Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Policy Statement

KOMUNITAS: Jurnal Ilmu Sosiologi (COMMUNITY: Journal of Sociology), published by the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Pattimura University, is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, academic independence, and integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process.

The journal recognizes that actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest may arise in research, manuscript preparation, peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication. All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members, are required to disclose relevant interests that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their professional judgment.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that editorial and scholarly decisions are based on academic merit, methodological rigor, originality, relevance, and compliance with publication ethics, rather than personal, financial, institutional, or other competing interests.

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual's personal, financial, professional, institutional, or other interests could compromise, influence, or reasonably appear to compromise their objectivity in conducting research, evaluating a manuscript, making editorial decisions, or interpreting scholarly findings.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may undermine the credibility of the research and the integrity of the editorial process.

Conflicts of interest may be actual, potential, or perceived and may arise in circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:

• Financial interests: Employment, consultancies, honoraria, research grants, funding, paid expert services, investments, or other financial relationships that may be affected by the research or publication.
• Personal relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may influence professional judgment.
• Professional interests: Academic competition, collaborative relationships, career advancement, professional rivalry, or other interests that could affect the impartial evaluation of a manuscript.
• Institutional interests: Affiliations, administrative responsibilities, organizational commitments, or institutional relationships that may influence research interpretation or editorial decisions.
• Intellectual interests: Strong theoretical, ideological, political, or scholarly commitments that could reasonably affect the objective assessment of research evidence or competing interpretations.
• Research-related interests: Involvement in the research being evaluated, ownership of relevant intellectual property, or other interests that may affect the assessment of its findings.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to KOMUNITAS: Jurnal Ilmu Sosiologi must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that are relevant to the submitted work.

Authors are responsible for:

1. Identifying and disclosing financial and non-financial interests that may reasonably be considered relevant to the research.
2. Declaring funding sources, sponsorships, institutional support, and other relationships that may influence the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or reporting.
3. Disclosing relevant personal, professional, or institutional relationships that could reasonably affect the objectivity of the work.
4. Ensuring that all co-authors are informed of relevant competing interests and that disclosures are accurate and complete.
5. Providing additional information or clarification when requested by the editorial team.

Disclosures should be included in a dedicated Conflict of Interest or Competing Interests statement in the manuscript. Where no relevant conflict exists, authors should explicitly state:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The absence of a conflict of interest does not eliminate the obligation to disclose research funding and other relevant support in the appropriate section of the manuscript.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and independently. Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must consider whether any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest could affect their ability to provide an impartial assessment.

Relevant circumstances may include:

• Current or recent collaboration with one or more of the manuscript's authors.
• Shared institutional affiliation or a close professional relationship that may compromise impartiality.
• Personal relationships, disputes, or competing interests involving the authors.
• Direct involvement in competing research that could be materially affected by the manuscript's publication.
• Financial or other interests connected to the research topic or its findings.

Reviewers must promptly disclose relevant conflicts to the editor and decline the review when the conflict may compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality. The editor may determine whether the reviewer can proceed with appropriate safeguards or whether an alternative reviewer should be appointed.

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

5. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members must exercise independent judgment and ensure that editorial decisions are based on the scholarly quality, originality, relevance, and ethical compliance of submitted manuscripts.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling a manuscript whenever their impartiality may reasonably be questioned. This includes circumstances involving:

• Authorship or co-authorship of the manuscript under consideration.
• Close personal or professional relationships with one or more authors.
• Direct institutional, financial, or collaborative interests in the research.
• Personal disputes, professional competition, or other circumstances that may compromise objective judgment.

When a conflict arises, the editor-in-chief or another appropriately independent editor will assign the manuscript to an alternative editor. The handling editor must not participate in the relevant editorial decision while recused.

Manuscripts submitted by the editor-in-chief, members of the editorial team, or editorial board members must be handled through an independent editorial process. The submitting editor must not influence reviewer selection, peer-review outcomes, or publication decisions concerning their own manuscript.

6. Disclosure of Funding and Research Support

Authors must disclose financial support and other material assistance relevant to the research, including grants, institutional funding, sponsorships, research contracts, and support from public or private organizations.

Where applicable, authors should identify the funding organization and explain whether the funder had any role in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the work for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, authors may state:

The funder had no role in the design of the study; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; the preparation of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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

7. Management of Disclosed Conflicts

Disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. The editorial team will assess the nature, relevance, and potential impact of each disclosed interest and determine whether additional safeguards are necessary.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

• Request further information or clarification from the relevant party.
• Require a more detailed disclosure statement in the manuscript.
• Assign the manuscript to an independent editor or appoint alternative reviewers.
• Implement additional safeguards to protect the impartiality of peer review and editorial decision-making.
• Decline a review assignment or require an editor or reviewer to withdraw from the process.
• Reject a manuscript or take other appropriate action if a conflict cannot be managed adequately or if material information has been deliberately concealed.

All decisions will be proportionate to the circumstances and guided by the principles of fairness, transparency, confidentiality, and academic integrity.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If the journal discovers that a relevant conflict of interest was not disclosed, the editorial team will assess the circumstances, the significance of the omitted information, and its potential effect on the research or publication process.

Depending on the findings, the journal may request a correction or additional disclosure, reconsider an editorial decision, initiate an investigation, or take appropriate post-publication action. For published articles, such action may include a correction notice, an expression of concern, or retraction when warranted by the evidence and the seriousness of the issue.

Where there is credible evidence of deliberate concealment or related research misconduct, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or other appropriate authority.

9. Confidentiality and Transparency

Conflict of interest disclosures will be handled with due regard for confidentiality and the integrity of the editorial process. Relevant information may be shared with individuals responsible for evaluating or managing the conflict, where necessary.

The journal may publish conflict of interest statements alongside articles to ensure transparency for readers. Such disclosures are intended to help readers assess the context in which the research was conducted and should not be interpreted as evidence of misconduct in themselves.

10. Policy Compliance and Review

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are expected to comply with this policy throughout submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, publication, and post-publication assessment.

The journal may request written declarations or additional documentation when necessary to verify compliance. This policy will be reviewed periodically to maintain consistency with recognized publication ethics standards and developments in scholarly publishing.

Final Statement

KOMUNITAS: Jurnal Ilmu Sosiologi is committed to ensuring that competing interests are disclosed and managed responsibly. Transparency, impartiality, and accountability are essential to protecting the credibility of published research and maintaining the trust of authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider academic community.