper. Another personal conflict of interest occurs when views and ideologies influence research. For example, suppose a researcher is writing a religious paper and has a strong religious belief that influences how the study is conducted and presented. 

Professional

Professional conflicts of interest are those that can provide a professional advantage. As a journal reviewer and researcher, for instance, you may find yourself reviewing a paper on the same topic as your own, which can be a conflict of interest since you may reject the paper because it diminishes the value of your own.

How to prevent conflict of interest? 

• List any financial support you and your co-authors receive that might be construed as a conflict with your research aims. 
• List any social or personal activities that may impact how you do your research. 
• Examine any current or recent institutional relationships you may have that may be considered to impair your objectivity in your research.
• Examine and adhere to all of the criteria provided by your preferred journal on what constitutes a conflict of interest and how authors should declare them.

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Conflict of Interest Principles and Examples

Information for departments and individuals.

Staff, students and others working in the University are encouraged to discuss issues related to conflicts of interest with Heads of Department, colleagues, mentors, supervisors, tutors, or others as appropriate.

Additional information

See the quick links for further guidance and training.

Use the contact details on this page if you have questions about how to apply the policy and procedures in a particular situation.

Conflict of Interest Principles

Roles and Activities Outside the University

Student Supervision and Teaching

Other University Activities (Committee Work, Procurement, Recruitment, Admissions, Contract Negotiation)

Illustrative Examples of Conflicts of Interest

Examples for academics.

Examples for Researchers

Examples for Members of Staff and Committee Attendees

COI Committee Secretary:  [email protected]

For further information contact the Risk and Resilience Team:

[email protected]

Quick links

• How to seek approval to hold consultancies and other external appointments
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Guidance and templates

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• Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med
• v.8(2); 2015 Jun

Conflicts of interest in research: looking out for number one means keeping the primary interest front and center

Paul l. romain.

Division of Rheumatology/Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 110 Francis Street, Suite 4B, Boston, MA 02215 USA

Conflicts of interest represent circumstances in which professional judgments or actions regarding a primary interest, such as the responsibilities of a medical researcher, may be at risk of being unduly influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain or career advancement. The secondary interest may be financial or non-financial, and the resultant bias may be conscious or unconscious. The presence of conflicts of interest poses a problem for professional, patient, and public trust in research and the research enterprise. Effective means of identifying and managing conflicts are an important element in successfully achieving the goals of research. These strategies typically focus on the investigator and rely upon disclosure, which has substantial limitations. Additional management strategies include process-oriented steps and outcomes-oriented strategies. More attention to identifying and managing non-financial conflicts is needed. Future empirical research will be important for defining which conflicts need to be better addressed and how to achieve this goal.

Introduction

Medical research requires people, time, and money. The fruits of research, including both knowledge and valuable tangible products, have advanced medical care and provided great public benefit, while at the same time helped to fuel growth in both the academic institutions that produce this knowledge and in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and device industry. Not surprisingly, commercial interests have wisely partnered with and invested heavily in the academic research enterprise, in both people and institutions upon whom they rely to provide a substantial piece of the knowledge needed to create medications, devices, and other products, which have helped them to earn enormous sums of money for investors. In turn, investigators have increasingly relied over recent decades upon that industry support [ 1 ].

The growth of the medical-industrial complex during the 20th and early 21st century has been paralleled by a deepening interest in the ethical conduct of research on human subjects. This interest in medical ethics has been driven, in part, by interacting social and historical forces, including political and economic interests and advances in science and technology, together with the growth of concerns for broader protection of human rights [ 2 ]. The tensions related to the interactions between these various forces have been among the factors leading to an increased interest in medical ethics and in issues of conflicts of interest in medical research, given the frequently divergent, even though sometimes overlapping, goals and values that inform patient care, research in the laboratory and on animal and human subjects, investigators and research subjects, clinicians and patients, hospitals, medical schools, research institutions, governments, commercial interests, and others.

Recognition of the multiple and sometimes divergent interests of the stakeholders involved in medical research and the risk that some interests may undermine others, including the integrity of medical research, has resulted in efforts to reduce or eliminate the potential for divergent and conflicting interests to adversely impact the research process and trust in that process. As the impact of conflicts of interest has been increasingly recognized and examined [ 3 ], the importance of developing effective strategies to identify and manage such conflicts has been a matter of particular interest in education, medicine, and science [ 4 , 5 ].

This review will briefly address the nature of conflicts of interest in research, including the importance of both financial and non-financial conflicts, and the potential effectiveness and limits of various strategies for managing such conflicts.

What are conflicts of interest?

Conflicts of interest may be defined as “circumstances that create a risk that professional judgments or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest” [ 5 , 6 ]. Broadly stated, the primary duty of the investigator in medical research is to obtain scientifically valid results, while promoting and protecting the integrity of research. The goals of science are in sharp contrast with the goals of medical care of individual patients; in the former, there is the need to use the best experimental design and analysis to produce generalizable knowledge, while in the latter, it is achieving the medical goals and preferences of the individual patient [ 7 ]. The conduct of research in an ethical manner that protects the rights of research subjects and trust in the research enterprise helps to achieve the goals of medical research [ 8 ]. The secondary interest of principal concern is usually financial gain, with the worry that such financial interests (e.g., payments from a manufacturer of a drug or device for services other than the research) will influence the professional judgment or actions of the investigator to obtain and present results that inappropriately favor the source of such financial gain. Such bias affecting professional judgment may then influence the manner in which an investigator conducts or presents the research; it has the potential to unduly influence the development of research hypotheses; the selection of experimental and analytic methods, including the statistical analysis; and the presentation and interpretation of the results, including decisions regarding what to publish and where to publish it [ 9 ].

This problem is not just theoretical. Multiple reports indicate that industry sponsorship of trials of drugs or devices is strongly associated with more favorable trial results [ 3 ], and even well-constructed studies of the efficacy of drugs or devices, without evidence of heightened risk of bias upon analysis of research design, may obtain results demonstrating greater efficacy and fewer harms if they are industry-sponsored rather than non-industry sponsored [ 10 •]. Some recent examples from the orthopedics literature, an area of interest to the readers of this journal, can serve as illustrations of this issue: a study of abstracts of podium presentations from the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that presentations by authors with conflicts of interest related to royalties, stock options, consulting, or employment were significantly more likely to have positive findings; self-reported conflicts were most common in the areas of adult reconstruction of the knee or of the hip and spine surgery [ 11 ]. A systematic review of all publications on spinal research in leading journals in a single year found that industry funding was associated with a lower level of evidence and more favorable outcomes compared with publicly and foundation-funded studies [ 12 •]. A systematic review of randomized trials of hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis showed that the presence of self-reported conflicts was associated with study results showing greater efficacy compared with studies in which conflicts were not reported [ 13 ]. Other specialties each have their own examples, and clinicians view these issues as matters of importance. Rheumatologists, for example, report that conflicts of interest, both in the clinical and research setting, as well as issues of bias, are among their most prominent ethical concerns [ 14 ].

Secondary financial interests are the focus of most conflict of interest policies [ 4 – 6 , 15 ]. The attention to financial gain has been justified by the recognition that financial interests are “more objective, fungible, and quantifiable” than other secondary interests [ 5 ] and are thus easier to regulate fairly and effectively than less tangible incentives [ 6 ]. However, despite the usual attention to financial interests, non-financial interests and other secondary interests intrinsic to the research process are also understood to have the potential to influence professional judgment [ 6 , 16 , 17 , 18 ••]. Secondary interests without direct or even any financial element, such as the desire to obtain and publish research findings that lead to recognition and career advancement, vindication of one’s intellectual biases, support for friends and colleagues, or advocacy for strongly held social or political points of view, represent potent secondary interests that may have meaningful or even greater impact on professional judgment than financial factors. Indirect benefits with a financial element include support for the time and salaries of the investigator(s) and their staff. While not providing financial gain beyond the institutional paycheck and the operating budget of the research endeavor such support defines the nature of the potential investigator’s professional position, identity, and activities, and thus, may have potent impact on professional judgments and actions.

It is important to recognize that conflicts of interest are usually quite legitimate activities, which on their own are neither unethical nor illegal. An expert in a particular field may have a great deal to offer as an inventor, consultant, or speaker; and royalties, fees for services, or honoraria may be well deserved. Career choices, professional advancement, and time with family are each independently valued. The question that is critical with respect to conflicts of interest is whether these other professional or personal actions or responsibilities may compromise judgment with respect to a primary interest or responsibility, which in this case is to the research. A key issue in understanding the nature of conflicts of interest in medicine and research (and in other fields as well, including business and law) is that the value or weight of the competing interests is asymmetric. In typical ethical conflicts in the medical setting, different values are being weighed and a decision depends upon choices between competing values, so that decisions of what is right to do, all things considered, depend upon the stakeholders, the particularities of the situation, the most important principles and values, and the particular context. Conflicts of interest are strikingly different from such ethical conundrums. There is a primary interest, and protecting that interest is what must have priority. Despite the clarity of the conflict, minimizing or eliminating its effects is not necessarily easy.

Unfortunately, assertions of honesty and good will, personal integrity, and a capacity for personal discretion in professional judgments are insufficient to guarantee that one is not affected by a significant conflict. Another problematic issue is that bias is often unconscious; moreover, unconscious bias may affect judgment upon receipt of even small incentives, despite one’s own belief otherwise [ 19 – 21 ]. Furthermore, even if a research investigator is not unduly influenced by money, career advancement, or other factors, and the research is conducted impeccably, how can an observer know with confidence that is truly the case? Because trust in the conduct of research is critical to the advancement of science and the public good, it is vital that the risks of potential conflicts of interest are reduced to the minimum possible level and that how conflicts are managed engenders trust. Thus, in some respects, there is no meaningful difference between real, perceived, and potential conflicts of interest, as the failure to effectively manage such conflicts results in greater risk of personal and public mistrust and in reduced confidence in research results, and risks leading to diminished public support for medical research.

Managing conflicts of interest

It can readily be seen that the extent and variety of conflicts poses a substantial management challenge, and reliance upon good intent and good character is inadequate to address these issues [ 20 ]. Indeed, focus only upon individual financial interests is also insufficient, and strategies for managing financial and non-financial interests and intrinsic conflicts can be seen as falling into three interrelated, sometimes overlapping domains. These include the following:

Regulation of the individual

Design and regulation of the research process.

• Critical assessment of the research product

The strategies that have received the most attention typically focus on the individual researcher, such as disclosure of financial interests or prohibition from research on a product in which one has an equity interest. This is the approach often taken by institutions and regulatory bodies and recommended by expert panels [ 4 , 5 , 15 ]. Approaches focused on the individual and on financial conflicts have noted that the degree of control exercised over the individual with the conflict should be proportional to the strength and severity of the conflict [ 6 ]. Thus, regulations often define specific financial thresholds as acceptable or not, depending upon the type of activity being regulated.

Disclosure, usually only of financial interests, is widely used and attractive for its simplicity. Disclosure of financial conflicts to one’s institution, to peer reviewers, and in publications is widely seen as a minimal requirement, and included in major guidelines, while needs to limit financial interests are also advocated [ 5 ]. Yet, disclosure has its limits, including how it may be interpreted by other physicians, scientists, patients, or the public, and how it may affect the individual making the disclosure. Compelling arguments can be made that disclosure does not effectively prevent, help identify, or avoid the appearance of investigator bias [ 9 ]. Potential research subjects report a strong interest in disclosure of investigator conflicts [ 22 , 23 ]. As a way of achieving transparency disclosure might be expected to increase trust. However, evidence indicates that physicians and research subjects both have diminished confidence in the quality of trial design when the trial is industry-funded (or described as such in test scenarios), and confidence in the results as well as willingness to prescribe a trial drug based upon the evidence in such a scenario is also significantly reduced [ 22 , 24 , 25 ••]. Some patients indicate that conflict disclosures could influence their decisions regarding whether to participate in research studies [ 22 ].

Another problem with disclosure is that self-reported conflict disclosure is often inadequate as a method for ascertaining whether conflicts of interest are present. At a large orthopedic meeting, the rate of self disclosure of payments from manufacturers of hip and knee prosthesis during the prior year was only 79 % for presenters who received payments directly related to the topic of presentation and just 50 % for payments that were indirectly related to the subject of the presentation; the greater the payment, the more likely it was to be disclosed [ 26 ]. Another striking example involved a study of authors identified in whistle-blower complaints of manufacturers involved in off-label marketing activities; these authors disclosed their financial relationships with the defendant manufacturers in only 15 % of published articles related to the off-label use in the subsequent 3 years, and 43 % of the articles had no disclosure [ 27 ••].

Disclosure to potential research subjects has been strongly advocated as a way of promoting better informed consent, respecting the subjects rights, maintaining trust, minimizing legal risk, deterring troubling financial relationships, and protecting the welfare of research subjects [ 28 ]. Nonetheless, disclosure to potential research subjects, however desirable, may also be insufficient due to the intrinsic limitations of disclosure and the informed consent process [ 7 , 29 ]. Research subjects indicated in one study that only equity interests were likely to strongly influence their likelihood of trial participation [ 30 ], but the basis for that conclusion is uncertain and the “right” threshold is unknown and might vary between individual investigators. There is risk that the patient’s trust may be misplaced or at least disproportionate to the risk of bias, and other interests may result in significant bias. A study of patients receiving total joint arthroplasty found that patients had a poor overall understanding of financial conflicts of interest, although higher educational level and previous discussions of financial conflict of interest predicted better understanding [ 31 ]. Other research has shown that disclosure can lead the individual making the disclosure to more readily offer biased advice [ 32 •]. This occurs by several mechanisms, including a sense of moral licensing based on a feeling that the recipient of the information has been adequately warned. Although described in the context of physician-patient clinical interactions, this phenomenon may apply to disclosures in research presentation or publication as well.

Other strategies aimed at the individual, such as abstention or prohibition from certain activities, may be required. An example would be individuals with particularly strong financial interests in the outcome of a research study (e.g., holding significant equity interests that may be affected by the outcomes of a research study). Specific financial thresholds for compensation or equity are often used, with the assumption that greater financial interests pose more risk, but this approach fails to account for the findings that even small gifts and relationships may influence individuals. Moreover, the relative value of comparable financial interests to different individuals may not be possible to discern or meaningfully assess. The use of blind trusts and requirements for complete divestiture are not frequently employed in regulating scientific investigators. It is unclear how these would be managed and regulated in the academic medical research setting or the consequences of such approaches.

The second type of strategy tends to focus on the process, i.e., the methods of investigation and analysis, and the presentation of the research, and strives to optimize these processes to get the best possible research product. As examples, these include education of investigators regarding elements of research design that can help limit or prevent the influence of bias, informed and non-conflicted IRB review of research proposals, rigorous overview by research supervisors, and public registration of trials. These all can help build a system or context in which the research takes place that increases the capacity to obtain scientifically valid research outcomes that are not unduly influenced by secondary interests of individual investigators.

In this regard, elements of research design, such as adequate blinding and allocation techniques, appropriate comparisons, and proper data analytic techniques, can diminish some of the effects of secondary interest and bias. However, excessive levels of scrutiny of researchers and their methods beyond the level of the laboratory or clinical research group could become intrusive to a degree that investigators and their immediate supervisors find onerous, so a balance must be struck. Additionally, hospitals and other research institutions and their research groups have their own collective conflicts, desiring “good results” that promote the institution and bring in greater funding for the component departments and research groups. Institutions and the institutional leadership often have relationships with industry, and these represent conflicts that may impact how the work of individual investigators is viewed. It is thus important that attention be given to the conflicts of decision-makers in their management roles, including the institutional, department, and research group leadership. Avoiding conflicts among the leadership and of the members of committees that regulate research should also be understood as an area where particular conflicts may pose special risk, but also where prevention, attention, and management of conflicts may provide institutional solutions.

Another logical locus for regulation and intervention is the institutional review board (IRB), also referred to as the human subjects research committee, but such committees and their members are not immune to conflicts, which often remain poorly addressed, and IRB’s respond to financial and non-financial conflicts with great variability [ 33 ]. The IRB is often poorly equipped to manage their own conflicts, especially those which are indirect and non-financial, and greater attention to effective review and guidelines for the management of conflicts of interest of members of the IRB should receive greater attention as part of a comprehensive conflict of interest management program [ 33 ].

Critical outcomes assessment

The third strategy, in addition to the individual and the research process, is a focus on close, skilled, and non-conflicted review of the outcome or product produced by the investigator and the research itself. This final piece is exemplified by the journal editorial process, particularly peer review. This approach has been advocated as a solution for addressing the myriad of non-financial conflicts that may pose an enormous challenge to identify, catalogue, assess, and address. As one expert has suggested in commenting on the editorial review process of a highly respected medical research journal, “The antidote to fame, power, politics, and greed seized upon by journals in the twentieth century was vigorous peer review….Transparency and disclosure are the weapons they have aggressively deployed. Peer review is the other great protection against conflicts of interest” [ 34 ].

Strategies with mixed focus and non-financial conflict management

These three aspects of conflict management are not mutually exclusive domains. As an example, the level and scope of peer review and analysis of evidence for the development of clinical practice guidelines require the creation of teams that can compensate for individual weaknesses, whether scientific or due to risk of conflict from secondary interests. By the creation of a group of individuals with the requisite complementary qualifications as well as different conflicts, the body as a whole can potentially function in an effective fashion in which undue secondary influences on particular individuals are much less likely to adversely affect the group process. This requires attention to the individual, a system/team-based management process, and acts to mitigate the risks that conflicts have undue adverse impact on the quality of the peer review process.

An example of this approach, which could be applicable, with some modification, to addressing conflicts of interest in research, has been proposed as a way to help systematic review teams retain needed expertise while still minimizing biases stemming from non-financial conflicts of interest [ 35 ••]. These authors propose a limited number of questions to identify non-financial conflicts relating to four categories, including interest of: the individual, through personal beliefs; others, through personal relationships; the institution, through institutional relationships; and career advancement, which relates to all three of the other categories. They then describe a five-step process for identifying, measuring, and managing non-financial conflicts of interest. This process requires transparency in documentation, accounts for context, and relies on judgment in evaluating risk of particular conflicts. It is most applicable to teams, such as systematic review teams and practice guideline development committees, but their strategy for identifying and assessing non-financial conflicts may be applicable in other settings, even when all of the proposed management strategies may not.

It has been argued that non-financial conflicts need to be regulated in a comparable fashion to financial interests for several reasons: the very similar social and psychological influences resulting from such interests that result in bias; the synergistic interaction of financial and non-financial conflicts; and the importance of both as threats to public trust [ 18 ••]. More systemic responses to these challenges [ 18 ••, 36 ], the discussion of which is beyond the scope of this essay, may be required in the future to address these problems, and further research is merited to determine whether these approaches or selected aspects of proposed strategies are feasible and effective.

Conclusions

Conflicts of interest are pervasive in medical research but must be managed effectively to maintain the integrity of research and public trust. Although most of the focus on conflicts and their management has been on financial conflicts, it is likely that non-financial and intrinsic conflicts have similar potential for creating bias and exerting undue influence on the judgment and actions of the investigator. Further efforts are needed to develop and test methods for effectively identifying conflicts of interest, and strategies for their management should be evaluated for their capacity to promote high quality research, protection for research subjects, and public trust in medical research.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

Conflict of interest.

Paul L. Romain declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Ethics

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

• Insights blog

What is a conflict of interest?

Understand what a conflict of interest is, and get to know some examples.

A conflict of interest can also be known as ‘competing interest’. A conflict of interest can occur when you, or your employer, or sponsor have a financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationship with other organizations, or with the people working with them, that could influence your research.

When you submit your paper to a journal , full disclosure is required. The journal editor will firstly use this information to inform their editorial decisions. Then they will publish such disclosures to assist readers in evaluating the article. Or, the editor may instead decide not to publish your article on the basis of any declared conflict of interest.

You can declare the conflict of interest in your cover letter or on the manuscript submission form in the journal’s online peer-review system.

Conflict of interests can be financial or non-financial in nature. To maintain transparency, any associations which can be perceived by others as a conflict of interest must also be declared.

What are the benefits of open access publishing?

There’s increasing pressure on researchers to show the societal impact of their research. Open access can help your work reach new readers, beyond those with easy access to a research library.

Some examples of financial conflicts of interests include:

Employment or voluntary involvement

Collaborations with advocacy groups relating to the content of the article

Grants from an entity, paid to the author or organization

Personal fees received by the authors as honoraria, royalties, consulting fees, lecture fees, or testimonies

Patents held or pending by the authors, their institutions, funding organizations, or licensed to an entity, whether earning royalties or not

Royalties being received by the authors or their institutions

Stock or share ownership

Benefits related to the development of products as an outcome of the work

Examples of non-financial conflicts of interests:

Receipt of drugs, specialist equipment, tools, computer programs, or digital applications

Access to data repositories, archival resources, museum collections, by an entity that might benefit, or be at a disadvantage financially or reputationally from the published findings

Holding a position on the boards of industry bodies or private companies that might benefit, or be at a disadvantage financially or reputationally from the published findings

Writing assistance or administrative support from a person or organization that might benefit, or be at a disadvantage from the published findings

Personal, political, religious, ideological, academic and intellectual competing interests which are perceived to be relevant to the published content

Involvement in legal action related to the work

Important : if there are no competing interests to declare, authors should include a statement to the article to confirm that there are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.

Sponsorship of clinical trials

Authors employed by pharmaceutical companies or other organizations which sponsor clinical trials must declare this as a competing interest.

Authors should adhere to the  Good Publication Practice guidelines for pharmaceutical companies (GPP3) , which provides guidance to ensure responsible and ethical standards are maintained.

Taylor & Francis journals will not publish articles advertising commercial products.

Disclosure statement

You should also include a relevant disclosure statement with the text of your article. You can do this in conjunction with any acknowledgments and details of funders.

Conflict of interest: sample disclosure statements

In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that I [have a financial and/or business interests in] [am a consultant to] [receive funding from] (delete as appropriate) a company that may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed paper. I have disclosed those interests fully to Taylor & Francis, and I have in place an approved plan for managing any potential conflicts arising from [that involvement].

This research is sponsored by [company A] and may lead to the development of products which may be licensed to [company B], in which I have a business and/or financial interest. I have disclosed those interests fully to Taylor & Francis, and have in place an approved plan for managing any potential conflicts arising from this arrangement.

If there is no disclosure, we will then publish the following statement: “ No potential competing interest was reported by the author(s). ”

Did you know that competing interest declarations, acknowledgments and notes on contributors are all openly available to view on all articles on Taylor & Francis Online? This ensures transparency of key information and helps potential readers to evaluate articles more easily.

Further reading

Taylor & Francis Editorial Policies

Ethics for authors

Ethics for editors

Conflict of Interest in Research: Conflict of Interest Examples, Definition, Types and Understanding

Conflict of interest in research.

What is the conflict of interest? What should a researcher do about it?

Authors are often asked to provide a conflict of interest statement when they submit their text for publication into journals, magazines, and other platforms. This article provides all in one guidance on conflict of interest.

Interest Definition and Explanation

Interest is adherence, dedication, aim, objective, or importance held by an individual or a group of people. In broader terms, it is something that holds value or has an impact on an individual or a group of people.

For instance, if we say that Jim has to complete his task so that he can increase his chances of getting promoted, then the completion of that task would be in the interest of Jim. Similarly, if we talk about an organization that has to complete and submit the project to obtain revenue, then the cessation of the project would be in the interest of that organization.

Conflict of Interest Definition and Explanation

Conflict of interest is the incompatibility of objectives or concerns between two or more individuals or organizations. Conflict of interest occurs when two or more different interests are involved in a single pursuit. One differs from the other, having different approaches. Conflict of interest is a situation in which compromise has to be made.

It is puerile to think that the conflict occurs due to the deportment of an individual, rather it lies within the situation. So inherently, conflict of interest is not something dire.

Conflict of Interest Example

For instance, let’s consider a man who works for a company and have commitments to that company, and at the same time, he has loyalty to the family business as well, and both expect his utmost interest. In that case, conflict of interest occurs.

Conflict of Interest in Research

Conflict of interest in research exists when an individual (Author, investigator, editor, reviewer) has a specific interest, that could affect his or her impartiality, or maliciously influence his/her actions . Because of the existence of a potential conflict, the integrity of the research might get affected.

Types of conflict of interest:

There are majorly four types of conflicts of interest as listed below:

• Financial conflict of interest
• A personal conflict of interest
• Contractual conflict of interest
• Professional conflict of interest

When we talk about conflict of interest, then personal or professional relationships might get involved. For instance, you might have worked with the author of the content in the past, or you might currently work with him at the same office. Similarly, the author might be a dear friend of yours. In all of the mentioned cases, conflict of interest lies.

Conflict of interest as Reviewer

As a reviewer, you might find that the research you are evaluating is very similar to or perhaps competing with the document that you are currently preparing yourself, and it can decrease the importance of your research. In that case, you might dismiss it as inadequate. It is where conflict of interest in research occurs.

Financial Conflict of interest

The most common conflicts of interest are financial relationships, including direct conflict of interest, such as employment, stock ownership, grants, etc. This type of conflict includes the financial benefits of an individual that can help him/her in the future. 

How to Cope with Conflict of Interest?

Many reviewers, researchers, authors, face these kinds of conflicts while reviewing different types of manuscripts or researches. But what is the solution if the conflict becomes apparent to the researcher? Is it correct to ignore these conflicts? 

The answer to these questions is that one should never ignore it and should consider disclosing it. It is ethical to report the conflict of interest to make sure that the quality of the research in question must not get compromised. A researcher must immediately report these conflicts when they become apparent. In case, if it has become evident, and the researcher thinks that he/she can still do his/her work with integrity, even then the potential conflict must be reported to the journal’s ethics group or the journal editor.

When the researcher takes a step forward and discloses the conflict, then it is reviewed by an independent substantive review committee or by the journal’s ethics group ( ethics group of the journal in which the research paper is going to publish ). The committee then reviews it and present their recommendation regarding approval or disapproval.

According to the U.S office of research integrity:

“Having a conflict of interest is not in itself unethical, and some are unavoidable. Full transparency is always the best course of action, and, if in doubt, disclose.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Understanding Conflict of Interest

We are pretty much aware that these types of conflict occur usually. Many researchers or reviewers around the globe face these conflicts while reviewing the research paper or manuscript. The best solution to cope with these conflicts is to report to the institution’s ethics group immediately. Disclosure of conflict of interest is the basis of the editorial decision regarding publishing the research. Many researchers or reviewers ignore the potential conflict of interest, thinking that it will not affect their judgment but, the right thing to do is to report and let the editorial board decide. It is the ethical responsibility of every reviewer, author, and person to report the conflict of interest to the authorities.

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• Publication ethics and research integrity: policy guidelines for authors

We all want to ensure that the research you publish with us meets strict quality guidelines. Your reputation, and ours, depends on it. So does the reputation of your research institution on the global stage.  

Here you will find guidance on policies that help us achieve this, and what we ask of you to comply with them. We also recommend taking a look at the guidelines provided by The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)  

Declaration of conflicting interests

If you’ve received research funding, or been paid for attending a talk related to your work, these may be interpreted as competing interests. You should declare anything relevant, and we’re here to help you to do so easily by providing sample wording for typical scenarios.

What do authors need to declare? How should authors make this declaration? What do Editors need to declare?

Funding statements

All research articles need a funding statement, so here’s a quick guide to writing one.

Writing a funding statement Industry-funded articles

Ethics approval and informed consent statements

Guidance on preparing ethics statements in support of research findings, with multiple examples of scenarios and statements to get you started.

Studies involving humans Studies involving animals Studies not involving humans or animals Global research ethics and inclusion

Sage follows COPE and ICMJE guidance on the declaration of conflicts of interest by authors, reviewers, and editors. A conflict of interest is defined as any direct or indirect interest that might influence the reading, assessment of or conducting of the research reported in the submission. Any interests within a five-year period prior to beginning the research are considered relevant, although authors must disclose interests outside this time frame if they may have influenced the research. 

What do authors need to declare?

Authors are required to disclose any direct or indirect interests that relate to their submission to any Sage journal so that the editor, reviewers and readers may be able to make informed judgements about any potential bias in the research process, writing or publication. The following interests may present a conflict and should be declared upon submission: 

Financial Interests

• Grants from a funding agency, a commercial entity or any type of payment to authors from organisations that are likely to benefit financially from the research  
• Employment with or affiliation to an organisation that has an interest in the research and/or is likely to benefit from its publication and dissemination  
• Stocks, shares, patents or patent applications or other forms of financial holdings that are likely to benefit from the publication and dissemination of the research  
• Consulting fees, reimbursement or any other payments made to authors for conducting the research  
• Close relatives who may financially benefit from the publication and dissemination of the research  

Non-financial

• Affiliation to an organisation that will have an interest in the outcome such as members of a research advisory board, steering or advisory committees, associations or honorary affiliations  
• Membership of organisations or scientific societies that undertake advocacy work  
• Ideology, beliefs, thoughts, faith relevant to the research topic  
• Activism or other advocacy work related to the research   
• Political leanings or legal action relevant to the research or its potential outcome   
• Research competition, previous personal disagreements, close working relationships with editors, editorial board members  
• Editorial responsibilities or membership of the editorial board of the journal  

How should authors make this declaration?

Your declaration of conflicting interests it should be added under the heading ‘Declaration of conflicting interests’ after any Acknowledgments and before Funding, Notes and References. Please see the  submission guidelines  for more information. If there are no conflicting interests, we’ll publish this statement: ‘The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article’.

In your Contributor Agreement you will be asked to certify that:

• All financial support is acknowledged in your article.
• Any commercial or financial arrangements related to your article have been discussed with your Editor, who will advise whether details should be declared.
• You have not signed an agreement with any sponsor that might compromise the impartial reporting of data.

Submissions will be evaluated fairly and will not necessarily be rejected when any conflicting interests are declared. If a relevant conflict that was not declared by authors becomes apparent at any time during the peer review or publishing process, the Editor reserves the right to reject the submission. Sage will follow COPE guidelines for any conflicts that come to light post-publication.  

What do Editors need to declare?

All Editors are required to declare any conflicts of interest that may impact the peer review and decision-making process. If a conflict arises, an alternative member of the Editorial board must be appointed and the Editor with the conflict must recuse themselves from the decision-making process. These conflicts include financial and non-financial interests listed above.

• If the Editor is based at the same institution as the authors or has previously conducted research with them in the last three years, they should recuse themselves from the peer review and decision-making process.  
• Journal Editors or members of the editorial board submitting their research to their own journals may do so and must declare their involvement with the journal as a conflict of interest. Where applicable, the Journal Editor or Editorial Board member must recuse themselves from the peer review process. The Journal Editor must appoint another member of the Editorial board who will invite two or more subject experts to evaluate the manuscript.   
• Guest Editors may submit their research to a special issue or special collection they are leading and must declare a conflict of interest upon submission. Where Guest Editors are involved in peer review and final decisions, their submissions will be handled by an alternate member of the editorial board or the Journal Editor.   

Sage Editorial Staff 

All Sage editorial staff are required to declare their employment at Sage as a conflict of interest in any submission they send to a Sage journal. These submissions are treated as any other submissions within the journal.

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All research articles need a funding statement, so here’s a quick guide to writing one. It should appear under the heading ‘Funding’ after any Acknowledgments and Declaration of conflicting interests, and before Notes and References.

This should comprise the text in bold in the example below, followed by the full name of the funding agency, and the grant number in square brackets:

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number xxx].

Multiple grant numbers should be separated by commas, multiple agencies by semicolons.

What if your research was supported indirectly by grants available to your institution, but not to you personally? In this case, simply include this statement:

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Note: If you have any concerns that the information you give may compromise your anonymity prior to the peer review process, you can choose to wait until you submit your final accepted manuscript.

Industry-funded articles

We can only consider industry-funded articles if funding is fully declared within the manuscript, together with any role in the design of the study or in the analysis and interpretation of data played by the funder.

Both direct and indirect funding must be declared, whether funding is in full or in part. Indirect funding includes organisations associated with the research and/or authors receiving funding from one of the industries below, or any industry where the funder could be seen to have a vested interest in the results of a study.

Industries include but are not limited to:

• Pharmaceuticals
• E-cigarettes

Failure to declare industry-specific funding can lead to the rejection of your article at submission, or retraction of the whole article if the oversight comes to light after publication.

How do we make sure that we maintain high ethical standards in publishing? By including clear statements in support of results reported in articles. Here is guidance, with examples of sample statements, for:

Studies involving humans

All studies involving humans, for example including patients, their samples, data or any other study involving human participants must be evaluated by a suitably qualified research ethics committee prior to undertaking the research in line with the Declaration of Helsinki .

All studies involving people, whether patients or research participants, must be evaluated by a qualified research ethics committee prior to undertaking the research in line with the Declaration of Helsinki .

Ethics statements should be included in the methods section of all relevant submissions (unless the journal you’re submitting to publishes them under a separate heading – the journal’s submission guidelines will make this clear) and must include the name and location of the review board, approval number and date, as in the examples below.

Ethics approval statements

These examples can be used If ethics approval was obtained:

This study was approved by the XXXX Research Ethics Committee (approval no. XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY.

This study received ethical approval from the XXXX IRB (approval #XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY.

Examples of ethics approval statements suitable for different scenarios:

The XXXX Ethics Review Committee at XXXX University approved our interviews (approval: XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY. Respondents gave written consent for review and signature before starting interviews.

This study received ethical approval from the XXXX IRB (approval #XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY. This is an IRB-approved retrospective study, all patient information was de-identified and patient consent was not required. Patient data will not be shared with third parties.

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of XXXX (no. XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY, with the need for  written informed consent waived. 

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted on Month DD, YYYY. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at XXXX acted as the central IRB, whose review was accepted by all participating institutions’ IRBs (Ref. XYZ123). The central IRB determined that this research involved minimal risk and approved a waiver for informed consent.

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of XXXX University (Ethics Code: XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY. All participants provided written informed consent prior to enrolment in the study. This research was conducted ethically in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

The ethics review committee of the XXXX University approved this study on Month DD, YYYY. Number: XYZ123. Date: Month DD, YYYY. Written informed consent for inclusion in this research was obtained from the patients prior to surgery.

The experimental protocols were approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the XXX University (No. XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY. All research activities complied with ethical regulations and were performed in accordance with regulations of each hospital. Informed consent to use histopathological samples and pathological diagnostic reports for research purposes was obtained from all patients prior to surgery. They were given the option to refuse to participate by opting out.

These examples can be used if ethics approval and patient consent were waived:

The Ethics Committee of the XXXX waived the need for ethics approval and patient consent for the collection, analysis and publication of the retrospectively obtained and anonymised data for this non-interventional study.

The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency. According to Danish legislation, neither ethics  approval nor patient consent is required for registry linkage studies [23].

Case reports

Ethical approval to report this case (or case series) was obtained from *name of ethics committee or institutional review board (approval number/ID)*.  

Our institution does not require ethical approval for reporting individual cases or case series.

Patient or participant consent

In all cases, it’s important to state that consent has been granted to use any personal information, and how that consent has been gathered. Informed consent includes three key components:  

• Communication of information  
• Comprehension of information  
• Voluntary participation

For research articles, you need to state in the methods section whether the participants provided written or verbal informed consent. This statement should include whether the participants provided consent to conduct the study, publish the study, and have their photos or other images used . If information has been anonymized, that should be clearly stated too. If you are publishing on an open access basis, patients or participants must be aware that the article will be available to anyone with an internet connection.

The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends that for those who are legally incapable of giving informed consent, researchers should:  

• Provide an appropriate explanation  
• Seek the individual's assent  
• Consider the person’s preferences and best interests  
• Obtain appropriate permission from a legally authorized person, if such a substitute consent is permitted or required by law  

If the law doesn’t permit or require a legally authorized person to provide consent, you’ll need to show that you’ve taken reasonable steps to protect the individual's rights and welfare.   Participants should be informed about:  

• The purpose, duration, and procedure of the research  
• Their right to decline to participate and how to withdraw from the research along with the possible consequences  
• Factors that may be expected to influence their willingness to participate, such as potential risks, discomfort, or adverse effects  
• Prospective research benefits and incentives for participation  
• Limits of confidentiality  
• Whom to contact for questions about the research and research participants’ rights.  

You can access Sage’s Participant Consent Form here . Authors should not submit completed consent forms alongside the manuscript files unless specifically requested to do so, owing to potential legal/privacy issues with sending and receiving confidential information. Instead, they should confirm in the relevant section of the – e.g. manuscript – text that the individual(s) or their proxy has provided written informed consent for the publication of this information in the present work.

Informed consent for ethnographic research  

Ethnographic research requires similar ethics approvals from an International Review Board or independent local, regional, or national review body as well as participant consent to conduct and publish the research. Consent should obtained before the research is conducted and it should be part of the project design, implementation, and other parts of the research process. Consultation with groups or communities affected by the studies and consideration of their input on the study design should happen throughout the entire research period. If consent is not obtained before the study perhaps because of the research context, process, or researcher/participant relations, you can seek to obtain it retroactively if necessary.  

Participants should also understand that there is a possibility that confidentiality might be compromised, despite best efforts. This is especially important to note for small communities where participants may be more easily identifiable.

Examples below if consent was obtained:

1.      Written informed consent

The study was approved by the XXXX (Ethical Clearance Reference Number: XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participating.

Written informed consent was obtained from a legally authorised representative for anonymised patient information to be published in this article.

2.      Verbal informed consent

Informed consent was obtained verbally before participation. The consent was audio-recorded in the presence of an independent witness.

3.      Patient consent for studies involving minors

Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin.  

4.     Patient or participant consent for use of images including faces

Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

If patient consent was not obtained:

Informed consent for information published in this article was not obtained because [please state the reason].

Studies involving animals

All studies involving animals, particularly vertebrate animals, must be evaluated by a qualified animal ethics or welfare committee. Ethics statements should include the name and location of the reviewing committee, approval number and date, as in these examples:

Protocols for animal experiments were approved by the Animal Experimental Ethics Committee of the XXXX University (Approval no. XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY, in compliance with the National Institutes of Health guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

All animals were cared for in strict accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NIH Publication No. 85-23, revised 1996), and the experimental design was approved by the Ethics Committee of XXXX (Approval no. XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY.

If IACUC approval was obtained you can use the example below:

The XXX Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved the experimental procedures used in this study (approval no. XYZ123) on Month DD, YYYY.

An example on animal welfare:

All animal housing and experiments were conducted in strict accordance with the institutional Guidelines for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals at [insert name of institution where the research was conducted and/or where the author is based].

Studies not involving humans or animals

These statements can be used in situations where a study did not involve human or animal participants as well as non-research articles such as reviews:

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal participants.

There are no human participants in this article and informed consent is not required.

Global research ethics and inclusion

If your article reports on global research, you should follow the TRUST Code . We recommend including a statement in your methods section describing how your work adheres to the Articles in the Code. Some journals may require a statement under the separate heading ‘Global research ethics and inclusion’ at the end of your article. This should cover the following:

• Confirm that the research has local relevance and has been designed and conducted in collaboration with local communities. Note that contributors meeting the requirements of authorship as per the ICMJE Guidelines must be listed as authors. Sometimes research is conducted in low- and middle-income countries in partnership with researchers from higher income countries. In these cases it is expected that local researchers are listed in first and/or last authorship positions to reflect the significant contribution they will have made. Joint first and/or joint senior authorship is an option here.
• Confirm that local ethics review was sought and if not, explain the reasons why.
• Where research involvement presented any kind of risk to participants e.g. discrimination, incrimination or risk to personal health and safety, describe the special measures taken to ensure their safety and wellbeing that were agreed with local partners.
• Explain how communication was tailored to the requirements of local participants to ensure that informed consent was freely given, and any feedback on findings was comprehensible to local communities. Describe how any potential cultural sensitivities were explored in advance.
• Confirm that all research was conducted to the highest possible ethical standards, regardless of the requirements of the local setting.

We also recommend the guidance provided by Consensus statement on measures to promote equitable authorship in the publication of research from international partnerships (Morton, B. et al, 2022) .

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Competing Interests

Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclosure of interests provides a complete and transparent process and helps readers form their own judgments of potential bias. This is not meant to imply that a financial relationship with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation received for consultancy work is inappropriate.

Interests that should be considered and disclosed include, but are not limited, to the following:

Funding:  Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number) and/or research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript.

Employment:  Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript. This includes multiple affiliations (if applicable).

Financial interests:  Stocks or shares in companies (including holdings of spouse and/or children) that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication of this manuscript.

It is difficult to specify a threshold at which a financial interest becomes significant, any such figure is necessarily arbitrary, so one possible practical guideline is the following: "Any undeclared financial interest that could embarrass the author were it to become publicly known after the work was published."

Non-financial interests: In addition, authors are requested to disclose interests that go beyond financial interests that could impart bias on the work submitted for publication such as professional interests, personal relationships or personal beliefs (amongst others). Examples include, but are not limited to: position on editorial board, advisory board or board of directors or other type of management relationships; writing and/or consulting for educational purposes; expert witness; mentoring relations; and so forth. 

Primary research articles require a disclosure statement. Review articles present an expert synthesis of evidence and may be treated as an authoritative work on a subject. Review articles therefore require a disclosure statement.Other article types such as editorials, book reviews, comments (amongst others) may, dependent on their content, require a disclosure statement. If you are unclear whether your article type requires a disclosure statement, please contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Please note that, in addition to the above requirements, funding information (given that funding is a potential conflict of interest (as mentioned above)) needs to be disclosed upon submission of the manuscript in the peer review system. This information will automatically be added to the Record of CrossMark, however it is not added to the manuscript itself. Under ‘summary of requirements’ (see below) funding information should be included in the ‘ Declarations ’ section.

Summary of requirements

The above should be summarized in a statement and included in a section entitled “ Declarations ” before the reference list. Other declarations include Funding, Conflicts of interest/competing interests, Ethics approval, Consent, Data and/or Code availability and Authors’ contribution statements.

Should the information already be mentioned somewhere else in the manuscript, for example under Methods & Materials, please make sure to repeat that information on this page.

Please see the various examples of wording below and revise/customize the sample statements according to your own needs.

When all authors have the same (or no) conflicts and/or funding it is sufficient to use one blanket statement.

Authors are responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. See also Authorship Principles. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section.

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How to Write a Conflict of Interest Statement

Last Updated: April 30, 2024

This article was co-authored by Sarah Evans . Sarah Evans is a Public Relations & Social Media Expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada. With over 14 years of industry experience, Sarah is the Founder & CEO of Sevans PR. Her team offers strategic communications services to help clients across industries including tech, finance, medical, real estate, law, and startups. The agency is renowned for its development of the "reputation+" methodology, a data-driven and AI-powered approach designed to elevate brand credibility, trust, awareness, and authority in a competitive marketplace. Sarah’s thought leadership has led to regular appearances on The Doctors TV show, CBS Las Vegas Now, and as an Adobe influencer. She is a respected contributor at Entrepreneur magazine, Hackernoon, Grit Daily, and KLAS Las Vegas. Sarah has been featured in PR Daily and PR Newswire and is a member of the Forbes Agency Council. She received her B.A. in Communications and Public Relations from Millikin University. This article has been viewed 130,437 times.

Businesses and non-profits create conflict of interest policies to ensure board members, employees, and managers do not seek personal gain while working for the organization. For example, a board member with a side business might offer their services for hire to the organization. This creates a conflict—is the board member hiring themselves because it is in the organization’s best interest, or in their own best interest? Most contracts and company policies include a conflict of interest statement to prohibit any activity that may lead to a conflict. A basic conflict of interest policy should explain what qualifies as a conflict and the steps your organization will take to analyze the conflict. You should also create a conflict disclosure form for employees to fill out.

Beginning Your Conflict of Interest Policy

• For example, you can write something like the following: “Our organization strives to maintain the highest standards of integrity, and it is vital that the public be confident of our commitment. Accordingly, any appearance of a conflict must be avoided. To maintain our integrity and credibility, we have adopted the following policy.”
• If you’re a non-profit, you can write something like this: “The purpose of this policy is to protect the Organization’s tax-exempt status when contemplating a transaction or arrangement that could benefit an officer, director, or employee. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest that apply to non-profit organizations.”

• You might call this person an “interested person” throughout the policy.
• Alternately, you could define “interested person” in your definition section.

• “Interested person”: You might define this as follows: “Any principal officer, director, or member of a committee with powers delegated by a governing board, who has a direct or indirect financial interest, as defined below.”
• “Financial interest”: You probably will define this broadly. For example, “A person has a Financial Interest if they have, directly or indirectly, any potential or actual ownership, compensation arrangement, or investment in any entity with which the Organization has a transaction or arrangement.”
• “Immediate family member”: Often means spouse or partner, and children. You may define it more broadly.

Explaining How Conflicts Are Managed

• Sample language might read: “An Interested Person shall disclose the existence of a Financial Interest and disclose all material facts to the directors. In an effort to aid the disclosure, each member shall complete a conflict-of-interest form as circumstances warrant, and no less frequently than annually.”
• Revise this language to suit your purposes. You might want someone to report a potential conflict to someone else.

• You could write: “Each individual covered by this policy must file an annual disclosure, which the Executive Vice President will review. As soon as any covered individual learns of a potential conflict, they must promptly disclose the circumstances to the EVP within 30 days and recuse him or herself until the matter is reviewed.”

• For example, if a board member has a conflict, they can make a presentation to the other board members. After the presentation, they leave and the board votes on whether there is a conflict of interest.
• If an employee reports a conflict, someone in management (such as the President or Vice President) can review to see if the conflict is significant. If it is, they can refer the matter to the Board of Directors, which will decide if a conflict or appearance of a conflict exists. They can then ask the employee to withdraw from the activity.

• The board should determine whether they can with reasonable effort obtain a more advantageous arrangement or transaction. If they can’t, then the disinterested directors shall decide whether the transaction or arrangement is in the organization’s best interest, for its own benefit, and is fair and reasonable.
• You can also have the Chairperson of the Board appoint a disinterest person to investigate alternatives.

• You might write: “If the committee has reason to believe an individual failed to disclose potential or actual conflicts, then it will inform the member. The member has a chance to explain the failure to disclose to the committee. If the committee still has reason to believe a conflict exists, it will take corrective action.”

• Members of the governing board who receive direct or indirect compensation cannot vote on matters related to their compensation.
• Members of committees whose committee handles compensation matters cannot vote on matters relating to their compensation.
• Nothing prohibits a voting member who receives direct or indirect compensation from providing information about compensation to any committee.

Completing the Policy

• A requirement that the minutes contain the name of the person with a disclosed interest, the nature of the interest, and what action was taken to determine whether an actual conflict existed. Also note the board’s decision as to whether a conflict existed.
• A requirement that the minutes reflect the names of anyone present to discuss or vote on a transaction or arrangement, the content of the discussion, and the proposed alternatives. Also record the votes taken.

• whether your compensation arrangements are the result of arm’s-length bargaining, reasonable, and based on credible survey information
• whether joint ventures, partnerships, and arrangements with management organizations comport with your written policies and are properly recorded
• whether these joint ventures reflect reasonable investment or payments for goods and services and do not result in impermissible private benefit or excess benefit transaction

• For example, you can include the following: “To avoid confusion, members who address the public should clarify if they are speaking as private individuals or speaking for the organization. Sometimes the organization is asked to speak publicly on issues, or to provide representatives to state boards. Requests will come to the Administrative Office and be reviewed by the Executive Vice President. If appropriate, the EVP will forward the information to the President.”

• If you don’t yet have a lawyer, you can obtain a referral by contacting your local or state bar association.
• Call and schedule a consultation. Ask how much the lawyer charges.

Creating a Disclosure Form

• Ask other businesses or non-profits if they have a form you can look at. Use it as a guide when drafting your own.

• You can title your form “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form.”

• For example, you can write: “A potential or actual conflict of interest arises when your obligations are likely to be compromised by other material interests or relationships, especially when those interests are not disclosed. You should disclose any business, personal, or volunteer affiliations that could give rise to real or apparent conflicts.”

• Do you serve as an officer of an organization that has a relationship or does business with us?
• Have you ever served as a director of a business in which our organization invests?
• Do you have a family relationship with anyone who has a noted relationship with our business? These family relationships include: spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandchild, and siblings. The spouse of any child, grandchild, great-grandchild, or sibling is also considered a family relationship.
• Have you ever participated in a compensation relationship, employment agreement, investment opportunity, or other arrangement, directly or indirectly, with a third-party vendor doing business with us that could personally benefit you?
• Have you ever received any direct or indirect loans, gifts, payments, discounts, fees, or free services from any organization or person engaged in any transaction with us?
• Do you share ownership of a business that does business with us? Ownership means voting power in a corporation, beneficial interest in a trust, or profits interest in a partnership.

• Remember that this is confidential information which you shouldn’t share with other people. Safeguard the form as you would other confidential employee information.

Expert Q&A

Expert interview.

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about business writing, check out our in-depth interview with Sarah Evans .

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About This Article

A conflict of interest statement outlines a policy to ensure no employees or board members make decisions for the company that would benefit their own personal interests. Search for a sample policy online so you don’t need to draft it from scratch. Make sure you define special terms like "interested person" at the end of the document. This will make it more clear which terms apply to which people. State that interested persons have the duty to disclose any conflicts of interest. Then, describe how conflicts will be resolved. For example, the interested person may be allowed to make a presentation, then the board can vote to decide if there’s a conflict. You should also describe the penalties for not disclosing their conflict of interest. For more tips, including how to create a disclosure form, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Conflict of Interest statement for journal submission [duplicate]

Does anyone know what "Conflict of Interest" is? I am submitting a paper to a journal, and they ask me to attach a Conflict of Interest. Is it the same as Cover Letter?

Thanks in advance for any help!

• paper-submission

A conflict of interest statement is revealing that you have some relationship with the journal, or, for example, its editors. It can also be a statement in which you reveal a relationship to some company or product that you discuss, analyze, or recommend in the paper.

Some papers are written as propaganda on behalf of individuals or products, for example. They want a statement that you aren't doing that, of if you have such a "conflict", exactly what is its nature.

A serious enough conflict can lead to rejection. But if your Mom is the lead editor of the journal, it is still a conflict, though it can be resolved by assigning the paper to someone else.

Anyway, there are a variety of things, but they mostly come down to the question of whether a careful reader would question your conclusions based on external factors other than what is actually written in the paper.

A cover letter is just for introducing yourself and your paper to the managing editor with a bit of information that will help to assign the paper to an appropriate editor. Quite different.

• Thanks Buffy for your perfect answer. –  David Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 15:27

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged journals paper-submission .

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Examples of Publication Disclosure Statements for Conflict of Interest

Journals and entities sponsoring meeting, symposia or conferences have varying standards for reporting financial relationships relating to your institutional responsibilities. However, you should always acknowledge those relationships when publishing or presenting data from your research or relating to the topic of your  publication of presentation. The following are examples of disclosure statements. If you use one of the examples, you should modify it to fit your specific relationship.

Example 1 The author(s) of this [publication, presentation or poster] has research support from [Source of research funding] and also [holds stock in; serves on an advisory board for; serves on the Board of Directors of, received an honorarium from] [name of entity]. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 2 The author(s) of this [publication, presentation or poster] consults for [Entity(ies)] on [subject of consultation]. The author(s) also conducts research in areas of interest similar to the business interests of [Entity(ies)]. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 3 The author(s) of this [publication, presentation or poster] was a [speaker for, consultant to, received an honorarium from] [Entity(ies)]. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 4 The studies reported in this [publication, presentation or poster] were supported by a grant from [NIH, NSF, etc]. The [principal investigator, author, speaker] [holds stock in, serves on an advisory board or board of directorsfor] [Entity]. Although a financial conflict of interest was identified for management based on the overall scope of the project and its potential benefit to [Entity], the research findings included in this [publication, presentation or poster] may not necessarily related to the interests of [Entity]. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 5 Stony Brook University has equity ownership in [Entity], the sponsor who funded the research reported in this [publication, presentation, poster]. Stony Brook University may financially benefit from this interest, if [Entity] is successful in marketing products related to this research. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 6 The research being report in this [publication, presentation or poster] was supported by [name of sponsor funding the research]. The author(s) of this [publication, presentation or poster] [has equity ownership in, serves as an advisor for, serves on the board of director of] [Entity(ies)] which is developing products related to the research being reported. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 7 The author of this [publication, presentation or poster] receives research funding from [Entity] which is developing products related to research described in this [publication, presentation or poster]. In addition, the author serves as a consultant to [Entity] and receives compensation for these services. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

Example 8 The author of this [publication, presentation or poster] receives research support from [name of research sponsor] with an equipment loan from [Entity]. The author also [has equity interest in, serves as a consultant to, serves on an advisory board or board of directors for] [Entity]. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Stony Brook University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.