Thai Science, Technology and Health Review

Following constructive feedback and valuable recommendations from the Web of Science (WoS) during our recent journal evaluation process, the Association of Legal & Political Studies (ALPS) has conducted a comprehensive review and enhancement of the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement across all our affiliated journals.

We are pleased to announce that our updated ethical guidelines remain fully aligned with the highest international standards set forth by WoS, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). These practices are clearly outlined on our websites and strictly adhered to throughout every stage of our editorial workflow.

To further elevate the transparency and operations of ALPS journals to align with the standards of world-leading publications, the Association is introducing an additional supplementary policy on manuscript preparation. Authors are now requested to provide a specific statement in the Back Matter of their manuscripts concerning the following area, which will join our existing requirements for the Declaration of AI Use and Author Contributions:

Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

To maintain complete transparency and trust among authors, readers, reviewers, and editors, authors must explicitly declare any financial or personal relationships that could be viewed as inappropriately influencing the representation or interpretation of their reported research results. A conflict of interest is defined as any financial or non-financial interest within the past year (or older, if relevant) that might influence the research or its assessment.

Authors must disclose all potential conflicts via the online submission system and include a summary statement in the Back Matter of the manuscript, placed immediately before the reference list, using the following formats:

• If conflicts exist: "Conflicts of Interest: Author A has received research grants from Company A. Author B has received a speaker honorarium from Company X and owns stocks in Company Y. Author C has been involved as a consultant and expert witness for Company Z. Author D is the inventor of patent X."
• If no conflicts exist: "Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

(Note: Authors are also reminded to declare all financial support and funding sources in a dedicated "Acknowledgments" section immediately preceding the Conflicts of Interest statement.)

Implementation Timeline

Authors are encouraged to voluntarily include the "Conflicts of Interest" statement in their manuscript submissions, effective immediately. Please note that ALPS will make the inclusion of this statement—alongside the "Declaration of AI Use" and "Author Contributions" statements—a mandatory requirement for all manuscripts published starting from Issue 1 of the year 2027.

Associate Professor Dr. Thanaporn SRIYAKUL

President, Association of Legal & Political Studies (ALPS)