ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) USE POLICY

1. General Policy

The Journal of English Education Studies (JEES) recognizes the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in academic research, scholarly writing, and scientific publishing. These technologies may support research and publication processes when used responsibly, transparently, and ethically.

JEES permits the responsible use of AI-assisted technologies, including generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), provided that their use does not compromise academic integrity, research originality, intellectual contribution, data reliability, or publication ethics.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to JEES, including original research articles, theoretical and conceptual papers, literature reviews, and book reviews. It also governs the use of AI-assisted technologies by authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process.

The policy is informed by the ethical principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

2. AI Use by Authors

2.1. Permitted Uses of AI

JEES allows authors to use AI-assisted technologies as supporting tools during manuscript preparation and research activities.

Acceptable applications may include:

• Improving grammar, spelling, readability, clarity, and academic language.
• Assisting with translation and language refinement.
• Supporting manuscript organization and structural improvements.
• Assisting with preliminary literature exploration, provided that all references are independently verified.
• Supporting data processing, transcription, coding, or analysis when methodologically appropriate and transparently documented.
• Developing instructional materials or research instruments, subject to appropriate human validation.

All AI-assisted outputs must be critically evaluated, verified, and revised by the authors.

The use of AI technologies does not diminish the authors' responsibility for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of their submitted manuscripts.

2.2. Prohibited Uses of AI

JEES strictly prohibits the use of AI-assisted technologies in ways that compromise academic and research integrity.

Prohibited practices include:

• Generating or fabricating research data, participant responses, interview transcripts, observations, or experimental results.
• Creating fictitious references, citations, quotations, or bibliographic information.
• Presenting AI-generated interpretations, arguments, or conclusions without meaningful intellectual evaluation and verification by the authors.
• Manipulating research findings, images, figures, or other evidence in a misleading manner.
• Using AI-generated content that violates plagiarism, copyright, confidentiality, or other ethical standards.
• Submitting substantially AI-generated scholarly work as an original intellectual contribution without appropriate human involvement and disclosure.

Authors must not use AI-generated information as a substitute for authentic research evidence or verifiable scholarly references.

3. AI Authorship and Academic Responsibility

AI-assisted technologies, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to JEES.

Authorship requires substantial intellectual contributions, responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the work, and accountability for the published research. AI technologies cannot fulfill these responsibilities.

All listed authors must take full responsibility for the entire manuscript, including any content developed or modified with AI assistance.

The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors are informed of and agree with the disclosure of AI use in the submitted manuscript.

4. Transparency and Disclosure of AI Use

JEES requires authors to disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies that have materially contributed to manuscript preparation, research procedures, data analysis, or the presentation of findings.

Authors must provide sufficient information regarding:

• The name of the AI tool and its developer or provider.
• The version or model used, when identifiable and relevant.
• The specific purpose for which the technology was employed.
• The stage of the research or manuscript preparation in which AI was used.
• The procedures undertaken to verify, validate, and critically review AI-assisted outputs.

Basic spelling correction, conventional formatting software, and reference management tools do not require disclosure unless generative AI functions have been used to make substantive contributions to the manuscript.

Authors must include a separate section entitled "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies" before the References section.

When AI is used as part of the research methodology, authors must additionally explain its application in the Methods section to ensure methodological transparency and reproducibility.

Failure to disclose material AI use may result in a request for clarification or correction and, where associated with serious ethical misconduct, further editorial action.

5. AI Use in English Education, Linguistics, and Literature Research

Considering the disciplinary scope of JEES, AI-assisted technologies may serve as research instruments, instructional tools, or objects of scholarly investigation.

Research involving AI-supported English language learning, automated writing feedback, language assessment, linguistic analysis, translation, literary interpretation, or digital learning environments is eligible for publication, provided that it meets the journal's academic and ethical standards.

Authors conducting AI-related research must clearly explain the role of the technology within the research design, including its application, limitations, and procedures for validating the findings.

Where AI systems are used to process students' assignments, interview transcripts, classroom interactions, linguistic corpora, or other potentially identifiable information, authors must ensure appropriate data protection, confidentiality, informed consent where applicable, and compliance with relevant research ethics requirements.

AI-generated responses may be investigated as research data when AI itself is part of the research subject. However, such responses must be appropriately identified and documented and must not be misrepresented as human-generated evidence or authoritative scholarly sources.

6. AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Research Materials

The use of AI-assisted technologies to develop illustrations, educational materials, diagrams, or other visual content must be disclosed when the technology has materially contributed to their creation.

Authors must ensure that all submitted visual materials accurately represent the intended information and do not mislead readers regarding the research process or findings.

AI-generated or AI-manipulated materials must not be presented as authentic photographs, classroom observations, experimental evidence, or original empirical records.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted materials comply with applicable copyright, licensing, and ethical requirements.

7. AI Use by Peer Reviewers

JEES recognizes that AI-assisted technologies may support limited technical aspects of the peer-review process. However, peer reviewers must maintain confidentiality, independence, and academic accountability throughout manuscript evaluation.

Reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts, unpublished research data, confidential documents, or identifiable author information into external AI systems unless explicit authorization has been obtained from the journal and the confidentiality of the material is adequately protected.

Reviewers may use AI-assisted tools to improve the language and clarity of independently prepared review comments, provided that such use does not compromise manuscript confidentiality.

The scientific evaluation of manuscripts, including assessments of originality, methodological rigor, theoretical contribution, research findings, and publication suitability, must remain the responsibility of human reviewers.

Reviewers must not delegate the substantive evaluation of manuscripts or the formulation of their independent scholarly judgments to AI systems.

Any authorized and material use of AI in the review process must be disclosed to the handling editor.

8. AI Use by Editors and the Editorial Board

Editors may use AI-assisted technologies for appropriate administrative, technical, or editorial support, provided that such use complies with confidentiality, data protection, and publication ethics requirements.

Editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished research materials into external AI platforms without appropriate authorization and adequate confidentiality safeguards.

Editorial decisions, including manuscript rejection, revision requests, acceptance, and publication, must be made by human editors based on scholarly merit, reviewer evaluations, journal standards, and publication ethics.

AI-assisted systems must not independently determine editorial decisions.

JEES may use technological tools to support research integrity assessments. However, AI-generated content detection results must not be treated as conclusive evidence of academic misconduct.

Any concerns regarding potential misuse of AI must be assessed through appropriate editorial examination, supporting evidence, and opportunities for author clarification.

9. Ethical Violations and Editorial Actions

JEES considers transparency, originality, accountability, and research integrity essential principles of scholarly publication.

Suspected misuse of AI-assisted technologies will be assessed individually, taking into account the nature, severity, and consequences of the potential violation.

Depending on the circumstances, editorial actions may include:

• Requesting clarification or additional documentation regarding AI use.
• Requiring corrections, revisions, or an appropriate AI disclosure statement.
• Rejecting a manuscript when serious academic or publication ethics violations are established.
• Issuing a correction, expression of concern, or retraction for published articles when justified by the findings of an editorial investigation.

Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to concerns before a final determination is made.

Editorial investigations and corrective actions will follow applicable JEES publication ethics policies and relevant COPE guidance.

The use of AI-assisted technology, by itself, does not constitute academic misconduct. Ethical concerns arise when such technologies are used in ways that compromise transparency, originality, research reliability, or scholarly accountability.

10. AI Use Declaration Statements

All authors submitting manuscripts to JEES must include an AI declaration statement. The following examples may be adapted to reflect the actual use of AI technologies.

Example A: AI Used for Language Editing

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [AI tool and version] to assist with language refinement, grammatical correction, and improving the clarity of academic expression. The authors critically reviewed and revised all AI-assisted outputs. The tool was not used to generate research data, fabricate references, or independently develop scientific conclusions. The authors take full responsibility for the content, originality, and integrity of this manuscript."

Example B: AI Used in Research Procedures

"During this study, the authors employed [AI tool and version] for [specific research purpose]. The use of this technology, including its procedures and limitations, is described in the Methods section. All AI-assisted outputs were evaluated and validated by the researchers using appropriate methodological procedures. The authors retain full responsibility for the reliability, interpretation, and integrity of the reported findings."

Example C: No Generative AI Used

"The authors declare that no generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies were used to generate or substantially modify the scientific content, research data, analysis, or interpretation presented in this manuscript."

Authors must select or adapt the appropriate statement to accurately represent their actual use of AI technologies.

11. Policy Review and Implementation

JEES is committed to maintaining responsible and transparent scholarly publishing practices.

This policy will be reviewed periodically to accommodate developments in artificial intelligence technologies, research ethics, and international scholarly publishing standards.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial contributors are expected to comply with this policy following its formal adoption by the JEES Editorial Board.

For questions concerning AI use, disclosure requirements, or ethical concerns, please contact the JEES Editorial Office through the contact information provided on the journal website.

References and Ethical Guidance

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2024). Authorship and AI tools. https://doi.org/10.24318/cCVRZBms

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). (2026). Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals. https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/