When publishing an article as an author, you are required to declare any ‘conflicts of interest’. These are agreements, situations, or relationships that may influence the motivations behind a research publication and compromise professional objectivity.
Public trust in scientific research is dependent on the authors being transparent about any relations or agreements. This is because, in the long run, they can impact the public perception of any authors or institutions affiliated with the research—especially if these relationships or agreements are viewed in a negative light.
Authors must be aware of various examples of conflicts of interest and the consequences of not declaring them. This is particularly useful for young academics, who may be less equipped to recognize and deal with conflicts of interest. Here, we’ll explain what they are and how best to deal with them.
What are conflicts of interest?
The reasons for an author or authors publishing their research are numerous. They may see it as an opportunity to collaborate and build their publication portfolio, or they may simply want to help the progression of science. In such cases, authors are generally operating from their own interests or the broader interests of the scientific community.
Conflicts of interest, however, interfere with an author’s motivations. But what are conflicts of interest? Well, we can refer to them as ‘competing interests’. These occur when authors are motivated to publish research because they are involved with other parties in financially or non-financially beneficial agreements.
Here are some examples of financial conflicts of interest:
- Memberships
- Employment offered as fulfilment of conditions
- Consultancies
- Stocks/shares ownership
- Honoraria
- Grants or other funding paid by an entity to the author or organization
While financial conflicts of interest are generally easier to identify, there are also non-financial conflicts of interest to be wary of. Here are some examples:
- Personal or professional relationships
- Affiliations
- Personal beliefs perceived to be relevant to the published content
Conflicts of interest must be declared to ensure transparency, maintain public trust, and prevent unethical or biased decision-making. There are specific guidelines to follow when declaring such instances. Let’s take a look at them.
Disclosing conflicts of interest
Understanding the impact of conflicts of interest is critical. An analysis by the Retraction Watch Database indicated that between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2020, about 1% of article retractions were due to conflicts of interest. In circumstances where they must be declared, authors must know how to do so correctly.
Authors can usually disclose potential issues via the online submission system during the submission process. The corresponding author(s) must include a summary statement in the manuscript in a separate section entitled “Conflicts of Interest” placed just before the reference list. The statement should reflect all the collected potential conflict of interest disclosures in the form.
Here are some examples of disclosures:
- Author A has received research grants from Company A.
- Author B has received a speaker honorarium from Company X and owns stocks in Company Y.
- Author C has been involved as a consultant and expert witness in Company Z.
- Author D is the inventor of patent X.
If no conflicts exist, the authors should state: “Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
Consequences of not disclosing
Disclosing conflicts of interest isn’t just a safeguard to ensure transparency and trust; it’s also to protect all those involved in the research from unintended consequences.
The consequences of not disclosing conflicts of interest are often serious. They can include reputational damage, legal action, fines, and restrictions. While these consequences can be problematic for all academics, they can be particularly devastating for young academics.
Young academics are at the start of their career. The advancement of their career depends on young academics establishing credibility and professionalism within their research community. By successfully establishing themselves in these regards, young academics open the door to future career opportunities.
However, by failing to declare any conflicts of interest and becoming involved in reputational, financial, or legal repercussions, this door can quickly close. Young academics risk damaging their own reputation as well as that of any institutional affiliations they may have. Additionally, they may lose out on grants and future funding opportunities.
Young academics perhaps don’t have the awareness or experience to foresee potential issues or their impact. Despite this inexperience, they are still subject to the same ethical standards as other, more experienced academics.
Staying vigilant as a young academic
Given their inexperience or lack of knowledge surrounding potential conflicts of interest, young academics need to remain vigilant of circumstances that may affect them negatively.
One way of remaining vigilant is by engaging with educational material. A study involving 15 PhD students from the University of Bath looked at how financial conflicts of interest resulting from corporate funding of research can bias results. Their findings demonstrated that even a short educational intervention aided researchers in their confidence and ability to make informed decisions about accepting corporate funding.
In addition to engaging with educational material, it’s useful for a young academic to have someone they can ask for advice. This may be an academic tutor or someone with experience within academia. Even if they don’t have a direct answer for their query, they may be able to point young academics in the right direction for further clarification.
Preprints and conflicts of interest
Preprints are a beneficial method of publishing research for young academics. Despite foregoing traditional peer review in order to disseminate research findings quickly, Preprints.org ensures that all conflicts of interest in the publication of a preprint are disclosed.
To ensure that authors follow the correct procedure, Preprints.org has specific instructions for authors on conflicts of interest.
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