Conflict of Interest

The Journal of Language and Pragmatics Studies (JLPS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, transparency, and academic integrity. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may influence, or be perceived to influence, the objectivity, integrity, or impartiality of research and publication decisions.

A conflict of interest may arise from financial, professional, personal, academic, or institutional relationships that could affect the conduct of research, the interpretation of findings, the peer-review process, or editorial decision-making. Such conflicts may include, but are not limited to, employment, consultancies, honoraria, research funding, financial investments, personal relationships, professional affiliations, competing academic interests, institutional commitments, or other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing scholarly judgment.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript to JLPS. All relevant financial support, funding sources, affiliations, and relationships that may influence the research should be clearly stated in the manuscript.

In language and pragmatics research, potential conflicts may also arise from relationships with research participants, language communities, institutions, organizations, or individuals whose communication practices, linguistic data, or professional interests are examined in the study. Authors should disclose any relevant relationships that could affect the collection, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of research findings.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include the following declaration:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

The disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. Editorial decisions are based on the quality, originality, relevance, and scholarly integrity of the submitted work.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must ensure that editorial decisions are made fairly, objectively, and independently. Editors who have a conflict of interest concerning a submitted manuscript must disclose the conflict and withdraw from handling the manuscript when necessary. In such cases, an independent editor will be assigned to manage the review and decision-making process.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through the editorial process for personal advantage or allow personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationships to compromise editorial integrity.

Editors should also ensure that manuscripts involving close collaborators, institutional colleagues, research partners, or individuals with whom they have competing academic interests are handled through appropriate independent editorial arrangements.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to provide an objective and impartial assessment of a manuscript. If a reviewer identifies a potential conflict, they should notify the editor and decline the review when impartiality cannot reasonably be maintained.

Potential conflicts may include personal relationships with the authors, recent collaboration, institutional affiliation, direct competition in a research area, or involvement in research that substantially overlaps with the manuscript under review.

Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and must not use unpublished information, linguistic data, theoretical arguments, or research findings for personal, professional, or academic benefit.

4. Management of Conflicts of Interest

JLPS will evaluate disclosed conflicts of interest and take appropriate measures to safeguard the integrity and transparency of the publication process. Such measures may include requesting additional disclosures, assigning an independent editor or reviewer, documenting relevant relationships, or taking other appropriate actions in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in editorial action, including rejection of a manuscript, correction of a published article, publication of an appropriate editorial notice, or retraction when warranted by the circumstances and applicable publication ethics standards.

Where necessary, the journal may request additional information from authors, editors, or reviewers to clarify the nature and potential influence of a disclosed conflict.

5. Commitment to Transparency

JLPS recognizes that the disclosure and appropriate management of conflicts of interest are essential to maintaining trust among authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and the wider academic community. The journal is committed to handling all disclosures confidentially and fairly while ensuring that relevant information is reported transparently when necessary.

Through this policy, the Journal of Language and Pragmatics Studies (JLPS) seeks to uphold publication ethics, promote responsible research practices, and ensure that editorial and peer-review decisions are based on scholarly merit rather than competing interests. By encouraging full disclosure and impartial evaluation, JLPS aims to maintain the credibility, reliability, and integrity of research in language studies, pragmatics, linguistics, discourse analysis, applied linguistics, and related fields.