AI Writing Policy
Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
This policy applies to all submissions received by the British Journal of Business Sciences (BJBS).
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools—including, but not limited to, large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT—is increasing rapidly in scholarly research and academic publishing. The British Journal of Business Sciences recognizes the potential benefits of AI tools while emphasizing research integrity, transparency, author accountability, originality, and ethical publishing practices.
This policy is informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) position statement on Authorship and AI Tools and is intended to support responsible and transparent use of AI in scholarly publishing.
1. Authorship and Responsibility
Artificial intelligence tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors of any manuscript submitted to the British Journal of Business Sciences.
Authorship requires responsibility for the integrity of the research, accountability for the content of the manuscript, and the ability to respond to questions concerning the work. AI tools cannot assume these responsibilities.
All listed human authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical standards of their manuscript, including any content generated or assisted by AI tools.
2. Disclosure and Transparency
Authors who use AI tools at any stage of the research or publication process—including manuscript preparation, language editing, data analysis, coding, image generation, statistical analysis, or other research-related activities—must clearly and transparently disclose such use.
The disclosure should include:
- The name and version of the AI tool used;
- The specific purpose for which the AI tool was used;
- The extent and nature of the AI tool's contribution.
Where applicable, this information should be included in the Methods section, Acknowledgements, or a dedicated AI Use Statement within the manuscript.
3. Ethical Use and Data Integrity
Authors must ensure that the use of AI tools complies with established standards of research integrity and publication ethics. Authors are responsible for protecting confidential, personal, proprietary, and sensitive information when using AI systems.
AI tools must not be used to fabricate, manipulate, falsify, or misrepresent research data, results, references, images, or other scholarly information.
Authors must independently verify AI-generated content, including factual claims, citations, references, calculations, and interpretations, before including such material in a manuscript.
The use of AI tools must not compromise the originality, validity, reliability, reproducibility, or ethical integrity of the research.
4. Editorial Oversight and Enforcement
The editors of the British Journal of Business Sciences reserve the right to request clarification or additional information regarding the use of AI tools in a submitted manuscript.
The journal may reject, withdraw, or retract a manuscript where undisclosed, inappropriate, misleading, or unethical use of AI tools is identified at any stage of the publication process.
Failure to appropriately disclose material use of AI tools may be considered a breach of publication ethics and may be handled in accordance with applicable publication-ethics standards and COPE guidelines.
5. AI Tools and Peer Review
Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all manuscripts and materials received for peer review. Reviewers should not upload confidential manuscript content, unpublished data, or other proprietary information into publicly accessible or third-party AI tools without appropriate authorization.
AI tools must not replace the reviewer's independent scholarly judgment. Reviewers remain responsible for the confidentiality, quality, and integrity of their peer-review reports.
6. AI-Generated Images and Other Materials
Authors should clearly disclose the use of AI-generated or AI-assisted images, figures, tables, or other materials when such use is relevant to the submitted research.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that AI-generated materials do not infringe copyright, intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other applicable legal and ethical requirements.
7. Policy Review
This policy will be periodically reviewed and updated by the British Journal of Business Sciences to reflect developments in artificial intelligence technologies, scholarly communication, research ethics, and international publishing standards.
Submission of a manuscript to the journal indicates that the authors have read, understood, and agreed to comply with this policy.
