Believers Medical Journal (BeMJ) is committed to transparency, editorial independence, fair peer review, and the integrity of scholarly research. Authors, reviewers, editors, and others involved in the publication process are expected to disclose financial, personal, professional, academic, commercial, or institutional relationships that could reasonably influence, or appear to influence, research reporting, manuscript assessment, peer review, or editorial decisions.
This policy follows the disclosure principles outlined in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations and is informed by relevant Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and transparency principles reflected in Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) criteria.
A competing interest may arise when a secondary interest could reasonably affect, or be perceived to affect, an individual's professional judgment concerning research conduct, reporting, peer review, editorial assessment, or patient safety.
Individuals should disclose interests and relationships that are relevant to the submitted work and comply with any applicable reporting period specified by the journal's disclosure requirements. Relevant ongoing interests should be reported regardless of when the relationship or activity began.
Examples may include:
Authors are responsible for providing complete and accurate information regarding competing interests. They should:
Peer reviewers should assess whether any relationship or circumstance could affect their ability to provide an impartial evaluation. Reviewers should:
Editors are expected to maintain editorial independence and should:
Published articles should include clear Competing Interests and Funding statements within an identifiable declaration section.
The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial relationships or activities that could reasonably be perceived to have influenced the work reported in this article.
This work was supported by [Funder Name] under Grant [Number]. The role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit for publication was [describe the role or state that the funder had no such role].
When a potential competing interest is identified before publication, BeMJ may take appropriate steps to protect the independence and integrity of the editorial process, including:
Failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may be assessed according to its nature, significance, potential effect on the editorial process or published article, and the available evidence.
Depending on the circumstances, appropriate action may include:
Believers Medical Journal (BeMJ) manages competing-interest disclosures in accordance with the principles outlined in the ICMJE Recommendations and informed by relevant COPE Core Practices and DOAJ transparency principles.
This policy is reviewed periodically and may be updated when necessary to reflect changes in journal procedures, ethical standards, and scholarly publishing practices.
Authors, reviewers, and editors are responsible for providing accurate, complete, and timely competing-interest disclosures. BeMJ may assess credible concerns, request supporting information, and take proportionate editorial action in accordance with this policy and relevant publication-ethics guidance.