AI tools may assist research or writing, but responsibility for the manuscript, evidence and conclusions remains with the human authors. Material use must be disclosed clearly.

Authorship and accountability

AI systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot approve publication, declare interests or accept responsibility. Authors must verify factual claims, references, quotations, calculations, translations and generated outputs. An AI-generated citation must never be included without checking the actual source.

The journal’s position on authorship is informed by the COPE statement on authorship and AI tools. Human authors remain responsible for originality, permissions and compliance with all journal policies.

Disclosure and methods

Disclose AI use that materially affects text, analysis, coding, translation, classification, images or other research outputs. Identify the tool and model or version where available, the purpose and stage of use, and how outputs were checked. Place research-related uses in the methods and other material assistance in an appropriate declaration.

Routine spelling or punctuation correction need not be itemized when it does not generate substantive content. Where AI is part of the research method, explain inputs, prompts or decision rules sufficiently for assessment, subject to justified confidentiality restrictions. Report limitations, validation and the role of human judgment.

Evidence and confidentiality

Generated or synthetic content must not be represented as observed evidence. Label synthetic data, reconstructed examples and generated images accurately. Do not fabricate interviews, institutional records or quotations. Any manipulation that changes the evidentiary meaning of an image or document is unacceptable.

Authors must not upload identifiable participant information or restricted records to external AI services without an appropriate basis and protection arrangement. Editors and reviewers must not send confidential manuscripts or review reports to public tools without authorization. AI assistance does not transfer review responsibility away from the human reviewer.

Assessment and corrections

The journal may ask for clarification of a tool’s role or further evidence of verification. Undisclosed material use, unreliable generated content or a breach of confidentiality may require revision, rejection or action under Publication Ethics and Corrections & Retractions.

Updated 5 October 2026 · Questions: JPOII Editorial Office