Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Usage Policy

SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEM (SJIS)

1. General Principles

The Scientific Journal of Information System (SJIS) is committed to maintaining academic integrity, originality, transparency, research quality, and ethical standards in scholarly publishing.

Recognizing the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including generative AI, machine learning, and AI-assisted technologies, SJIS acknowledges their potential to support scientific research, software development, data analysis, and academic writing.

The use of AI technologies is permitted when conducted responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with established principles of research integrity.

AI must support, rather than replace, human intellectual contributions, scientific reasoning, critical evaluation, and academic accountability.

This policy applies to all authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the journal's publication process. It is developed with reference to ethical publishing principles, including guidance issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

2. Permitted Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors may use AI-assisted technologies to support research and manuscript preparation, provided that their use does not compromise academic integrity, methodological validity, or research originality.

Permitted uses include:

1. Improving grammar, spelling, language clarity, and manuscript readability.
2. Supporting academic translation and language editing.
3. Assisting with manuscript organization and formatting.
4. Supporting literature exploration and identification of relevant research topics, provided that all references are independently verified.
5. Assisting with data processing, statistical analysis, and data visualization.
6. Supporting software development activities, including code suggestions, debugging, and documentation.
7. Supporting preliminary exploration of algorithms, system architectures, and information system designs.
8. Assisting with the preparation of diagrams, flowcharts, and technical illustrations.
9. Supporting the development and evaluation of research models when appropriately disclosed and methodologically justified.

All AI-assisted outputs must be critically evaluated, verified, and appropriately revised by the authors before being included in submitted manuscripts.

The use of AI does not eliminate the authors' responsibility for the scientific accuracy, originality, validity, and reliability of the research.

3. AI Authorship and Author Accountability

AI systems, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and other generative AI applications, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to SJIS.

Authorship is reserved for individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and can take responsibility for its content.

Authors are fully responsible for:

1. The originality and scientific contribution of the submitted manuscript.
2. The accuracy and authenticity of research data.
3. The validity of research methods and experimental procedures.
4. The correctness and reliability of algorithms, software implementations, and research findings.
5. The accuracy of references, citations, and interpretations.
6. Compliance with applicable ethical, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property requirements.

The use of AI does not transfer academic or legal responsibility from human authors to AI providers or systems.

4. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies during research, data analysis, software development, manuscript preparation, or scientific content generation.

The disclosure should include:

1. The name and, where relevant, version of the AI tool or system used.
2. The purpose and scope of AI use.
3. The specific research activities or manuscript sections supported by AI.
4. The extent of human verification, evaluation, and modification of AI-generated outputs.

When AI is used as part of the research methodology, its application must be described in the Methods section with sufficient technical detail to support scientific evaluation and reproducibility.

When generative AI is used to assist manuscript writing or content development, authors must include a separate section entitled **Declaration of AI Use** before the References.

Routine spelling, grammar, and punctuation correction tools that do not generate substantive scientific content do not require formal disclosure.

Example of an AI Disclosure Statement:

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name and version of AI tool] to assist with [specific purpose]. All AI-generated or AI-assisted outputs were independently reviewed, verified, and revised by the author(s). The author(s) take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript."

If no generative AI tools were used, authors may provide the following statement:

"The author(s) declare that no generative artificial intelligence tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript."

5. AI Use in Software Development and Programming

Considering the journal's focus on information systems, software engineering, and applied computing, AI-assisted programming and software development may be used as part of research activities.

Authors who use AI tools for source code generation, debugging, code optimization, software documentation, or system architecture development must ensure that:

1. AI-generated code is reviewed, tested, and validated before implementation.
2. The software performs according to the stated research objectives and technical specifications.
3. Generated code does not infringe copyright, software licenses, or intellectual property rights.
4. AI-generated code is not presented as entirely original human-developed work without appropriate disclosure.
5. Relevant AI assistance is documented when it materially influences the research methods or results.
6. Security vulnerabilities, coding errors, and technical limitations introduced by AI tools are appropriately evaluated.

Authors remain fully responsible for the functionality, security, reliability, and reproducibility of software systems presented in their research.

SJIS reserves the right to request relevant technical documentation, source code, testing evidence, or additional methodological explanations when necessary for editorial assessment, subject to appropriate confidentiality and intellectual property safeguards.

6. AI Use in Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Experimental Research

SJIS recognizes that artificial intelligence and machine learning may constitute legitimate research subjects, methodologies, or technical components in information system research.

The use of AI models in scientific experiments is permitted when supported by appropriate research design, reliable data, transparent procedures, and valid evaluation methods.

Authors must ensure that:

1. Research datasets are obtained from legitimate, ethical, and verifiable sources.
2. AI is not used to fabricate, falsify, or manipulate research data or experimental results.
3. The selection of algorithms, model parameters, training procedures, and evaluation metrics is adequately explained.
4. AI-generated synthetic data is clearly identified and distinguished from real-world empirical data.
5. Model performance, statistical results, and experimental findings are independently verified.
6. Limitations, potential bias, data leakage, and other relevant methodological risks are appropriately discussed.
7. The use of AI models is documented sufficiently to support scientific reproducibility, subject to lawful restrictions on data access and proprietary information.

The use of AI as the subject or method of a research study is distinct from the use of generative AI as a writing assistant. Both must be reported appropriately according to their respective roles in the research.

Authors must not fabricate model accuracy, experimental results, system performance metrics, user testing results, or benchmark comparisons.

7. Data Privacy, Information Security, and Confidentiality

Authors must protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of research data when using AI-assisted technologies.

Personal information, confidential organizational records, proprietary source code, unpublished research data, or restricted datasets must not be uploaded to third-party AI services without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

Authors must comply with applicable data protection regulations, research ethics requirements, institutional policies, and relevant contractual restrictions.

When research involves sensitive datasets or AI-based information systems, authors should explain the data protection and security measures implemented, where relevant to the research methodology.

The use of AI must not compromise research participant confidentiality, system security, or organizational information.

8. AI-Generated References, Figures, and Scientific Content

Authors must verify the authenticity and accuracy of all references, citations, figures, tables, and technical materials generated or assisted by AI technologies.

The following practices are prohibited:

1. Including fabricated references, nonexistent publications, or inaccurate citation details.
2. Presenting AI-generated explanations or interpretations as verified scientific findings without appropriate validation.
3. Producing misleading system diagrams, experimental figures, or performance visualizations.
4. Altering research images or experimental evidence in ways that misrepresent the original results.
5. Using AI-generated content to conceal plagiarism, misrepresent originality, or falsify intellectual contributions.

AI-generated diagrams, illustrations, and technical figures may be included when their use is relevant, appropriately disclosed, and consistent with the journal's publication ethics requirements.

AI systems must not be cited as substitutes for the original scientific sources supporting research claims.

9. Originality, Plagiarism, and Academic Integrity

All manuscripts submitted to SJIS must demonstrate originality and comply with the journal's plagiarism prevention and publication ethics policies.

Using AI tools for paraphrasing, rewriting, or summarizing existing materials does not remove the obligation to acknowledge original authors and sources.

The use of AI to disguise plagiarism, manipulate similarity results, or misrepresent the originality of a manuscript is strictly prohibited.

Similarity-checking software and AI-content detection tools may support editorial screening. However, automated detection results must not serve as the sole evidence for determining plagiarism or unethical AI use.

Editorial assessments must consider the manuscript content, supporting evidence, author explanations, and applicable publication ethics standards.

10. AI Use by Editors and Peer Reviewers

Editors and peer reviewers must maintain confidentiality, independence, objectivity, and professional responsibility throughout the editorial and peer-review processes.

Unpublished manuscripts, confidential research data, and editorial documents must not be uploaded to publicly accessible or third-party AI systems without appropriate authorization and adequate confidentiality safeguards.

AI tools must not replace the independent scientific judgment of editors or reviewers.

Editors and reviewers remain responsible for their assessments, recommendations, and editorial decisions.

Any authorized use of AI that substantially contributes to the evaluation of a manuscript must be disclosed to the editorial team.

Final editorial decisions must be made by authorized human editors.

11. Policy Violations and Editorial Actions

SJIS reserves the right to investigate suspected misuse of AI technologies in submitted or published manuscripts.

When concerns arise, the editorial team may request clarification, supplementary documentation, research data, source code, or methodological explanations from the authors.

Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, editorial actions may include:

1. Requesting clarification or corrections.
2. Requiring appropriate AI disclosure.
3. Requesting additional evidence supporting the research findings.
4. Rejecting manuscripts that violate publication ethics.
5. Issuing corrections to published articles where appropriate.
6. Retracting published articles when serious ethical violations undermine the integrity of the research.

All suspected violations will be evaluated objectively and fairly, with reference to the journal's publication ethics procedures and relevant COPE guidance.

12. Final Declaration and Policy Review

By submitting a manuscript to the Scientific Journal of Information System (SJIS), authors acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agreed to comply with this AI Usage Policy.

Authors confirm that the submitted manuscript represents a genuine scholarly contribution and that any AI-assisted content has been appropriately disclosed, reviewed, and verified.

SJIS supports the ethical and responsible use of AI technologies to advance scientific knowledge, innovation, software development, and information system research while maintaining human accountability and academic integrity.

This policy may be reviewed and updated periodically in response to developments in AI technologies, publication ethics, and scholarly publishing standards.

References

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2023). *Authorship and AI tools: COPE position statement*. https://doi.org/10.24318/cCVRZBms

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). *COPE Guidelines and Resources*. https://publicationethics.org/