Policies on Ethics, Conflict of Interest, and Informed Consent

1. Commitment to Publication Ethics

Synergy: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (SIJMDS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, transparency, and academic accountability.

The journal adheres to internationally recognized principles, including:

SIJMDS does not reproduce these guidelines in full. Authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to comply with the most current versions available at the official sources above.

2. Conflict of Interest Policy

2.1 Purpose

All authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the submitted work.

Transparency allows readers to assess the objectivity and independence of research.

2.2 Scope of Disclosure

All relevant relationships from the previous three years must be disclosed, and earlier relationships if they may reasonably appear relevant.

Financial Interests

  • Research funding or grants

  • Consulting fees or honoraria

  • Employment or paid advisory roles

  • Equity interests (stocks, shares)

  • Royalties

  • Patents (filed or granted)

Non-Financial Interests

  • Board or committee memberships

  • Political or advocacy affiliations

  • Ideological commitments relevant to the research

  • Academic competition

  • Personal or professional relationships

  • Editorial positions in other journals

2.3 Funding Disclosure

All sources of financial support must be clearly identified in the manuscript under Funding.

If no funding was received, authors must state:

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

2.4 Editorial and Reviewer Conflicts

Editors and reviewers must:

  • Disclose any conflicts of interest

  • Recuse themselves if conflicts exist (e.g., recent collaboration, shared institution, supervisory relationship, personal relationship)

If a submission is authored by a member of the Editorial Board, the manuscript will be handled independently to ensure impartiality.

2.5 Required Competing Interests Statement

All manuscripts must include under Declarations → Competing Interests:

Example (no conflicts):

The authors declare no competing interests.

Example (with conflicts):

Author A received funding from Organization X. Author B serves as a consultant for Company Y.

3. Research Ethics (Human Participants and Data)

SIJMDS publishes multidisciplinary research. When research involves human participants, personal data, interviews, surveys, or fieldwork, ethical standards must be upheld.

3.1 Ethics Approval

Where required, authors must provide:

  • Name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board

  • Approval/reference number (if available)

  • Date of approval

Example:

This study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee of [University Name], Approval No. [XXX], dated [DD/MM/YYYY].

If ethics approval was not required:

According to institutional guidelines, ethical approval was not required for this study.

Retrospective approval is generally not acceptable.

3.2 Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

Research involving minors, marginalized communities, refugees, or other vulnerable groups must demonstrate appropriate ethical safeguards and, where applicable, guardian consent.

3.3 Use of Public or Secondary Data

If publicly available or fully anonymized data are used, authors must confirm:

  • The dataset is publicly accessible or anonymized

  • No identifiable personal information is disclosed

Example:

This study used publicly available anonymized datasets. No ethical approval was required.

4. Informed Consent Policy

4.1 Consent to Participate

Informed consent must be obtained for research involving:

  • Interviews

  • Surveys

  • Focus groups

  • Field observations

  • Collection of personal data

Example:

Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.

For minors:

Written informed consent was obtained from parents or legal guardians.

4.2 Consent to Publish Identifiable Information

If identifiable information (names, photographs, direct quotations linked to individuals) is included, explicit written consent for publication must be obtained.

Partial anonymization (e.g., masking faces) may not be sufficient to protect identity.

If consent is not obtained, identifying details must be removed prior to publication.

4.3 When Consent May Not Be Required

Consent may not be required when:

  • Data are fully anonymized

  • Information is publicly available

  • No individual can reasonably be identified

Authors must clearly state the basis for exemption.

5. Data Integrity and Research Misconduct

SIJMDS does not tolerate:

  • Plagiarism

  • Data fabrication or falsification

  • Image manipulation

  • Duplicate or redundant publication

  • Authorship manipulation

  • Citation manipulation

  • Peer review manipulation

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software.

Allegations of misconduct are investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines.

6. Post-Publication Ethics: Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

SIJMDS is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

Post-publication action may be taken in cases including, but not limited to:

  • Plagiarism

  • Data fabrication or falsification

  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest

  • Ethical approval deficiencies

  • Lack of informed consent

  • Authorship disputes

  • Significant methodological errors

  • Peer review manipulation

  • Legal or copyright violations

6.1 Corrections

Corrections (Erratum or Corrigendum) are issued for honest errors that do not invalidate the findings.

6.2 Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when an investigation is ongoing and concerns are serious but not yet conclusive.

6.3 Retractions

Retractions are issued when findings are unreliable due to misconduct or major error.

Retracted articles remain accessible but are clearly marked and linked to a transparent retraction notice.

The purpose of retraction is to correct the literature, not to punish authors.

6.4 Investigation Process

When concerns arise:

  1. The Editor-in-Chief conducts a preliminary assessment.

  2. Authors are contacted and given an opportunity to respond.

  3. Supporting documentation may be requested.

  4. Independent experts may be consulted.

  5. A final decision is made following COPE guidance.

Institutions may be notified where appropriate.

7. Required “Declarations” Section

All manuscripts must include a unified Declarations section before the References, containing:

  • Funding

  • Competing Interests

  • Ethics Approval (if applicable)

  • Consent to Participate (if applicable)

  • Consent to Publish (if applicable)

  • Data Availability

  • Author Contributions

8. Editorial Oversight and Accountability

The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to:

  • Request documentation supporting ethical statements

  • Reject manuscripts lacking required disclosures

  • Remove identifying information where consent is inadequate

  • Issue corrections or retractions when necessary

All decisions are made independently and based solely on academic merit and ethical compliance.

9. Transparency and Continuous Review

SIJMDS periodically reviews its ethical policies to ensure alignment with international publishing standards and best practices.

When in doubt, authors, editors, and reviewers are encouraged to prioritize transparency.