The African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences (ARJESS) acknowledges that generative artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies offer valuable assistance to authors when employed responsibly and ethically. These advanced utilities help researchers synthesize extensive literature, outline thematic gaps, brainstorm perspectives, and refine the clarity and readability of their drafts. Nevertheless, artificial intelligence must never replace human critical inquiry, intellectual rigor, and editorial judgment. Authors retain absolute accountability for the integrity, validity, and entirety of their submitted work, which entails rigorously verifying all outputs, safeguarding confidentiality, and ensuring absolute transparency through proper disclosure.
- Ethical Application and Operational Standards
- Contributors must carefully inspect the terms of service of any artificial intelligence platform they utilize to guarantee that proprietary data, unpublished manuscripts, and personal identifiers remain strictly confidential and protected.
- Researchers must verify that their platform agreements restrict the provider from utilizing uploaded draft materials or data inputs for model training purposes, and ensure outputs carry no restrictions that would hinder future publication.
- Every line of text, calculation, and reference produced via artificial intelligence must be meticulously audited by the human author to eliminate fabrication, hallucinations, or underlying bias.
- Mandatory Transparency and Disclosure Protocols
- The employment of artificial intelligence during manuscript composition must be formally declared in a dedicated statement within the submission.
- Authors must document the specific tool name, version, and the exact functional purpose behind its use. Routine mechanical corrections like baseline spelling or punctuation checks are exempt, whereas substantive structural or stylistic overhauls require explicit declaration.
- Specialized assistive technologies utilized exclusively for disability accommodations and accessibility do not need to be declared.
- Artificial intelligence applications embedded within the core investigation methodology must be detailed extensively inside the Methods section rather than the manuscript preparation statement.
| Recommended AI Declaration Statement Template: During the preparation of this work, the author used [NAME OF TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool, the author reviewed and edited the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the content of the published article. |
- Authorship Boundaries
- Artificial intelligence systems, models, and automated software cannot be credited as an author, co-credited, or cited as a contributor.
- Authorship demands cognitive functions, ethical oversight, and legal responsibilities that only human researchers can shoulder, including approving the final submission and protecting the integrity of the research.
- Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Figures and Visual Media
- Explanatory visuals including flowcharts, conceptual diagrams, timelines, and decision trees created with artificial intelligence are permitted provided they undergo rigorous human oversight, transparent documentation, and are explicitly cited within both the individual figure caption and the general manuscript disclosure.
- Data visualizations such as plots, charts, graphs, and heatmaps must never be generated using artificial intelligence to fabricate, manipulate, or alter underlying analytical outcomes. Artificial intelligence is permitted only when visual outputs are derived directly from reproducible computational or statistical methods detailed in the Methods section, complete with specific model attributions.
- Primary research images representing microscopy, blots, or clinical scans must not be created or altered via artificial intelligence. Standard brightness and contrast adjustments must be restricted to traditional, dedicated imaging software.
- General purpose generative image tools are forbidden for crafting complex graphical abstracts. Authors should instead rely on specialized scientific illustration software with verified licensing.
- Submitting artificial intelligence generated cover art requires explicit prior approval from the ARJESS journal editors alongside full proof of third party permissions.
- Research Methodology Integration
- This policy does not restrict utilizing algorithmic or machine learning frameworks within formal research designs, clinical predictive modeling, or data collection pipelines.
- Whenever artificial intelligence forms an active component of the scientific methodology, authors must describe its exact deployment in a fully reproducible manner inside the Methods section, including model names, developer details, and version specifications.
- Summary of Author Responsibilities
- Authors are singularly responsible for guaranteeing that all submitted graphics, concepts, and text are original, accurate, and appropriately licensed.
- Generating unauthorized likenesses of real individuals, brands, or pre existing copyrighted art is strictly barred. Authors must comply fully with all journal standards to preserve scholarly trust and academic excellence.
DOWNLOAD
