How to fix a conflict of interest for your journal paper

Опубликовано: 16 Сентябрь 2020
на канале: University English Hub

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How to fix a conflict of interest for your journal paper? Conflicts of interest are a normal part of academic publishing. Scientific journals take conflicts of interest very seriously. Authors are typically required to state any conflicts of interest in a separate section when they submit manuscripts.

View all of our videos on preparing your research paper for submission to a journal here: https://bit.ly/3G2N3OA

=====CHAPTERS=====

0:00 Do you have a conflict of interest?
0:09 Ideal world for researchers
0:22 Real-world for researchers
0:49 Many roles for one person
1:08 Motivations can affect behavior
1:45 Academic conflict of interest: potential for misconduct
2:13 Warning! Potential for misconduct
2:47 Writing a conflict of interest statement
3:02 Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts of interest
3:29 Conflict of interest statement: Conflicts of interest to declare

=====SCRIPT OF VIDEO=====

Greetings! This is Emily, and I'd like to welcome you to this Uni-edit video.

Do you have a conflict of interest?

In an ideal world, research is objective and impartial. The facts are the facts and the academic author is the objective reporter and analyzer of these facts.

Real-world of researchers.
In the real world that you and I live in, though, authors have many interests and activities to balance. In our extended example, we will use Dr. Chang. For example, Dr Chang may be a practicing physician and serve on a journal review board and receive research funding from a pharmaceutical company and occasionally speak on behalf of a medical device company.
Many roles for one person Commonly, professionals serve many roles in society; having several sources of income is not prohibited; However, when the motivation of one role infringes upon the duties of another role, this can create a conflict of interest.

Motivations can affect behavior
If Dr. Chang receives funding from pharmaceutical company A, he might want to consciously or subconsciously report favorable findings about one of company A's drugs. He may be encouraged to prescribe the drug to his patients perhaps when another drug would be more effective or appropriate.

Conflict of interest potential for misconduct however, this does not mean Dr. Chang will necessarily report biased results. Dr. Chang cannot conduct research on company A's products just because Dr. Chang receives funding from company A does not mean he will always report results that are favorable to company A nor does it mean he cannot conduct research. Investigating company A's products is a Conflict of interest is just the potential for misconduct. A place where extra transparency can help to build trust. A conflict of interest is where human relationships, for better or worse, could affect the objectivity of the research.

Conflicts of interest are a normal part of academic publishing. A reputable researcher usually has conflicts of interest to report; however, he conducts his research honestly and ethically.

By disclosing conflicts of interest, especially research funding, in your journal submissions and papers, readers are alerted that research is a human endeavor and that the research results should be examined carefully.

However, there is a positive aspect to declaring conflicts of interest. It is an act of honesty. It says the author has nothing to hide and can be trusted.

Writing a conflict of interest statement: Scientific journals take conflicts of interest very seriously. Authors are typically required to state any conflicts of interest in a separate section when they submit manuscripts.

How to write a conflict of interest statement:

No conflicts of interest: Sometimes this statement is as simple as "Conflicts of Interest: None". A good sentence meaning the same thing is "The authors have no conflicts of interest to report".
Conflicts of Interest to declare: Even if you do have conflicts of interest to declare, a simple statement will usually still suffice. For example, "JH received funding from ACME pharmaceuticals" or "The authors declare the following conflict of interest: JH was partially funded by ACME pharmaceuticals and KY was funded by Best Chemicals Corporation."
See if your target journal has a preferred format for stating conflicts of interest in their Instructions to Authors page. If not, one of the options above should suffice.

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