How does JMIR Publications define a Conflict of Interest (COI)? – JMIR Publications

The following is the policy for all journals published by JMIR Publications.*

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General considerations

What represents a competing interest?

A competing interest / conflict of interest (COI) is anything that interferes with, or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with, the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of research or non-research articles submitted to a JMIR journal.
Competing interests can be financial or non-financial, professional, or personal. Competing interests can arise in relationship to an organization or another person.
Disclosing all potential competing interests is a requirement at JMIR Publications and is integral to the transparent reporting of research and assurance of research integrity.
COIs of an author (for example, being the owner of a product described in the article) do not automatically disqualify an article from publication, but the key is disclosure.
Failure to disclose competing interests can result in immediate rejection of an author's manuscript. If an undisclosed competing interest comes to light after publication, JMIR Publications will take action in accordance with COPE guidelines and issue a public notification to the community or publish a corrigendum (see below).
Instances where authors nominate peer-reviewers which have an obvious competing interest, who contact or influence reviewers to submit reviews, or who assume false identities as "fake reviewers" will be treated as scientific misconduct. JMIR Publications would take appropriate steps to ensure publication integrity, which could include immediate rejection or retraction of in-process or already published manuscripts, and informing the host institution of authors about the attempted or actual misconduct. See also As author, who can/should I nominate as peer-reviewer?

What to disclose

All potential, perceived, or actual competing interests (see below) must be disclosed if they occurred within 5 years of conducting, or preparing for publication, the research under consideration.

Interests outside the 5-year time frame must also be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as competing according to the definition above.

Financial competing interests

Financial competing interests include but are not limited to:

Ownership of stocks or shares
Paid employment or consultancy
Board membership
Patent applications (pending or actual), including individual applications or those belonging to the institution to which the authors are affiliated and from which the authors may benefit
Research grants (from any source, restricted or unrestricted)
Travel grants and honoraria for speaking or participation at meetings
Gifts

Non-financial competing interests

Non-financial competing interests include but are not limited to:

Acting as an expert witness
Membership in a government or other advisory board
Relationship (paid or unpaid) with organizations and funding bodies including nongovernmental organizations, research institutions, or charities
Membership of lobbying or advocacy organizations
Writing or consulting for an educational company
Personal relationships (i.e. friend, spouse, family member, current or previous mentor, adversary) with individuals involved in the submission or evaluation of a paper, such as authors, reviewers, editors, or members of the editorial board of a JMIR journal.
The above includes previous joint co-authorship on grant proposals or papers - at the very least, such a relationship should be disclosed*
Personal convictions (political, religious, ideological, or other) related to a paper's topic that might interfere with an unbiased publication process (at the stage of authorship, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication)
if authors evaluate innovations and software (e.g. apps) that they have created themselves or where they were involved in the development process - whether or not they have financial interests - then this should be made clear either in the paper themselves, or be disclosed in the COI section. Similarly, reviewers who review evaluation papers of products/services/innovations/software/apps which they have developed (or where they were involved in the development process) must disclose this in the review form. (JMIR Publications requirements/clarifications, added March 15, 2018)

Who must disclose competing interests?

Authors

At the time of submission, authors must state what competing interests are relevant to the submitted research. These may include but are not limited to:

Names of all funding sources (in the Acknowledgements section)
Description of funder’s role in the study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the paper; and/or decision to submit for publication (in the Acknowledgements section)
Whether they have served or currently serve on the editorial board of the journal to which they are submitting (in the Conflicts of Interest section). Papers submitted by editors (Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, or Editorial Board members) of JMIR Publications journals will be assigned to academic editors without any conflict of interest to ensure the paper can be handled according to COPE best practices.
Whether they have acted as an expert witness in relevant legal proceedings (in the Conflicts of Interest section)
Whether they have sat or currently sit on a committee for an organization that may benefit from publication of the paper (in the Conflicts of Interest section)
Whether they or their family members work for or own stocks or stock options of the company which developed or owned the app/product evaluated/discussed in the paper, or benefit otherwise financially from publication of the article (in the Conflicts of Interest section)*
Whether they were involved in the development of the innovation/software/app they have been evaluating* (JMIR requirements/clarifications, added March 15, 2018)

Important: When authors are providing suggested peer reviewers upon submission of a manuscript, they must adhere to this guidance on As an author, who can/should I nominate as a peer reviewer?

Peer reviewers

All reviewers must disclose their competing interests (see peer-review form) and if necessary recuse themselves from involvement in the assessment of a manuscript.

Common reasons for peer reviewers to recuse themselves from the peer review process may include but are not limited to:

They work at the same institution or organization as an author, currently or recently
They collaborate with an author, currently or recently
They have published with an author during the past 5 years
They have held grants with an author, currently or recently
They have a personal relationship with an author that does not allow them to evaluate the manuscript objectively
they or their family members work for or own stocks or stock options of the company which developed or owned the app/product evaluated/discussed in the paper, or benefit otherwise financially from publication of the article
Whether they were involved in the development of the innovation/software/app which is discussed or evaluated in the paper they are reviewing* (JMIR requirements/clarifications, added March 15, 2018)

Peer reviewers must disclose competing interests and, if necessary based on too strong a competing interest, decline the review request.

If a peer reviewer is considering submitting a review through open peer review, then they should not self-nominate for a peer review if they identify COI. See also: What is open peer-review?

Peer reviewers who submit a peer review without disclosing COI that is later identified by the editor or editorial staff, or who otherwise attempt to engage in manipulation of the peer review process, may risk the following:

Potential exclusion of their peer review report from the editorial process;
Other actions, in accordance with COPE guidance, on potential peer review manipulation, fraud, or, more generally, scientific misconduct.

Editors

Common reasons for JMIR Publications editors in any capacity, including as Guest Editors, to recuse themselves from editorial handling may include but are not limited to:

They are an author on the manuscript submitted to the theme issue
They work at the same institution or organization as an author, currently or recently
They collaborate with an author, currently or recently
They have published with an author during the past 5 years
They have held grants with an author, currently or recently
They have a personal relationship with an author that does not allow them to evaluate the manuscript objectively
They or their family members work for or own stocks or stock options of the company which developed or owned the app/product evaluated/discussed in the paper, or benefit otherwise financially from publication of the article
Whether they were involved in the development of the innovation/software/app which is discussed or evaluated in the paper they are reviewing* (JMIR requirements/clarifications, added March 15, 2018)

For Editors (Editorial Board members), also refer to: (for editors) What is an editorial conflict of interest?

For Guest Editors, also refer to: How to guest edit a theme issue

All editors who agree to provide editorial services at JMIR Publications are required to sign an agreement to adhere to JMIR Publications COI and publication ethics policies. Additionally, each editor must complete COI disclosure before beginning their term of service, and then review and update this disclosure on an annual basis.

Editorial Actions and Decisions

JMIR Publications editors must take all competing interests into account during the review process and ensure that any relevant ones are disclosed in the published article.
JMIR Publications editors will not publish commissioned or any other non-research articles if they are aware of a competing interest that, in their judgment, could introduce bias or a reasonable perception of bias.
JMIR Publications editors do not consult reviewers who have competing interests that, in the editors' judgment, could interfere with unbiased review.

Readers

Anyone who comments on published JMIR Publications articles (e.g. in a letter to the editor or online) must disclose all competing interests (financial or non-financial) at the time of posting the comment.

Post-Publication Procedures for Undisclosed COIs

Peer reviewers should comment on undisclosed author COIs that they identify during the peer review process; they can add such comments to the review form, prior to publication (e.g. "through a Google search I found that the submitting author is owning a company which owns the app - this was not disclosed").
Readers are invited to bring cases of undisclosed COIs in published manuscripts to our attention (support@jmir.org), post publication. We will follow the COPE Procedures to investigate undeclared COIs, which may lead to publication of a corrigendum, or (in severe cases) retraction of the article and/or notification of the authors' institution.

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