GENERATIVE AI POLICY

Policy Statement

TRANSFORMA: Journal of Community Innovation and Transformation recognizes that Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) technologies are increasingly being used to support academic writing and research activities.

The journal permits the responsible and ethical use of Generative AI as a supporting tool, provided that its use does not compromise the integrity, originality, transparency, or reliability of scholarly work.

Authors remain fully responsible for the content of their manuscripts, regardless of whether Generative AI tools have been used during manuscript preparation.

Use of Generative AI by Authors

Authors may use Generative AI tools for limited purposes, including but not limited to:

  • Improving grammar, spelling, and language quality.
  • Enhancing readability and writing style.
  • Assisting with language translation.
  • Organizing ideas or improving manuscript structure.
  • Formatting text or references.

The use of Generative AI must always be supervised and verified by the authors.

Authors are responsible for reviewing, correcting, and validating all AI-generated content before submission.

Unacceptable Use of Generative AI

Authors must not use Generative AI to:

  • Generate or fabricate research findings or community service outcomes.
  • Create fictitious data, images, tables, references, citations, or participant information.
  • Manipulate research evidence.
  • Conceal plagiarism or publication misconduct.
  • Produce false statements regarding ethical approval, funding, or authorship.
  • Replace critical scientific judgment or scholarly interpretation.

Any misuse of Generative AI that compromises research integrity may result in manuscript rejection, publication correction, or article retraction.

Disclosure of AI Use

Authors should disclose the use of Generative AI whenever it has made a substantial contribution to the preparation of the manuscript.

Examples include significant AI-assisted drafting, rewriting, summarization, translation, or language editing beyond routine proofreading.

A disclosure may be included in the Acknowledgements section or another appropriate section of the manuscript.

Routine use of spelling or grammar correction tools does not normally require disclosure.

Authorship

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

Only individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the work and who accept responsibility for its content may be credited as authors.

Responsibility of Authors

Authors remain fully accountable for:

  • The originality of the manuscript.
  • The accuracy of all statements, data, figures, and references.
  • Compliance with publication ethics.
  • Proper citation of all sources.
  • Verification of any AI-assisted content before submission.

The use of Generative AI does not transfer responsibility from the authors to the AI system.

Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts.

They should not upload unpublished manuscripts, reviewer reports, or confidential editorial materials into publicly accessible Generative AI systems if doing so could disclose confidential or proprietary information.

Any use of AI-assisted tools during editorial evaluation must not compromise confidentiality, impartiality, or the integrity of the peer-review process.

Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Board reserves the right to request clarification regarding the use of Generative AI during manuscript preparation whenever necessary.

Failure to disclose substantial AI use or misuse of Generative AI may constitute publication misconduct and will be handled in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Research Misconduct Policy.

Commitment to Responsible AI

TRANSFORMA supports the responsible use of Generative AI to improve scholarly communication while maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical publishing.

The journal will periodically review and update this policy to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, international editorial standards, and advances in artificial intelligence technologies.