Overview

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), including large language models (LLMs), is a powerful tool that is shifting how we think about knowledge creation, citation practices, and the distribution of scholarly content. How we use and think about these tools in higher education offers both the potential to perpetuate bias and existing hegemonies and democratize the creation and dissemination of scholarship.

At JDEED, we view the relationship among writers, editors, and reviewers as one governed by trust and transparency. The below guidelines are meant to uphold those tenets, while recognizing the significant shifts to scholarly publishing that GenAI has introduced and will continue to introduce.

Please note that in crafting these guidelines, we started with JDEED’s mission and then drew heavily on existing policies from major academic publishers, specifically Sage, Wiley, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis. Our goal is to align our guidelines with both our philosophy as a journal and with prevailing scholarly practices. Finally, we exclude AI-assisted tools (e.g., programs that suggest text in emails or that correct spelling) from the below guidelines. 

As both GenAI and our understanding of this technology continue to evolve, the JDEED editors will update the guidelines as needed. 

If you have questions about the appropriate use of GenAI in your manuscript or review, please contact the handling editor or jdeed@podnetwork.org. We are thankful for your contributions to JDEED, and our goal is to partner with you as we all navigate this new landscape. 

For Authors

When an author submits a manuscript to JDEED, they affirm the originality, accuracy, and integrity of the work submitted. In addition, the author affirms that they have given proper attribution to any work they quote, paraphrase, or from which they otherwise borrow. Finally, they affirm that they have created their work ethically, in alignment with their institution’s research review processes, with the utmost respect for the confidentiality of any research participants, and with respect to the copyright of other academic work.

At JDEED we are acutely aware of the biases in scholarly production– from the primacy given to particular topics, fields, methodologies, populations, and publications, to the ways in which BIPOC and other minoritized authors are disproportionately under-cited and thus marginalized as scholars. Given the potential of GenAI to reproduce, rather than address many of these biases, we request that authors use GenAI in limited and thoughtful ways.

To that end, JDEED supports the limited use of GenAI in the following instances:

• To generate ideas and explore topics initially

• To generate a bibliography to guide the author’s initial review of a topic

• To support spelling, grammar, and general editing of the manuscript. By “limited” we mean individual sentences and or select paragraphs

• To format an existing reference list

• To apply research methods or to explore practices that explicitly incorporate or rely on GenAI (e.g., exploring the efficacy of a workshop that relies on AI-generated content). In such cases, please include a description of AI-usage in the methods section (for research articles) or in the description of practice (for Reflections on Practice pieces)

We request that authors declare any usage of GenAI tools, including usage in the research or data analysis processes, when submitting their manuscript. Please include: the full name of the tool used (with version number), how it was used, and the reason for use. This statement will be included in the published work to support transparency. 

JDEED does not support:

• Listing GenAI as an author, as these tools cannot assume responsibility for the published work nor accuracy of the content created 

• Using GenAI to replace core research or writing responsibilities, such as generating research data or creating, rewriting or otherwise manipulating text, figures, data tables, or other content

For Reviewers and Editors

The JDEED editorial team relies on peer reviewers for scholarly expertise, critical thinking skills, knowledge of the field, and lived experiences that inform their interpretation of the work under review. In other words, we believe that peer reviews should be done by people. 

In addition, we take a developmental approach to the review process, meaning that we ask reviewers to offer thoughtful feedback to support the development and growth of the writer. As such, we ask reviewers to stand behind their reviews, which is something GenAI cannot do. 

Finally, we value the confidentiality of the peer review process, the privacy of authors and reviewers, and the copyright of the manuscript under review. 

The above orientation has informed the following policies:  

• JDEED does not allow editors or peer reviewers to upload manuscripts (or any parts of manuscripts, including figures and tables) into GenAI or AI-assisted tools for any purpose, including, but not limited to, generating a summary of the submitted article or drafting the review. Such uploads may infringe on authors’ copyright and violate the assumed confidentiality of the peer review process. If the paper contains identifiable information, such an upload may also breach data privacy rights. 

• We do not allow reviewers to upload their peer review report into GenAI tools, as that too might violate copyright and privacy considerations. Similarly, editors may not upload editorial review reports into GenAI tools or programs. 

• We support the limited use of GenAI to support spelling, grammar, and general editing of sections of review. By “limited” we mean individual sentences and or select paragraphs.

• We request that peer reviewers declare any usage of GenAI tools to the handling editor when you submit your review. 

• Editors must disclose any use of GenAI tools when submitting their editorial reviews. 

If a reviewer observes characteristics of a manuscript that raise questions about the author’s usage of GenAI in a manner that goes beyond appropriate use described above, please contact the handling editor. Note that as a reviewer, your objective is not to “catch” writers using GenAI; rather, we ask that you enter the review process with trust and assume the good faith of all involved. Therefore, please share any concerns with the handling editor so that the JDEED editorial team may gain clarity from the author(s).