Conflict of Interests Policy

1. General Provisions

Scientific Works «Adult Education: Theory, Experience, Prospects» follows the principle of full transparency in relation to any circumstances that may affect, or may be seen as affecting, the objectivity of submission, peer review, editorial assessment, decision-making, editing, or publication of manuscripts.

This Policy sets out the rules for identifying, declaring, assessing, and managing conflicts of interest for all participants in the editorial process: authors, co-authors, reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief, editors, members of the Editorial Board, editorial staff, guest editors, the founder/publisher, and any other persons who may influence editorial decisions.

The Journal recognises that the existence of a conflict of interest does not always mean misconduct. However, an undisclosed, hidden, or improperly managed conflict of interest creates a serious risk for trust in the editorial process and in the scholarly record.

This Policy has been developed with due regard to the recommendations of COPE, WAME, and the principles of transparency and good editorial practice. Its purpose is to ensure the independence of editorial decisions, transparency in manuscript handling, and the proper management of real, potential, and declared conflicts of interest.

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest (COI) is any financial, professional, institutional, personal, family, academic, political, ideological, legal, or other circumstance that may:

directly affect the objectivity of judgement or an editorial decision;
create a possible risk of such influence;
create a reasonable impression of bias, even if no actual influence took place.

The Journal takes into account both financial and non-financial conflicts of interest.

3. Examples of Possible Conflicts of Interest

Possible conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:

3.1. Financial interests

research funding or other financial support connected with the manuscript topic;
paid consulting, speaking fees, expert services, or honoraria;
employment or contractual relations with an organisation interested in the publication results;
ownership of shares, intellectual property rights, licences, or other financial interests;
payment for writing, translation, editing, promotion, or review of the manuscript.

3.2. Non-financial interests

recent co-authorship with the author;
work in the same institution, faculty, department, project, or management structure;
academic supervision, mentoring, consultation, examination, or other dependent professional relations;
friendship, conflict, family ties, or other close personal relations;
direct academic competition;
a strong public position about the author, the author’s institution, the topic, or the expected results of the study;
membership in organisations, committees, professional groups, or initiatives that may benefit from the publication outcomes.

4. Principles of Disclosure and Management of COI

The Journal follows these principles:

full and honest disclosure of all relevant interests;
timely declaration before a person joins the editorial process, or as soon as the relevant circumstance becomes known;
proportionate management: not every conflict automatically prevents participation, but each one must be assessed;
recusal from decision-making when objectivity cannot be ensured;
transparency for readers when a declaration should appear in the published article;
documentation of decisions about declared or identified conflicts.

5. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must:

inform the Editorial Office, at the time of submission, about all circumstances that may be considered a conflict of interest;
clearly state sources of funding, institutional support, paid consulting, project involvement, contractual relations, and other relevant links;
declare non-financial interests if they may affect the perception of the study or publication;
submit a declaration of conflict of interest or a declaration of no conflict of interest in the form required by the Journal;
promptly update this information if new circumstances appear after submission, during review, or after acceptance of the article.

If an article is accepted for publication, the Editorial Office may publish a statement in the final published version of the article under a section such as:

Conflict of Interest / Conflicts of Interest,
Declaration of Interest,
or another similar title chosen by the Journal.

If the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest, this may also be stated in the published article in a standard form.

6. Responsibilities of Reviewers

A reviewer must assess, before accepting the review invitation, whether there are any circumstances that may affect the reviewer’s impartiality.

A reviewer must:

immediately inform the Editorial Office about any real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest;
refuse the review if the conflict of interest is serious and cannot be properly managed;
not use information from the manuscript for personal, academic, institutional, or financial benefit;
not enter into unauthorised communication with the author about the manuscript;
not suggest or require citations of the reviewer’s own work, the work of the reviewer’s institution, the Journal, or third parties unless this is clearly needed for academic reasons.

Common reasons for reviewer recusal may include:

joint publications or close professional cooperation with the author;
work in the same institution or department;
a clear personal conflict or close private relationship;
direct academic competition;
participation in a project related to the manuscript.

7. Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief, Editors, and Editorial Board Members

The Editor-in-Chief, editors, and Editorial Board members must:

declare their own relevant conflicts of interest;
not take part in editorial assessment, reviewer selection, editorial discussion, or decision-making on a manuscript if a conflict of interest exists;
transfer the manuscript to an independent editor or another authorised person when recusal is necessary;
not use unpublished materials for their own benefit;
not allow personal, institutional, financial, or status-related factors to influence editorial decisions;
not support or encourage citation manipulation.

An editor or Editorial Board member must not make a decision on a manuscript if that person:

is the author or co-author of the manuscript;
works in the same management line, project, or grant as the author;
has a personal, professional, or financial interest in the outcome;
has close personal or family relations with the author;
has publicly taken a position that makes an impartial assessment impossible.

8. Submission of Manuscripts by Editors and Editorial Board Members

If a manuscript is submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, an editor, an Editorial Board member, or another person involved in editorial decision-making, a special independent procedure must be used to manage the conflict of interest.

In such cases:

the editor-author is fully excluded from all stages of the review and decision process for that manuscript;
the manuscript is transferred to another independent editor;
reviewers are selected without the participation of the editor-author;
the decision to accept, revise, or reject the manuscript is made without the interested person;
the Editorial Office records the use of this special procedure;
if necessary, the Journal may state in the published article that an independent editorial process was used.

The Journal also monitors the number of papers published by editors and Editorial Board members in the Journal in order to avoid excessive concentration and to prevent any impression of preferential treatment.

9. Responsibilities of Editorial Staff, Founder, and Publisher

Persons involved in the technical, administrative, communication, or organisational support of manuscripts, as well as the founder/publisher of the Journal, must not use their position to directly or indirectly influence editorial decisions.

If such persons have a conflict of interest, they must:

inform the Editorial Office about it;
not take part in the relevant process;
not receive access to confidential information beyond their work needs;
not use information about a manuscript, peer review, or editorial decision for their own benefit.

10. Procedure for Submitting Declarations

The Journal may use separate declaration forms for:

authors;
reviewers;
editors / Editorial Board members;
other persons involved in the editorial process.

A declaration may be submitted:

as a separate signed document;
as part of the online submission system;
as an editorial confirmation before peer review or editorial assessment begins;
again, if circumstances change.

Failure to submit a declaration, submission of incomplete information, or refusal to clarify relevant circumstances may lead to:

suspension of editorial assessment;
replacement of the reviewer;
recusal of the editor;
rejection of the manuscript;
delay of publication until the matter is clarified.

11. How the Journal Assesses and Manages COI

After receiving a declaration or information about a possible conflict of interest, the Editorial Office assesses:

the nature of the relationship;
its strength and current relevance;
its possible effect on impartiality;
the stage of the editorial process;
the need for public disclosure or recusal.

After this assessment, the Journal may:

decide that the conflict is not significant and allow participation in the process;
allow participation with public disclosure;
replace the reviewer;
transfer the manuscript to another editor;
request additional explanations or documents;
reject the manuscript;
delay or cancel publication;
start a post-publication correction, editorial note, expression of concern, or retraction.

12. Undisclosed or Hidden Conflict of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is found after submission, during peer review, or after publication, the Journal may:

ask the author, reviewer, editor, or another person for an explanation;
reassess the earlier editorial decision;
start an additional editorial or expert review;
publish a corrected declaration;
replace the reviewer or editor at the current stage;
reject the manuscript or cancel the acceptance decision;
publish a correction, editorial note, expression of concern, or retraction;
inform the institution or another competent body if this is necessary and proportionate.

The Journal treats the hiding of a significant conflict of interest as a serious breach of editorial integrity.

13. Presentation of Declarations in the Published Article

The Journal may publish a separate declaration of conflict of interest in each article.

Recommended format:

Conflict of Interest: The author(s) declare(s) no conflict of interest.
or
Conflict of Interest: The author(s) declare(s) the following circumstances: …

The Journal may also publish, where relevant:

sources of funding;
author contributions;
acknowledgements;
information on ethics approval.

14. Relation to Other Journal Policies

This Policy must be read together with the other policies.

By submitting a manuscript to the Journal, accepting an invitation to review, or taking part in the editorial process, the relevant person confirms that they have read this Policy and agree to follow it.

If an undisclosed, hidden, or improperly managed conflict of interest is identified or challenged, the editorial office reviews such cases in accordance with the Policy for the Handling of Complaints on Breaches of Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics.