General Provisions

All authors, peer reviewers, and members of the editorial team must disclose any association that poses a Conflict of Interest in connection with manuscripts submitted to ALTRALANG Journal.

A conflict of interest includes any financial association or relationship that could influence the objectivity, integrity, or interpretation of a publication. Such conflicts of interest include relationships with corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the article. These relationships include employment, substantive ownership of stock or mutual funds, membership on a standing advisory council or committee, service on the board of directors, or public association with the company or its products. Other areas of conflict of interest could include receiving consulting fees, patent filings, serving as a paid spokesperson, or providing services in exchange for honoraria. Additional examples of possible conflicts include past or present association as a thesis advisor or thesis student, or a family relationship, such as a partner or parent–child relationship.

When a conflict of interest is disclosed either by the author or editor, a footnote describing the conflict will be included with the published article.

Conflict of Interest Policy: Authors

Authors are required, during the submission of their manuscripts, to disclose any conflict of interest and acknowledge all funding sources supporting the work. This information should be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors have been asked to disclose any conflicts of interest. Recent collaborators, defined as individuals who have coauthored a paper or were a principal investigator on a grant with the author or member within the past 48 months, must be excluded as editors and reviewers.

Conflict of Interest Policy: Reviewers and Editors

Peer reviewers and editors are asked to recuse themselves from handling a paper if the conflict makes them unable to make an impartial scholarly judgment or evaluation. Peer reviewers may not undertake a review of a manuscript if they are unable to do so objectively. A peer reviewer or editor who has a conflict but believes that it does not preclude their making a proper judgment must disclose to the journal the nature of the conflict. Editorial decisions for manuscripts commissioned or solicited by the Editor-in-Chief will not be made by that Editor-in-Chief.

Potential Conflict of Interest for Reviewers

The invitation letter to reviewers will include the following paragraph: "If you know or think you know the identity of the author, and if you feel there is any potential conflict of interest in your refereeing this paper because of your relationship with the author (e.g., in terms of close friendship or conflict/rivalry) or for any other reason, please declare it. By accepting this invitation, it is assumed there is no potential conflict of interest." The standard policy will be not to use a referee if a conflict of interest has been declared, but the editors may use their discretion after consulting with one another.

Submission by an Editor

A paper submitted by an editor will be handled by one of the other editors who does not have a conflict with the review and who is not at the same institution as the submitting editor. The other editor will select referees and make all decisions on the paper.

Submission by Author at the Same Institution as One of the Editors

A paper submitted by an author for which there is a potential conflict with an editor at the same institution will be handled by one of the other editors. The other editor will select referees and make all decisions on the paper.

Submission by a Family Member of an Editor or by an Author Whose Relationship with an Editor Might Create the Perception of Bias

A paper submitted by a family member of one of the editors, or by an author whose relationship with one of the editors might create the perception of bias (e.g., in terms of close friendship or conflict/rivalry), will be handled by another editor. The other editor will select referees and make all decisions on the paper. If in doubt, the editors will consult with the Journal editor.

ALTRALANG Journal reserves the right to publish an erratum disclosing conflict(s) of interest related to a previously published paper. Authors, referees, or editors who have deliberately or recklessly failed to disclose conflicts of interest may receive sanctions, including being banned from publishing in ALTRALANG Journal for a period of time.

This policy applies to all material published in ALTRALANG Journal.