Competing Interests

The guidelines presented in the following are based on the ones of other interdisciplinary journals, in particular PLOS journals, and follow best practices in ethical publishing, as suggested by the The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Collective Dynamics adheres to the guidelines published by COPE, but is not a member of COPE.

Revised April 2022.

What are Competing Interests that Need to be Declared?

Competing interests considered here are anything related to a person involved in the publishing process that does or may affect their objectivity. Examples for competing interests are given below, Any relevant competing interests need to be declared. Non-compliance will be dealt with following the COPE guidelines.

Editors, reviewers, authors, and anyone else involved in the publishing process are required to declare all relevant competing interests spanning a 5 year window prior to article submission.

Examples for financial competing interests are board memberships, employment or consultancy relationships, ownership of stocks or shares, gifts, and research or travel grants.

Examples for non-financial competing interests are membership of advisory boards, personal relationships (e.g. friend, spouse, family member), personal convictions (e.g. political or religious), and acting as an expert witness.

Authors must declare all relevant competing interests in their submission.

Editors and reviewers must declare all relevant competing interests at the earliest opportunity during the review process, to ensure they can be replaced if it is deemed their judgement may be affected.

Examples for competing interests that are especially relevant for reviewers and editors are working at the same institution as authors, collaborating with authors (current or recent, including publications or grants), financial relationships with companies that fund the submitted research, or personal relationships with authors.

How Competing Interests Affect Article Publishing

Collective Dynamics expects that editors reject manuscripts they deem to be biased in their reporting and findings due to competing interests, and that they do not involve reviewers whose judgement could be affected by competing interests in the peer review process. Relevant competing interests must be stated in published articles.