A conflict of interest (COI) statement discloses any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence your research or its interpretation, ensuring transparency and maintaining scientific integrity.
What to Include in Your Statement
Start by identifying potential conflicts across three categories: financial interests (funding, patents, consulting fees, stock ownership), professional relationships (employment, advisory roles, board memberships), and personal connections (family relationships with stakeholders, personal investments in outcomes). Even if conflicts seem minor, disclose them—journals prefer over-disclosure to omissions that could later undermine your credibility.
Writing the Statement
If you have no conflicts, use clear, direct language: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest" or "The authors have no competing interests to declare." This simple statement is sufficient and expected.
When conflicts exist, be specific and transparent. Name the entity, describe the relationship, and clarify how it relates to the research. For example: "Dr. Smith received consulting fees from PharmaCorp, which manufactures the drug evaluated in this study" or "This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant #12345). The funding body had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, or manuscript preparation."
Common Scenarios
For industry-funded research, explicitly state whether the funder influenced any aspect of the work. If co-authors work for a company whose product is studied, disclose their employment. When you hold patents related to your findings, mention them even if they're pending. Conference travel, speaker fees, and equipment donations also warrant disclosure.
Formatting Guidelines
Most journals provide specific COI statement templates in their author guidelines—always check these first. Statements typically appear after the conclusion and before references, though some journals place them on the title page or in supplementary materials. When multiple authors have different conflicts, list each author's disclosures separately.
If you're uncertain whether something qualifies as a conflict, err on the side of disclosure. WisPaper's TrueCite automatically checks citation formatting requirements across thousands of journals, helping ensure your manuscript meets specific publisher guidelines for COI statements and other required sections. Remember that transparency strengthens rather than weakens your work—it demonstrates scientific rigor and builds trust with readers and reviewers.
