11. Funding Disclosure

Purpose

The Pakistan Journal of Gastroenterology (PJG) is committed to promoting transparency and integrity in scholarly publishing. Authors are required to disclose all sources of financial support for the research, manuscript preparation, and publication. Full disclosure enables readers, reviewers, and editors to assess any potential influence of funding on the research findings.

This policy is based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

11.1 Funding Disclosure Requirement

All submitted manuscripts must include a Funding Statement, regardless of whether financial support was received.

Authors must clearly indicate:

  • The name of the funding organization(s).
  • Grant or award number(s), where applicable.
  • The recipient(s) of the funding.
  • The role of the funding organization in the research.

If no funding was received, authors must explicitly state this in the manuscript.

11.2 Sources of Funding

Funding may include, but is not limited to:

  • Government research grants.
  • University or institutional funding.
  • Research foundations.
  • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
  • International agencies.
  • Industry or commercial sponsors.
  • Charitable organizations.
  • Internal departmental research funds.

All financial support relevant to the submitted work must be disclosed.

11.3 Role of the Funder

Authors must describe the involvement of the funding organization in any aspect of the research, including:

  • Study design.
  • Data collection.
  • Data analysis.
  • Interpretation of results.
  • Manuscript preparation.
  • Decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

If the funder had no role in these activities, authors should clearly state this.

Example:

The funding agency had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to publish.

11.4 No Funding

If the research did not receive any specific financial support, the following statement (or a similar statement) should be included:

Funding Statement: The authors declare that no specific funding was received for this research from any public, commercial, or not-for-profit funding agency.

11.5 Conflict of Interest

Disclosure of funding does not replace the requirement to disclose Conflicts of Interest (COI).

Authors must complete both the Funding Disclosure and the Conflict of Interest Declaration independently.

11.6 Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Office may request:

  • Additional information regarding funding sources.
  • Copies of grant award letters where necessary.
  • Clarification regarding the role of sponsors.
  • Corrections if funding information is incomplete or inaccurate.

Failure to provide accurate funding information may delay editorial processing.

11.7 Changes After Submission

If funding information changes after manuscript submission, the Corresponding Author must immediately notify the Editorial Office.

Where necessary, funding statements will be updated before publication or corrected after publication to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

11.8 Author Responsibility

The Corresponding Author is responsible for ensuring that:

  • All funding sources have been accurately disclosed.
  • Grant numbers and funding agency names are correct.
  • The role of the funder has been clearly described.
  • All co-authors have reviewed and approved the Funding Statement.

Providing false or misleading funding information constitutes publication misconduct and may result in editorial action.

11.9 Compliance

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

  • All sources of financial support have been disclosed.
  • The Funding Statement is complete and accurate.
  • The information provided is truthful and has been approved by all authors.

The Journal reserves the right to request supporting documentation where necessary.

References

This policy has been developed in accordance with:

  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations.
  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices.
  • World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Recommendations.
  • Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (DOAJ, COPE, OASPA, WAME).