Conflicts of interest (sometimes referred to as 'competing interests') occur when outside issues affect, or are perceived to affect, the neutrality or objectivity of research.

It may occur at any stage of the research cycle, including during the experimental phase, while a manuscript is being written, or during the process of converting a manuscript to a published article.

Conflicts of interest do not always stop work from being published or prevent someone from being involved in the review process. However, they must be declared. An explicit declaration of all possible conflicts – whether they had any influence or not – allows others to make informed decisions about the work and its review process.

If conflicts of interest are identified after publication, this may be embarrassing for authors, editors, and journals. It may be necessary to publish a corrigendum or reassess the review process.

Conflicts for the authors are most often associated with the risk of bias in a manuscript. If the authors have any interest or association that could be seen to have influenced the Editor's decision-making process, the authors should ensure that it is declared at the time of submission.

The authors may be asked to make specific changes to the manuscript as a result of the declaration. These requests are not an accusation of impropriety. The Editor or Reviewer is helping to protect the author's work against potential criticisms.

If the authors are in any doubt about declaring a potential conflict, remember that if it is revealed later – especially after publication – it could cause more problems than merely declaring it at the time of submission. Undeclared conflicts of interest could lead to a corrigendum or retraction in the most severe cases.

As a member of a journal's Editorial Board, editors need to be very aware of the risk of conflicts when handling a manuscript. Firstly, the Editor should assess the author's potential conflicts. If the Editor has recently co-authored with the author of the manuscript, the Editor could be perceived to be influenced by the Editor's relationship. Similarly, if the Editor has recently shared an affiliation or employment history with the author, it could also be seen to be inappropriate for the Editor to handle their work.

The Medical Science Journal for Advance Research aims to avoid assigning papers to Editors who might have conflicts, but we also expect our Editors to declare any conflicts. If the Editor believes a conflict exists, the Editor should refuse to handle the manuscript.

As a subject expert, the journal relies on the Editor's knowledge of the discipline to assess any conflicts declared by a submitting author. The Editor is also uniquely placed to identify any undeclared conflicts that an author might have.

Discretion may be applied when publications are authored by a consortium. If the Editor has concerns about a potential reviewer, consider appointing someone else.

The Medical Science Journal for Advance Research is aware that certain specialist areas may involve a higher likelihood of association and overlap between researchers. In some instances, the Editor may be the best-placed individual to act as Editor despite a connection with the author or authors. In this case, the authors should inform the journal editorial contact, who can then refer the case for review by the Research Integrity team.

By agreeing to peer review a manuscript, reviewers are providing an essential neutral assessment. As such, Editors should ensure that reviewers have no conflicts of interest that could prevent them from conducting a fair review.

Reviewers should ensure that they have no recent association with the author and have not previously co-authored with them. Reviewers should also not have a recent shared employment history.

All research must have been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework. If there is a suspicion that work has not taken place within an appropriate ethical framework, Editors may reject the manuscript or contact the author(s)' ethics committee.

Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data must have been performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee.

Experimental research on vertebrates or any regulated invertebrates must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines and, where available, should have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee.

A statement detailing compliance with relevant guidelines and ethical approval, including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate, must be included in the manuscript.

If an exemption has been granted for a study from the requirement for ethical approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript, including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption and the reasons for the exemption.