Editorial Policies
Publishing and Research Ethics
Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies
Copyright
Author/s warrant:
- that their contribution is original, free from any forms of plagiarism.
- that their contribution is not previously published and that the Manuscript is not being considered for publication elsewhere.
- that the Manuscript does not contain unfounded or unlawful claims and does not violate the rights of others.
- that all sources in the manuscript are fully and accurately marked, listed, and cited. If copyrighted or related content is included in the work, the author/s is obliged to obtain written permission for their use by the copyright or related rights holders.
- that no generative artificial intelligence tools were used in the preparation of the manuscript or that the use of these tools is properly indicated in the manuscript.
The Journal does not restrict the author/s from depositing the accepted, peer-reviewed final published version of the Manuscript at any time after publishing in the AAeU Journal in an institutional repository and/or database, or publishing the Manuscript on the personal web pages or web pages of the institution where they are employed. In doing so, they are required to cite the Publisher as the copyright holder, as well as the source of the Manuscript.
Data Privacy Policy
The data collected from registered and non-registered users of AAeU journal falls within the scope of the standard peer-reviewed process within industry standards for data privacy, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provision. It includes information that makes communication possible for the editorial process and it is used to inform readers about the authorship and editing of content.
The data will be used solely for the purposes of AAeU journal and will not be available for any other purpose or any third party.
Open Access Policy
AAeU journal provides open access to its content for the purpose of free public access, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
AAeU journal is open access, it means that any researcher from any institution, anywhere in the world is able to access the full extent of AAeU publications with no subscription fees. This means that policy-makers, NGOs, journalists, practitioners, students, and an interested public have free access to the research articles. This increases the exposure and allows to disseminate knowledge to a much wider audience.
Plagiarism Policy
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
A conflict of interest in publishing arises when an individual holds competing or contradictory interests that could compromise the impartiality of editorial decisions. Such conflicts may be merely potential (or perceived) or may be actual. Because even the perception of a conflict of interest can damage the Journal’s reputation, avoiding conflicts—and continually reexamining them—constitutes a priority for all parties involved in the editorial process.
- For every submission, the Editor-in-Chief must ascertain whether any conflict of interest exists for the reviewers, members of the Editorial Team, or the article’s author(s).
- The Editor-in-Chief must require reviewers to declare any potential conflict of interest and to withdraw from reviewing the article if they cannot maintain impartiality.
- The Editor-in-Chief should avoid making editorial decisions on manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists (e.g., if the authors are close collaborators). In such instances, the decision should be made by the Managing Editor or a member of the Editorial Board, or even by an external individual invited by the Journal’s Editorial Team who has complete autonomy to select reviewers and make editorial decisions. The same approach applies if the Editor-in-Chief submits an article to the Journal (except in the case of an editorial foreword).
- Reviewers must alert the Editor-in-Chief to any potential personal or financial conflict of interest (whether related to the authors or their article’s content) and must decline to review a manuscript if a conflict of interest is identified.
- If a reviewer suspects an undisclosed conflict of interest in a submitted manuscript, they must inform the Editor-in-Chief, who will then contact the author, request an explanation, and provide them with the relevant sections of the Instructions for Authors (conflict-of-interest policy) along with the author’s signed Licence to Publish.
- If a reader notifies the Editor-in-Chief in writing of a suspected undisclosed conflict of interest in a published article, the Editor-in-Chief must contact the author, request an explanation, and provide them with the relevant sections of the Instructions for Authors (conflict-of-interest policy) along with the author’s signed Licence to Publish.
VIOLATIONS OF SCHOLARLY-RESEARCH ETHICS
Changes to Authorship
A breach of research ethics involves contravening these principles, whether through serious misconduct or questionable research practices. Common and severe examples of misconduct include inventing or falsifying research findings, plagiarism in proposing, executing, reviewing, or reporting research results, misrepresentation, inaccuracies, and biases.
CHANGES TO AUTHORSHIP
Adding or Removing an Author to the Byline Before Publication
If the corresponding author requests that another author be added or removied to the byline prior to publication, and if all coauthors agree, the Editor-in-Chief must ask the newly added author to sign the Licence to Publich and then continue with the review/publication process.
Adding or Removing an Author to the Byline After Publication
If the corresponding author requests adding or removing an author after the article is already published, the Editor-in-Chief must first clarify the reasons for the change and verify coauthors’ agreement. If all coauthors agree, the Editor-in-Chief must update the byline and publish a correction.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the unauthorized appropriation of someone else’s intellectual property, ideas, methods, data, or wording without proper credit. At its core, plagiarism is theft and stands in opposition to fundamental scholarly principles. Any research relying on stolen data, ideas, or text is inherently misleading, offers no real contribution to the field, and confers undeserved benefit on the perpetrator. Plagiarism is unethical, dishonorable, and strictly forbidden.
Beyond borrowing someone else’s work, “self-plagiarism” is equally unethical: reusing one’s own previously published text, ideas, or results.
Suspicion of plagiarism may arise in newly submitted or already published articles, whether reported by the Editor-in-Chief, a reviewer, or a reader.
Where clear plagiarism is established, the Editor-in-Chief must contact the corresponding author in writing, presenting evidence of plagiarism and including a copy of the signed Licence to Publish (where the author affirmed that the article is original and unpublished elsewhere).
If the corresponding author of a submitted paper fails to respond, the Editor-in-Chief must reject the manuscript. If the article is already published, the Editor-in-Chief must issue a retraction statement, remove the article from the Journal, and notify the original journal’s editor, the author, the plagiarized author, the institution, and the Journal’s readers of the decision.
Where minor plagiarism is identified in a submitted paper, the Editor-in-Chief must write to the corresponding author, instructing them to rework any plagiarized passages and credit the original source, or to format it as a properly cited quotation. If a published article is implicated, the Editor-in-Chief should consider publishing a correction or amendment referencing the original text. The Editor-in-Chief must inform the plagiarized author and notify readers of the actions taken.
Fabricated (Falsified) Data
Data or results are considered fabricated or falsified when they are wholly invented, altered, or tailored in the process of recording or dissemination.
Suspicion that an article contains fabricated data may arise during review of a newly submitted paper or after publication, whether suspected by the Editor-in-Chief, a reviewer, or a reader. In either case, once this information comes to light, the Editor-in-Chief must first consider seeking the opinion of a second reviewer.
If the Editor-in-Chief chooses not to solicit a second opinion, they must compile evidence indicating that the data/results in question are false or fabricated. Where original data are accessible, a qualified expert in the relevant field, in coordination with the institution on whose behalf the author submitted or published the paper, should verify the data. After gathering such evidence, the Editor-in-Chief must write to the corresponding author, requesting (if possible) the original data.
If the author of a submitted or published article provides an inadequate explanation or admits guilt, the Editor-in-Chief must inform the relevant institution or regulatory authority (if one exists) and advise the author of this action. The Editor-in-Chief must request that the author’s institution formally investigate the matter.
If the investigation confirms the author’s culpability, the Editor-in-Chief must reject the manuscript (if it is under consideration) and inform the reviewer of the decision, or else issue a retraction for a published paper, remove it from the Journal, and inform readers of the outcome.
Publishing and Research Ethics
In line with our commitment to uphold publishing and research ethics, we follow internationally recognised ethical standards, including the guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/). Complying with COPE’s rigorous principles, we strive to build trust, maintain academic integrity, and support the global research community.
Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies
This policy aims to provide greater transparency and guidance to authors, readers, reviewers, editors in relation to generative AI and AI-assisted technologies. AAeU will monitor this development and will adjust or refine this policy when appropriate. Please note the policy only refers to the writing process, and not to the use of AI tools to analyze and draw insights from data as part of the research process.
Authors are required to inform the journal of the possible use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the research, writing and translation process for any submitted article.
Where authors use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should only be used to improve readability and language of the work and not to replace key authoring tasks such as producing scientific, pedagogic, or other insights, drawing scientific conclusions, or providing recommendations. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control and all work should be reviewed and edited carefully, because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. The authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.
Where AI-assisted technologies have been used in the research, writing and translation process, authors will insert a note at the beginning of their submission file, indicating the tools used and for what purpose. Authors guarantee the originality of their research (data collection and interpretation, arguments and conclusions) and that they have scrupulously checked and corrected the content generated. They assume full responsibility.
If an AI has been used to find the bibliography, the authors must confirm that they have checked the validity of all their bibliographical references when sending their work to the proofreader. We remind that chatgpt and other generative AI tools are not documentary tools and that they generate invented references.
The declaration, approved and if necessary amended by the editorial office, will appear in the published article to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the publication.
This policy is intended to cover new content creation only (i.e., new works or new content or chapters added to a revised work). Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be used on previously published material.
Authors should not list generative AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans. Each (co-) author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved and authorship requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and agree to its submission.
Generative AI and AI-assisted tools in figures, images and artwork
AAeU does not permit the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts. This may include enhancing, obscuring, moving, removing, or introducing a specific feature within an image or figure. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original.
The only exception is if the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools is part of the research design or research methods. If this is done, such use must be described in a reproducible manner in the methods section. This should include an explanation of how the generative AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the image creation or alteration process, and the name of the model or tool, version and extension numbers, and manufacturer. Authors should adhere to the AI software’s specific usage policies and ensure correct content attribution. Where applicable, authors could be asked to provide pre-AI-adjusted versions of images and/or the composite raw images used to create the final submitted versions, for editorial assessment.
The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in the production of artwork such as for book or commissioned content covers or graphical abstracts is not permitted.
