Plagiarism and AI Use Policy

Originality and attribution

Authors must distinguish their contributions from others' work and cite borrowed ideas, words, methods, images, and data appropriately. Unattributed copying, close paraphrasing, translation without attribution, purchased manuscripts, fabricated references, and misleading reuse of one's own published material are unacceptable. Related publications, preprints, theses, and overlapping datasets must be disclosed.

Similarity tools may assist assessment, but a numerical score alone does not establish plagiarism. Editors consider the nature and context of overlap and give authors an opportunity to explain material concerns.

Permitted assistance and disclosure

Authors may use tools for spelling, grammar, accessibility, coding, translation, or other legitimate assistance while retaining responsibility for accuracy, originality, and rights. Generative AI used to draft, translate, summarize, analyze, code, or materially revise scholarly content must be disclosed. Routine non-generative spelling or formatting assistance does not require a separate AI statement.

Disclosures should identify the tool and version if known, the purpose, the parts of the work affected, and the author's verification. When AI is part of the research method, describe its role and settings sufficiently for assessment, including limitations and reproducibility considerations. Authors must verify all references, quotations, calculations, code outputs, and factual claims.

Suggested disclosure: “During preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [TOOL AND VERSION] for [PURPOSE] in [SECTIONS OR TASKS]. The authors reviewed and verified the outputs and accept responsibility for the final work.” Replace these fields only when reporting actual use.

Prohibited uses

AI tools cannot be authors or take responsibility for a publication. They must not be used to invent observations, participants, citations, ethics approvals, or findings, or to disguise plagiarism. Generated or materially altered research images must not be represented as authentic observations. Synthetic material used legitimately in a study must be clearly identified and documented. Authors must not disclose confidential or identifiable information to a tool without appropriate authority and protections.

Review and enforcement

Editors and reviewers must not upload confidential submissions, reports, or decision material to generative AI services or delegate editorial judgment to them. AI detection scores are not conclusive evidence and will not alone determine a misconduct finding. Concerns are assessed with relevant evidence and an opportunity to respond. Outcomes may include clarification, revision, rejection, or post-publication action under the relevant policies.