Conflict of Interest Policy

Journal of English Education Studies (JEES) requires all authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process to disclose any relationships or interests that may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their professional judgment. Conflicts of interest may affect the independence of research reporting, manuscript evaluation, or editorial decisions. The purpose of this policy is to promote transparency, objectivity, and public confidence in the journal's publication process.

Conflicts of interest may be financial or nonfinancial. Financial interests include research funding, employment relationships, consultancy arrangements, honoraria, commercial sponsorship, or ownership of relevant intellectual property. Nonfinancial interests may include personal relationships, academic competition, institutional affiliations, professional commitments, or recent close research collaboration. The existence of a conflict does not automatically indicate misconduct, but relevant interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

All authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest when submitting their manuscripts. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors provide accurate declarations. Authors must also identify research funding sources and explain the role of funding organizations when relevant. If no competing interests exist, authors should include the statement: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests." Any changes in competing interests during manuscript evaluation or after publication must be communicated to the editorial team.

Reviewers must inform the editor if they have personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationships that could compromise the independence of their assessment. Reviewers should decline assignments when an objective review cannot reasonably be ensured. Similarly, editors must withdraw from handling manuscripts when they have a relevant conflict of interest. Manuscripts submitted by editors or editorial board members must be assigned to an independent editor and evaluated through the journal's normal peer-review procedures.

JEES manages conflicts of interest through appropriate measures, including disclosure, reassignment of editors or reviewers, or additional independent evaluation. Editorial decisions must be based on scientific quality, relevance, originality, methodological rigor, and ethical compliance. Financial contributions, publication charges, institutional relationships, or personal interests must not influence acceptance decisions. Undisclosed conflicts discovered after publication may result in an updated disclosure, correction, or further editorial investigation when necessary.