Political Conflict of Interest
Conflict of Interest Policy
Investigación y Pensamiento Crítico Journal (IPC)
1. Objective
The Research and Critical Thinking Journal (IPC) is committed to transparency, objectivity, and scientific integrity at all stages of the editorial process.
This policy aims to prevent personal, professional, institutional, or financial interests from influencing, or being perceived as influencing, decisions related to the evaluation, acceptance, editing, and publication of manuscripts.
This policy applies to:
authors;
reviewers;
editors;
members of the Editorial Committee;
members of the Scientific Council;
personnel involved in the editorial process.
2. Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest is defined as any circumstance that may compromise, or appear to compromise, the objectivity, independence, or impartiality of a person during the editorial process.
Conflicts of interest may be:
financial;
employment-related;
institutional;
academic;
personal;
familial;
professional;
Political;
Commercial.
The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply inappropriate conduct; however, it must be declared promptly so that it can be managed appropriately.
3. Authors' Responsibilities
All authors must declare any conflict of interest that could influence the interpretation of the results presented in the manuscript.
Among other things, they must report:
funding received;
consultancies;
equity participation;
employment relationships;
research contracts;
professional fees;
related patents;
affiliations with participating institutions.
When no conflicts of interest exist, this must be expressly stated in the manuscript:
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this research.
4. Reviewers' Responsibilities
Reviewers must decline the invitation to evaluate a manuscript when any circumstance exists that could affect their impartiality.
These include:
recent collaboration with any of the authors;
Membership in the same research group;
academic supervision relationship;
direct scientific competition;
family or personal relationship;
financial interests related to the study.
If a potential conflict is identified after accepting the review, the reviewer must immediately inform the Editor.
5. Editors' Responsibilities
Editors must act with absolute independence and objectivity in all editorial decisions.
When an editor has a conflict of interest regarding a manuscript, they must completely abstain from participating in:
the assignment of reviewers;
the editorial evaluation;
the acceptance or rejection decision;
any communication related to said manuscript.
In these cases, the Editor-in-Chief will assign the editorial process to another editor without a conflict of interest.
6. Editorial Committee Responsibilities
Members of the Editorial Committee must declare any situation that could affect their independence during the evaluation of a manuscript.
No member of the Editorial Committee will participate in decisions related to works:
authored by themselves;
Prepared by family members;
originating from their research group;
developed in institutions where a direct employment relationship exists that could affect their objectivity.
7. Management of Conflicts of Interest
When a conflict of interest is identified, the journal may take one or more of the following measures:
appoint a new responsible editor;
appoint alternative reviewers;
request additional information from the authors;
require supplementary declarations;
temporarily suspend the editorial process;
reject the manuscript when the conflict compromises scientific integrity.
8. Funding Declaration
Authors must report all sources of funding that have contributed to the development of the research.
The declaration must include, where applicable:
funding institution;
project number;
grants;
contracts;
institutional support.
The existence of funding does not in itself constitute a conflict of interest, but it must be communicated transparently.
9. Confidentiality
All information related to potential conflicts of interest will be treated with strict confidentiality by the Editorial Committee.
The journal will use this information solely to ensure the transparency and impartiality of the editorial process.
