Generative AI Policy

 

1. Purpose and Scope

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Research and Development (IJRD) recognizes the rapid development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools and their increasing use in academic research and publishing. This policy aims to ensure transparency, academic integrity, accountability, and ethical standards in the use of GenAI throughout the manuscript submission, peer review, editorial, and publication processes.

This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff involved in IJRD.

2. Use of GenAI by Authors

2.1 Permitted Uses

Authors may use GenAI tools only as supportive aids, such as for:

  • Improving grammar, spelling, and language clarity

  • Formatting assistance

  • Summarizing text for internal drafting purposes

  • Enhancing readability or structure without altering scientific meaning

2.2 Prohibited Uses

GenAI tools must not be used to:

  • Generate original research data, results, or analyses

  • Fabricate or manipulate data, references, citations, or sources

  • Replace critical intellectual contributions, scientific reasoning, or interpretation

  • Produce entire manuscripts or substantial sections without human authorship

  • Generate images, tables, or figures that misrepresent data or findings

GenAI tools cannot be listed as authors under any circumstances.

3. Disclosure Requirement for Authors

Authors are required to explicitly disclose the use of any GenAI or AI-assisted tools during manuscript preparation.

Disclosure must include:

  • The name of the tool(s) used

  • The purpose of use (e.g., language editing, drafting assistance)

  • Confirmation that authors retain full responsibility for the content

This disclosure should appear in a dedicated “AI Use Statement” or “Acknowledgments” section of the manuscript.

Failure to disclose GenAI use may be considered a breach of publication ethics.

4. Use of GenAI in Peer Review

4.1 Reviewers

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or confidential material to GenAI tools or external AI systems, as this may compromise confidentiality and intellectual property.

GenAI tools must not be used to:

  • Generate peer review reports

  • Make acceptance or rejection decisions

  • Replace independent scholarly judgment

Reviewers remain fully responsible for the content, tone, and integrity of their reviews.

5. Use of GenAI by Editors and Editorial Staff

Editors and editorial staff may use GenAI tools only for administrative or technical support, such as:

  • Language editing suggestions

  • Metadata consistency checks

  • Workflow efficiency

GenAI tools must not be used for:

  • Editorial decision-making

  • Assessing scientific merit

  • Overriding peer review outcomes

Final editorial decisions are made solely by qualified human editors.

6. Accountability and Responsibility

All parties involved in the publication process remain fully accountable for the content they submit, review, or approve.

The use of GenAI does not transfer responsibility from:

  • Authors to AI systems

  • Reviewers to automated tools

  • Editors to software platforms

Human oversight is mandatory at all stages.

7. Ethical Compliance and Misconduct

If undisclosed or unethical use of GenAI is suspected, IJRD reserves the right to:

  • Request clarifications or revisions

  • Reject manuscripts

  • Retract published articles

  • Notify authors’ institutions, when necessary

These actions will follow IJRD’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

8. Policy Review and Updates

Given the rapid evolution of GenAI technologies, this policy will be periodically reviewed and updated to align with international best practices, ethical guidelines, and indexing requirements, including those of Scopus and other databases.