Conflict of Interest

Jurnal Sistem Informasi dan Teknik Informatika (JAFOTIK), published by Lentera Ilmu Publisher, is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, independence, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process. The journal recognizes that conflicts of interest may arise when personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, peer review, editorial decisions, or publication of a manuscript.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process are expected to disclose relevant conflicts of interest to ensure that manuscripts are evaluated fairly and that editorial decisions are based on scientific merit.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when an individual's personal, financial, professional, academic, or institutional interests may compromise, or appear to compromise, their impartiality, judgment, or responsibilities in relation to a manuscript or research publication.

Conflicts of interest do not necessarily indicate misconduct or inappropriate behavior. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine confidence in the integrity and credibility of the research and its publication.

Conflicts of interest may be actual, potential, or perceived and may arise before, during, or after the submission, review, and publication processes.

2. Types of Conflicts of Interest

JAFOTIK recognizes several forms of conflicts of interest, including but not limited to:

2.1 Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may arise from relationships or interests such as:

Employment, consultancy, or paid advisory positions.
Research grants, sponsorships, honoraria, or other financial support.
Ownership of shares, equity, patents, or intellectual property relevant to the research.
Financial relationships with organizations that may benefit from the publication.
Commercial interests in software, technologies, products, or services evaluated in the manuscript.

2.2 Personal and Professional Conflicts of Interest

Personal or professional conflicts may include:

Family relationships, close friendships, or personal disputes.
Current or recent supervisory relationships between authors and reviewers or editors.
Close research collaborations or joint publications that may affect impartiality.
Employment relationships or professional affiliations that could influence judgment.
Personal rivalries, competing academic interests, or other circumstances that may affect objectivity.

2.3 Academic and Institutional Conflicts of Interest

Academic or institutional conflicts may arise when individuals have interests associated with:

The same department, research group, faculty, or institution.
Collaborative research projects or competing research programs.
Institutional interests in the outcomes of a study.
Academic promotion, professional recognition, or research evaluation.
Relationships that could create a reasonable perception of bias in the review or editorial process.

2.4 Other Conflicts of Interest

Other circumstances may create a conflict of interest even when no direct financial or personal relationship exists. Individuals are expected to disclose any situation that could reasonably affect, or be perceived to affect, their impartiality.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to JAFOTIK must disclose relevant conflicts of interest that could influence the research, interpretation of findings, or presentation of results.

Authors must:

Declare all relevant financial and non-financial relationships associated with the submitted work.
Disclose funding sources, sponsorships, institutional support, and other relationships that may influence the research.
Identify any relevant personal, professional, or commercial interests that could reasonably be perceived as affecting the manuscript.
Ensure that conflict-of-interest declarations are accurate, complete, and approved by all co-authors.
Update their declarations if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.

If no relevant conflict of interest exists, authors should include the following statement in their manuscript:

“The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.”

Where conflicts exist, authors should provide a clear statement describing the relevant relationship and its potential connection to the research.

The disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication. The editorial team will assess whether the conflict can be managed appropriately and whether additional disclosure is necessary.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, independently, and confidentially. They must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could affect their ability to provide an impartial assessment.

Reviewers should notify the editorial team if they:

Have a close personal, professional, or financial relationship with one or more authors.
Have recently collaborated with an author or share a relevant institutional affiliation that may compromise impartiality.
Have a direct financial or commercial interest in the manuscript's findings.
Are involved in competing research that could create a significant conflict.
Believe that another relationship or circumstance could reasonably affect their judgment.

When a significant conflict exists, reviewers should decline the invitation or inform the editor so that an appropriate decision can be made. The editorial team may appoint an alternative reviewer when necessary.

Reviewers must not use confidential information obtained during peer review for personal, academic, or commercial advantage.

5. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must make editorial decisions based on the manuscript's originality, scientific quality, methodological rigor, relevance, and compliance with the journal's ethical standards.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and refrain from handling manuscripts when their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

Conflicts may arise when an editor:

Is an author or co-author of the manuscript.
Has a close personal, professional, or financial relationship with an author.
Has a direct commercial or institutional interest in the manuscript's outcome.
Has a significant academic rivalry or competing interest.
Has another relationship that could compromise independent editorial judgment.

When a conflict exists, the manuscript must be reassigned to an independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. The conflicted editor must not participate in reviewer selection, the evaluation of review reports, or the final publication decision for that manuscript.

Editors must also ensure that conflicts disclosed by authors and reviewers are handled appropriately and that confidential information is protected throughout the editorial process.

6. Disclosure and Declaration Procedure

JAFOTIK requires authors to disclose relevant conflicts of interest during manuscript submission through the journal's electronic submission system or other designated declaration procedure.

Where applicable, the declaration should identify:

The nature of the conflict.
The parties or organizations involved.
The relationship between the conflict and the submitted research.
Any measures taken to manage or minimize the potential influence of the conflict.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have provided accurate and complete information.

Reviewers and editors must disclose conflicts directly to the responsible editorial authority before undertaking their respective duties.

7. Management of Conflicts of Interest

Upon receiving a conflict-of-interest disclosure, JAFOTIK will assess its relevance and potential impact on the research or editorial process.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

Request additional information or clarification.
Require a more detailed disclosure statement in the manuscript.
Assign an alternative reviewer or independent editor.
Introduce additional review or oversight measures.
Require clarification of funding sources, research sponsorship, or data access.
Decline to proceed with the review or publication when a conflict cannot be managed adequately.

The existence of a disclosed conflict does not automatically result in rejection. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the nature and severity of the conflict and the measures available to protect editorial independence.

8. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support relevant to the research, including grants, institutional funding, commercial sponsorship, and other material assistance.

The funding statement should identify the funding organization and, where applicable, the grant number. Authors should also clarify the role of the funder in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, authors may state:

“The funder had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of the results, preparation of the manuscript, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.”

This statement should be used only when it accurately reflects the funder's actual role.

9. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If JAFOTIK discovers that a relevant conflict of interest was not disclosed, the journal may request an explanation from the authors, reviewers, or editors concerned.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may require a corrected declaration, reassess the editorial process, appoint independent reviewers, suspend public