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Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use and Disclosure Policy

Purpose

The Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research, and Practice (JCERP) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly integrity, originality, transparency, and accountability in academic publishing. Authors are responsible for all content submitted to the journal and must ensure that any use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is disclosed and complies with this policy.

Required Disclosure of AI Use

All manuscript submissions must include a statement disclosing any use of AI-based tools during the development of the manuscript. Failure to disclose AI use may result in rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, or other editorial action deemed appropriate by the Editorial Board.

Authors must identify:

  • The AI tool(s) used (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grammarly, Microsoft Copilot, DALL-E, Midjourney).
  • The purpose for which the tool was used.
  • The extent of the tool's contribution to the submitted work.

A disclosure statement must be included in a dedicated section entitled "AI Use Disclosure" immediately before the references or in another location specified by the journal.

Acceptable Uses of AI

The following uses of AI are permitted provided they are fully disclosed:

Language Editing and Writing Assistance

Authors may use AI-assisted tools to:

  • Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax.
  • Improve readability and clarity of text.
  • Suggest stylistic revisions.

Examples include Grammarly, Microsoft Editor, and similar proofreading or language-enhancement tools.

The intellectual content, arguments, analysis, conclusions, and scholarly contributions must be the work of the authors.

Image Generation and Enhancement

Authors may use AI tools to create, modify, enhance, or illustrate figures, diagrams, conceptual models, or graphical abstracts when such use is clearly disclosed.

Authors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring the accuracy of all visual content.
  • Confirming that generated images do not violate copyright, intellectual property, or ethical standards.
  • Identifying any AI-generated or AI-enhanced images in figure captions or acknowledgements, as appropriate.

Prohibited Uses of AI

AI tools may not be used to generate substantive scholarly content that is presented as the original intellectual work of the authors.

Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to:

  • Generating literature reviews.
  • Writing substantive sections of a manuscript.
  • Producing original arguments, interpretations, findings, conclusions, or recommendations.
  • Creating research results, analyses, or discussions presented as author-generated scholarship.
  • Generating case studies, research narratives, or educational content intended to represent the author's own intellectual contribution.
  • Fabricating, modifying, or inventing data, references, citations, quotations, survey responses, interview content, experimental results, or other research artifacts.

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of all submitted content.

Authorship

Artificial intelligence systems cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of a manuscript.

Authorship is limited to human inpiduals who meet the journal's authorship requirements and who can assume responsibility for the content of the work.

Editorial Evaluation

The disclosure of AI use does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. However, the Editorial Board reserves the right to:

  • Request additional information regarding AI use.
  • Request revisions where AI-generated material is judged excessive or inappropriate.
  • Reject manuscripts that violate this policy.
  • Retract published articles if undisclosed or prohibited AI use is discovered after publication.

Sample AI Use Disclosure Statements

Example 1: Language Editing

AI Use Disclosure: The authors used Grammarly solely for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and stylistic editing. No AI system was used to generate substantive manuscript content, analysis, findings, or conclusions.

Example 2: Figure Generation

AI Use Disclosure: The authors used Microsoft Copilot Image Creator to generate conceptual figures included in this manuscript. All figures were reviewed, verified, and edited by the authors. No AI system was used to generate substantive manuscript content.

Example 3: Combined Use

AI Use Disclosure: The authors used Grammarly for language editing and Midjourney to create illustrative figures. The authors retained full responsibility for the intellectual content of the manuscript. No AI system was used to generate substantive scholarly content, analysis, findings, or conclusions.

Author Certification

By submitting a manuscript to JCERP, authors certify that:

  1. All AI use has been fully disclosed.
  2. AI tools were not used to generate substantive scholarly content presented as the authors' original intellectual contribution.
  3. All submitted work complies with this policy.
  4. The authors accept full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and ethical compliance of the manuscript.

Failure to comply with this policy may result in editorial sanctions, including manuscript rejection, withdrawal of acceptance, or retraction of published work.