Conflict of Interest Policy

Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal — FMR 

1. Purpose
Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) is committed to  maintaining the highest standards of integrity and transparency in scholarly publishing.  To ensure objectivity, all participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers,  and editors—must disclose any relationships or interests that could inappropriately  influence (or be perceived to influence) their work. 

2. Definition
A conflict of interest (COI) exists when professional judgment regarding a primary  interest (such as the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest  (such as financial gain, personal relationships, or academic competition). Conflicts  may be financial, personal, academic, or institutional in nature. 

3. Author Responsibilities

  • All authors must declare any potential conflicts at the time of submission,  including:
    • Financial interests (grants, employment, consultancies, stock ownership,  honoraria, patents, etc.) 
    • Personal or professional relationships that could influence interpretation  of data 
    • Institutional affiliations or memberships that may cause bias 
  • If no conflicts exist, authors should include the statement: 

“The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of  this paper.” 

4. Reviewer Responsibilities 
• Reviewers must disclose any conflicts with the authors, institutions, or  subject matter before accepting an assignment. 

• If a reviewer feels unable to provide an impartial assessment, they must decline  the review. 

5. Editor and Editorial Board Responsibilities
• Editors and editorial board members must recuse themselves from handling  manuscripts where a potential conflict exists (such as shared authorship,  institutional affiliation, or collaboration history). 

• Decisions on such manuscripts shall be delegated to another qualified editor  without a conflict. 

6. Funding and Acknowledgements
Authors must clearly state all sources of financial support for the research and  describe the role of the sponsor (if any) in study design, data collection, analysis, and  publication. 

7. Management of Conflicts
• Disclosed conflicts will be evaluated by the editorial office to determine  appropriate actions, such as independent review or disclosure in the published  article. 

• If undisclosed conflicts are discovered after publication, FMR reserves the right  to issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, in accordance with  COPE guidelines. 

8. Transparency Statement
All declarations of conflict of interest will be published in the article’s “Conflict of  Interest” section to ensure transparency for readers.