Conflict of Interest Policy

The Journal of Multidisciplinary Education, published by CV. Cerdas Nusantara Publisher, is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness, editorial independence, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence, or appear to influence, their professional judgment.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, professional, financial, institutional, or other relationships may compromise, or be perceived to compromise, the objectivity and impartiality of research, peer review, editorial decisions, or publication.

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

Financial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, grants, funding, stock ownership, patents, or other financial benefits related to the research.
Professional or academic relationships: Collaboration, competition, supervisory relationships, or close professional associations with authors or institutions involved in a manuscript.
Personal relationships: Family relationships, friendships, personal disputes, or other circumstances that may affect impartial judgment.
Institutional interests: Affiliations or responsibilities that may influence the interpretation, evaluation, or publication of research findings.
Intellectual or ideological interests: Strong commitments or positions that may reasonably be perceived as affecting the impartial assessment of a manuscript.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically imply misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine the credibility of the publication process.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript. Disclosures should include relevant financial support, affiliations, personal or professional relationships, and other circumstances that could influence the research or its interpretation.

Authors must provide a conflict of interest statement in their manuscript. If no conflicts exist, the following statement may be used:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest that could have influenced the research, authorship, or publication of this manuscript.”

Authors must also disclose the role of funding organizations, where applicable, in the study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and decision to publish.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must evaluate manuscripts objectively and independently, without being influenced by personal relationships, institutional affiliations, financial interests, or other competing interests.

Editors who identify an actual or potential conflict of interest concerning a manuscript must disclose it to the appropriate editorial authority and recuse themselves from handling the manuscript when necessary. An alternative editor without the relevant conflict will be appointed to manage the editorial process.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scholarly merit, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and compliance with the journal's editorial policies.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their ability to provide an impartial assessment of a manuscript. Reviewers should decline an invitation when a significant conflict cannot be adequately managed.

Potential conflicts may include recent collaboration with the authors, direct competition, financial relationships, close personal relationships, or institutional connections that could compromise impartiality.

Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

5. Disclosure and Management Procedures

Conflict of interest disclosures must be submitted to the editorial office during manuscript submission or as soon as a relevant conflict becomes apparent.

The editorial team will assess disclosed conflicts and determine appropriate measures, which may include:

Requesting additional information or clarification.
Assigning an independent editor or reviewer.
Requiring a disclosure statement in the published article.
Declining to proceed with a review or editorial assignment when impartiality cannot be ensured.
Taking further action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies when a conflict has not been appropriately disclosed.

The journal may request additional disclosures at any stage of the editorial and publication process.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must identify all sources of financial support for the research, including grant numbers where applicable. The role of each funding organization in the research process must be stated clearly.

If the funder had no involvement in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decision, authors may include the following statement:

“The funder had no role in the design of the study; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; the writing of the manuscript; or the decision to publish the results.”

This statement should be used only when it accurately reflects the funder's role.

7. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after submission or publication, the journal will assess the circumstances and may request an explanation or additional disclosure from the relevant parties.

Depending on the seriousness of the issue, the journal may publish a disclosure correction, issue an expression of concern, reconsider an editorial decision, or take other appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics policies.

8. Editorial Independence

The Journal of Multidisciplinary Education seeks to ensure that editorial decisions remain independent of the interests of its publisher, sponsors, institutions, authors, and other external parties. Commercial or financial considerations must not override the journal's academic standards or influence peer-review outcomes.

All parties are expected to uphold transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsible scholarly conduct.

9. Commitment to Publication Ethics

By submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Multidisciplinary Education, authors agree to disclose relevant conflicts of interest and comply with this policy. Editors and reviewers are likewise expected to identify and manage competing interests responsibly.

The journal is committed to handling conflict of interest matters consistently and fairly to protect the integrity of the scholarly record and maintain the trust of the academic community.