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

Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

Advances in Science, Engineering and Society (ASES), published by NK Publishers, is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, and integrity in scholarly publishing. All participants in the publication process—including authors, editors, and reviewers—must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the submission, review, or publication of a manuscript.

This policy applies to:

  • Authors of all manuscript types

  • Editors and members of the editorial board

  • Peer reviewers involved in the evaluation process

2. Disclosure of Competing Interests

Authors must disclose all relationships, activities, or interests that could reasonably be considered competing interests, whether or not they directly influenced the submitted work. Disclosures should generally cover interests from the preceding three years, or earlier if they remain relevant to the current manuscript.

Competing interests may include, but are not limited to:

Financial interests

  • Research funding, grants, or sponsorship

  • Employment, consultancies, or paid advisory roles

  • Honoraria, royalties, or licensing fees

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

  • Patents or patent applications (filed or granted)

Non-financial interests

  • Academic, professional, or institutional affiliations

  • Personal or professional relationships

  • Editorial or advisory roles in journals or organizations

  • Intellectual or academic competition

  • Ideological or other interests relevant to the work

3. Funding Disclosure

All sources of financial support for the research must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript and during submission. Funding disclosures are required regardless of whether the funder had any role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or publication.

4. Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for providing complete and accurate conflict of interest disclosures and must:

  • Include a “Competing Interests” statement in the manuscript

  • Ensure that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the disclosure

  • Update disclosures if relevant circumstances change during review or after publication

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

The authors declare no competing interests.

5. Editorial and Reviewer Responsibilities

Editors and reviewers must disclose any competing interests prior to handling or reviewing a manuscript. Individuals with conflicts—such as recent collaboration with authors, institutional affiliation, personal relationships, or involvement in competing research—must recuse themselves from the review process.

Editors submitting manuscripts to ASES must declare their editorial role and will not participate in the editorial decision-making for their own submissions.

6. Placement of Declarations

Conflict of interest disclosures must be included in a designated “Declarations” or “Competing Interests” section of the manuscript. Where applicable, this section may also include statements on funding, ethics approval, consent, data or materials availability, and author contributions.

7. Enforcement and Editorial Action

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

  • Request clarification or additional information

  • Reject manuscripts with undisclosed or unresolved conflicts

  • Issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions if undisclosed conflicts are identified after publication

8. Final Provisions

All research and review articles must include a competing interests statement. Other article types may require disclosure depending on their content. When uncertainty exists, authors, editors, and reviewers are encouraged to disclose potential conflicts in the interest of transparency.

Human and Animal rights

Journal of Transformative Pedagogies and Learner Engagement (JTPLE) 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)

Journal of Transformative Pedagogies and Learner Engagement (JTPLE) 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 the Journal of Transformative Pedagogies and Learner Engagement (JTPLE) 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.