Conflict of Interest

The Jurnal Pendidikan Administrasi Perkantoran (JPAP) is committed to upholding integrity, objectivity, and transparency in the evaluation and publication of scholarly articles. All parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect the research process, manuscript evaluation, or publication decisions.

A Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest refers to a situation in which certain relationships or interests may influence, or may reasonably be perceived to influence, objectivity in scholarly research and publication. Such conflicts may involve financial interests, personal or family relationships, academic and professional relationships, institutional affiliations, career competition, political, ideological, or organizational interests, as well as any other relevant interests.

  1. Requirements for Authors

Authors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may affect the evaluation of the submitted manuscript. Authors must also disclose all research support, whether financial or non-financial, including funding, grants, sponsorships, and institutional support.

Conflicts of interest that must be disclosed include, but are not limited to:

  1. Financial interests, research grants, research funding, sponsorships, employment, consultancy, honoraria, or business relationships.
  2. Personal or family relationships.
  3. Academic, professional, institutional, or research collaboration relationships.
  4. Interests related to academic competition, appointments, or career advancement.
  5. Political, ideological, or organizational interests.
  6. Any other relationships or circumstances that may potentially affect the objectivity of research and publication.

Every manuscript must include a Declaration of Competing Interest. If no conflict of interest exists, authors must include the following statement: “The Authors declare no Conflict of Interest.” If a conflict of interest exists, authors are required to disclose the nature of the interest transparently in the Statement of Manuscript Authenticity document, which must be signed and submitted together with the manuscript in accordance with JPAP requirements.

  1. Reviewers

Reviewers are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may compromise their independence, objectivity, or impartiality in evaluating a manuscript. Such conflicts may arise from personal, financial, academic, professional, institutional, collaborative, competitive, or other relationships with the authors or parties associated with the research.

If a reviewer has a significant conflict of interest, the reviewer must promptly inform the editor and decline the review assignment if the conflict may compromise the objectivity of the assessment. If a conflict of interest is identified after the reviewer has accepted the assignment, the reviewer must report it immediately so that the editor can determine the appropriate course of action.

  1. Editors and the Editorial Team

Editors and members of the editorial team must refrain from handling manuscripts when they have conflicts of interest that may compromise the objectivity and independence of editorial decisions. Such conflicts may arise from personal, financial, academic, professional, institutional, collaborative, competitive, or commercial relationships with the authors or other parties associated with the manuscript.

If an editor has a conflict of interest, responsibility for handling the manuscript must be transferred to another qualified editor who does not have a similar conflict.

If the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest concerning a manuscript, the review process and editorial decision-making must be conducted independently by another qualified editor or a member of the Editorial Board who is free from such conflicts.

  1. Editorial Independence

The disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically constitute an ethical violation or provide grounds for rejecting a manuscript or excluding an individual from the editorial process. The editor will assess the nature, extent, and potential impact of the conflict to determine the appropriate measures required.

Such measures may include requesting additional disclosures, requiring withdrawal from the review process, replacing a reviewer or editor, appointing additional independent reviewers, or taking other appropriate steps to safeguard the objectivity of scholarly publication.

Publication decisions must be based on scientific quality, relevance, and compliance with publication ethics standards. Such decisions must not be influenced by manuscript processing charges, article publication fees, requests for fee reductions or waivers, sponsorships, institutional relationships, commercial interests, or any other considerations unrelated to scientific quality and ethical standards.

  1. Handling Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a significant, previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified during the editorial process, JPAP reserves the right to request an explanation or an additional statement from the relevant party. Where necessary, the review process may be temporarily suspended until the matter has been adequately clarified.

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after an article has been published, JPAP will conduct an investigation and determine the appropriate action based on the findings and the applicable publication ethics policies. Such action may include requesting clarification, issuing a Correction, adding a conflict of interest statement, or publishing another appropriate editorial notice. If a more serious violation is identified, JPAP may take further action in accordance with its Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy.

All cases will be handled proportionately, transparently, and with appropriate documentation, while maintaining the confidentiality of relevant information and safeguarding the integrity of the scholarly publication process.

  1. Policy Review

JPAP may periodically review and update this policy in response to developments in publication ethics, editorial practices, scholarly publishing standards, or other relevant requirements.