Viability of publishing as an independent researcher

[Vanadium 50]

Yes, here the goal is to avoid conflicts of interest

and also apparent conflicts of interest. Could I fairly avaluate a paper written by a family member? Sure. But isn't it better to recuse myself?

 

[andresB]

While I still don't see any conflict of interest, it seems that not disclosing the university could create lots of problems and it is, hence, and unwise course of action. So better not doing it.

 

[TeethWhitener]

While I still don't see any conflict of interest, it seems that not disclosing the university could create lots of problems and it is, hence, and unwise course of action. So better not doing it.

As @Vanadium 50 hinted at above, the most obvious reason editors will want to know your affiliation to avoid conflicts of interest is when assigning peer reviewers. This potential conflict will exist regardless of the content or findings of the paper, as it is inherent in the publication process itself. For that reason, editors will generally not assign reviewers to a manuscript when the authors are from the same institution.

The reason I’m on the fence about labeling this a conflict of interest specifically is that, at least for most of the journals I publish in, there’s a specific required conflict of interest statement that is separate from the place where the institutional affiliation is listed, and institutional affiliation (at least in academia/government—obviously if you work for a company where a conflict is clear, you’d list it) is rarely—to my knowledge—explicitly listed in this statement. I guess if I were going to leave the institutional affiliation section blank, I’d probably have to include my affiliation in the conflict of interest statement, but it’s honestly never occurred to me not to list affiliation if you are actually affiliated with an institution.

 

[Dale]

I still don't see any conflict of interest,

And that is exactly the reason that the ethical standards requiring such disclosure are not discretionary.

 

[Dale]

The reason I’m on the fence about labeling this a conflict of interest specifically is that, at least for most of the journals I publish in, there’s a specific required conflict of interest statement that is separate from the place where the institutional affiliation is listed, and institutional affiliation (at least in academia/government—obviously if you work for a company where a conflict is clear, you’d list it) is rarely—to my knowledge—explicitly listed in this statement.

The APS makes it clear that employment can create a conflict of interest and thus must be disclosed. How a journal chooses to implement that in their forms doesn’t change the ethical standard.