Policies on Conflict of Interest, Human and Animal rights, and Informed Consent

Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

Synergy: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies is committed to promoting transparency and research integrity. As such, all authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any actual or potential competing interests (also known as conflicts of interest) that could influence—or appear to influence—the content, assessment, or publication of their submitted work.

This policy applies to:

  • Authors of all article types,

  • Editorial board members and editors, and

  • Peer reviewers involved in the evaluation process.

2. What to Disclose

Authors are required to disclose all relationships and activities that could be perceived as competing interests, regardless of whether they had an impact on the submitted work.

Disclosures should include relevant relationships or interests from the past 3 years, and earlier if the interests could reasonably be perceived as influencing the current manuscript.

Types of interests that must be disclosed include, but are not limited to:

Financial Interests

  • Research funding or grants

  • Consulting fees or honoraria

  • Employment, paid positions, or advisory roles

  • Equity interests (e.g., stocks or shares)

  • Royalties or license fees

  • Patents (filed or granted)

Non-Financial Interests

  • Membership on boards, committees, or review panels

  • Political, religious, or ideological affiliations

  • Personal or professional relationships

  • Academic competition

  • Holding editorial positions in journals

Funding Disclosure

Because funding may create or appear to create a competing interest, all funding sources must be disclosed separately in the manuscript and submission system.

3. Author Responsibilities

Authors must:

  • Include a “Competing Interests” declaration on the title page of their submission, even if there are no conflicts.

  • Provide detailed information on financial and non-financial interests relevant to the submitted work.

  • Ensure that all co-authors agree to the statement and that it is accurate at the time of submission.

If no competing interests exist, authors must include a clear statement such as:

"The authors declare no competing interests."

4. Editorial and Reviewer Responsibilities

All editors and reviewers must:

  • Declare any competing interests before handling or reviewing a manuscript.

  • Recuse themselves from the peer review process if a conflict exists, such as:

    • Previous co-authorship with an author;

    • Employment at the same institution;

    • Personal or professional relationships with the author(s);

    • Involvement in competing research.

Editors who submit articles to the journal must disclose their status and will not be involved in the editorial decision-making for their manuscript.

5. Submission Requirements

All declarations must be placed in the “Declarations” section of the title page under “Competing Interests”. The “Declarations” section should also include:

  • Funding

  • Ethics approval

  • Consent

  • Data/materials/code availability

  • Author contributions

This ensures transparency and facilitates a unified review by the editorial team.

6. Sample Disclosure Statements

Examples when there are competing interests:

Author A has received research funding from Company X. Author B is a paid consultant for Company Y. Author C owns stock in Company Z. Author D serves on the advisory board of Organization Q (unpaid).

Examples when there are no competing interests:

The authors declare that they have no known financial or non-financial competing interests that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

All authors certify that they have no affiliations or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter discussed in this manuscript.

7. Responsibility and Enforcement

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their declarations. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to:

  • Request clarification or supporting documentation;

  • Reject manuscripts with undisclosed or unresolved conflicts;

  • Publish corrections or retractions if undisclosed interests come to light post-publication.

8. Final Notes

  • Review articles and primary research articles must include a competing interests statement.

  • Editorials, opinion pieces, and book reviews may also require disclosure, depending on the content.

  • If in doubt, authors and reviewers are encouraged to err on the side of transparency.

 

Human and Animal rights

Synergy: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (SIJMDS) adheres strictly to internationally recognized ethical standards for research involving human participants, their data, or biological materials. Authors must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964, and its later amendments) or other comparable ethical frameworks applicable to their discipline and country.

1. Ethics Approval

When submitting a manuscript that involves human participants, identifiable data, or biological materials, authors must include a statement confirming that the study was approved—or granted exemption—by an appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee.

The statement must include:

  • Name of the ethics committee

  • Approval number (if available)

  • Date of approval

  • Declaration of compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki or equivalent standards

Example statements:

“This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of [Institution], Approval No. [xxx], Date: [DD/MM/YYYY], and was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments.”

“The Ethics Committee of [Institution] granted exemption from review for this observational study based on de-identified data (Approval Ref: ...).”

2. Retrospective Ethics Approval

Retrospective approval is generally not accepted. If ethics approval was not obtained before the study began, the manuscript may be rejected at the Editor’s discretion. Authors should provide justification and evidence of compliance with institutional or national policy.

3. Ethics in Retrospective Studies

Even when working with historical or secondary data, ethics approval may still be required. Authors must confirm:

  • Whether formal consent was needed or waived

  • That data use complies with national regulations and institutional guidelines

4. Ethics Approval for Case Studies

Case reports or case series must be reviewed by an ethics committee. Authors are also required to obtain informed consent from the participant or their legal guardian (see Informed Consent Policy).

5. Use of Human Cell Lines

If human-derived cell lines were used, authors must disclose:

  • Source and provider of the cell line

  • Cell line name, number, and batch

  • Whether the line was recently authenticated (and how)

  • Compliance with institutional ethics and donor consent procedures

We recommend checking the NCBI database and International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC)guidelines to avoid misidentified or contaminated cell lines.

Required example:

“The [cell line name] cell line was obtained from [Company/Repository] (Catalog No. ..., Batch No. ...). The line was authenticated using [method] and tested negative for contamination.”

6. Use of Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs)

SIJMDS encourages authors to use RRIDs for biological materials, software, and tools. These identifiers promote transparency and reproducibility.

Example RRIDs:

  • Cell Line: HEK293T, RRID:CVCL_0063

  • Antibody: Luciferase antibody, RRID:AB_2722109

  • Software: ImageJ, RRID:SCR_003070

RRIDs can be found or registered at: https://scicrunch.org/resources

7. Clinical Trial Registration

All clinical trials (Phase II–IV) must be registered in a publicly accessible registry prior to patient enrollment, such as:

Authors must include:

  • Trial registration number (TRN)

  • Date of registration

  • Whether the study was prospectively or retrospectively registered

Example for prospective registration:

Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT12345678, registered on 15/06/2024.

Example for retrospective registration:

Retrospectively registered: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT98765432, registered on 22/07/2024.

8. Reporting Standards

Authors should adhere to international reporting guidelines for biomedical research. The following checklists are recommended:

Study Type Reporting Standard
Randomized Trials CONSORT
Observational Studies STROBE
Systematic Reviews PRISMA
Case Reports CARE
Diagnostic Studies STARD
Qualitative Research SRQR, COREQ
Animal Studies ARRIVE
Study Protocols SPIRIT

For full checklists and guidelines, visit the EQUATOR Network.

9. Ethics Approval Statement (in Manuscript)

A statement on Ethics Approval must be placed in the “Declarations” section before the reference list.

Examples:

  • “This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of [Institution Name], and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. Ethics approval was granted by the [Name of Committee], Approval No. [xxx].”

  • “This is a retrospective study. Ethical approval was waived by the [Name of Committee] in view of the use of anonymized historical data.”

  • “The [Institutional Review Board] confirmed that no ethical approval was required for this research.”

10. Author Responsibility

It is the author’s responsibility to:

  • Ensure accuracy of all ethical statements

  • Comply with national laws and institutional guidelines

  • Provide documentation upon request

The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not meet ethical requirements or lack necessary approvals.

Informed Consent Policy

1. General Principle

All individuals have inherent rights to privacy, dignity, and autonomy. Any research involving human participants must safeguard these rights by ensuring that freely given, informed consent has been obtained for participation and, where applicable, for the publication of data, images, or identifying information.

This policy applies to all articles submitted to Synergy: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (SIJMDS)that include human participants, their personal data, biological materials, or images.

2. Consent to Participate

Authors must confirm that informed consent to participate in the study was obtained from:

  • All individual participants;

  • Or their legal guardian/representative, if the participant is under 16 years old or incapable of consent.

This applies to all types of studies involving human subjects, including surveys, interviews, clinical research, observational studies, and social sciences fieldwork.

Acceptable Sample Statements:

  • "Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study."

  • "Written informed consent was obtained from the parents/guardians of all child participants."

  • "Verbal informed consent was obtained prior to participation, as approved by the ethics committee of [Institution Name]."

3. Consent to Publish

Consent to participate does not automatically include permission to publish personal data, quotes, or images. Authors must:

  • Obtain written informed consent for publication from participants (or guardians/legal representatives);

  • Clearly state this in the manuscript when personal details or identifiable images are included.

Images of vulnerable populations (minors, patients, refugees) or content in sensitive contexts require explicit, documented consent.

Sample Statements:

  • "The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure 1a, 1b and 1c."

  • "The patient has provided written informed consent to publish this case report."

  • "Identifying images and data are published with the participant’s explicit written consent."

4. Identifying Information and Anonymity

Identifying details (names, birth dates, biometric data, facial features, etc.) must not be published unless:

  • It is essential for the scientific purpose, and

  • Explicit written consent has been obtained for such publication.

Masking the eye region or partial anonymization is not sufficient for protecting identity.

If consent is not obtained:

  • All identifying features must be fully anonymized.

  • Images that could lead to identification must not be published.

5. Use of Existing Data or Biological Material

If data or samples were collected previously (e.g., via biobanks or repositories), authors must:

  • Confirm that prior broad consent or specific consent for reuse has been obtained;

  • Ensure that reuse complies with the policies of the data/material provider.

For deceased individuals, consent should be obtained from the family or guardian, and the deceased’s wishes respected where known.

6. Exceptions to Consent Requirements

Consent may not be required under these conditions:

  • Use of fully anonymized data that cannot be traced to an individual.

  • Use of non-identifiable clinical images (e.g., X-rays, scans, pathology slides) unless any identifying feature is visible.

  • Reuse of images/data from prior publications, where the original publisher has verified informed consent was obtained.

In these cases, authors must still explain the exemption in the manuscript.

7. Summary of Declarations (for Authors)

All consent-related disclosures must be included in the ‘Declarations’ section of the manuscript, with the following standard headings:

➤ Consent to Participate

“Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.”

➤ Consent to Publish

“Patients signed informed consent regarding publishing their data and photographs.”

If identifiable information is published:

“Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article.”

8. Author Responsibility & Editorial Oversight

  • Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of informed consent statements.

  • The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to:

    • Request proof of written consent at any time;

    • Reject submissions that lack appropriate consent;

    • Remove or retract articles/images where consent is later found to be missing or invalid.

Important

If proper consent has not been obtained:

  • Identifying content (text/images/data) will be removed before publication;

  • The article may be retracted or replaced with a retraction notice explaining the issue.