Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Policy Statement

ELTIN Journal: Journal of English Language Teaching in Indonesia is committed to ensuring that all editorial and publication decisions are made fairly, objectively, transparently, and independently. Authors, editors, reviewers, and other individuals involved in the publication process must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence, or appear to influence, their professional judgment.

A conflict of interest does not automatically indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may compromise the integrity, credibility, and fairness of the scholarly publication process.

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, professional, financial, institutional, or other relationships may improperly influence an individual's judgment or responsibilities in the publication process.

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

1. Financial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, grants, research funding, investments, or other financial relationships that may be affected by the publication.

2. Professional relationships: Collaboration, supervision, mentorship, competition, or other professional relationships that may influence an individual's judgment.

3. Personal relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other circumstances that may affect impartiality.

4. Institutional interests: Affiliations or responsibilities that may create pressure to favor or disadvantage particular authors, institutions, or research outcomes.

5. Intellectual or academic interests: Strong commitments to a particular theory, method, research position, or competing scholarly work that may affect objective evaluation.

This list is not exhaustive. Any circumstance that could reasonably affect impartiality should be disclosed to the Editorial Office.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript to ELTIN Journal.

Authors should:

1. Declare any financial or non-financial interests that may be relevant to the submitted research.

2. Disclose relevant funding sources, sponsorships, affiliations, and relationships that may influence the research or its interpretation.

3. Ensure that conflict-of-interest statements are accurate, complete, and consistent with the information provided in the manuscript and submission system.

4. Notify the Editorial Office if a relevant conflict becomes apparent after submission or publication.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include the following statement:

"The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

Disclosure does not necessarily prevent a manuscript from being considered for publication. The editorial team will assess whether the disclosed circumstances require additional safeguards or clarification.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could affect their editorial judgment.

An editor must not handle a manuscript when a relevant conflict compromises, or reasonably appears to compromise, their impartiality. Examples include manuscripts authored by close collaborators, current students or supervisors, family members, or individuals with whom the editor has a significant personal or professional dispute.

When a conflict exists, the editor must inform the Editor-in-Chief or another appropriate editorial authority and withdraw from the decision-making process. An independent editor should be assigned to manage the manuscript.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality, and compliance with the journal's publication standards.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively and disclose any circumstances that could affect their impartiality.

Reviewers should:

1. Inform the editorial team of any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting or continuing a review.

2. Decline the review when a conflict cannot be appropriately managed.

3. Avoid reviewing manuscripts involving close collaborators, personal relationships, significant professional competition, or other circumstances that may compromise impartiality.

4. Maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and related information.

5. Provide fair, evidence-based, constructive, and professional feedback.

The editorial team may replace a reviewer or take other appropriate measures when a conflict of interest is identified.

6. Disclosure of Funding and Sponsorship

Authors must acknowledge all funding sources that supported the research or preparation of the manuscript, where applicable.

Authors should identify the role of funders or sponsors in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the work for publication.

If funders or sponsors had no involvement in these activities, authors should state this where relevant.

Funding disclosure is separate from, but may be related to, the declaration of conflicts of interest.

7. Management of Conflicts of Interest

The Editor-in-Chief or designated editorial representative will assess disclosed conflicts and determine appropriate action.

Depending on the circumstances, actions may include:

1. Requesting additional information or clarification.

2. Publishing a conflict-of-interest statement with the article.

3. Assigning an independent editor or reviewer.

4. Reassigning editorial responsibilities.

5. Declining a review assignment or manuscript when impartiality cannot be adequately protected.

6. Taking appropriate corrective action if an undisclosed conflict is discovered after publication.

All decisions should be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the conflict and consistent with the journal's publication ethics policies.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified during peer review or after publication, the journal will assess the available evidence and provide relevant parties with an appropriate opportunity to clarify the circumstances.

Depending on the findings, the journal may request a disclosure statement, publish a correction, initiate a further investigation, or take other appropriate action under its Publication Ethics Policy and Correction and Retraction Policy.

Any action will be based on the seriousness of the issue, its potential impact on the integrity of the published work, and the evidence available.

9. Transparency and Confidentiality

Conflict-of-interest information will be handled responsibly and disclosed to readers when necessary to maintain transparency and trust in the publication process.

The journal will protect confidential information where appropriate while ensuring that relevant conflicts are managed effectively.

The disclosure and management of conflicts of interest must not be used to unfairly disadvantage authors, reviewers, editors, or other participants.

10. Compliance

All authors, editors, and reviewers participating in the publication process of ELTIN Journal are expected to comply with this policy.

By submitting a manuscript or participating in editorial assessment and peer review, individuals are expected to provide accurate information about relevant conflicts of interest and cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification.

ELTIN Journal reserves the right to take appropriate action when a conflict of interest is concealed, misrepresented, or inadequately managed.

11. Commitment to Publication Ethics

ELTIN Journal is committed to maintaining editorial independence, responsible research communication, and transparency throughout the publication process. The disclosure and appropriate management of conflicts of interest are essential to protecting the credibility of the journal and the trust of its authors, reviewers, readers, and academic community.