AI Guidelines

A guide for research authors, editors, and reviewers

Generative AI tools are rapidly transforming the research landscape, offering new ways to analyze data, refine writing, and accelerate discovery. Whether you're experimenting with these technologies or regularly integrating them into your work, using AI responsibly helps ensure your work remains original, ethical, and aligned with scholarly standards.

This guide is designed to support journal authors, editors, and peer reviewers across disciplines in making informed decisions about AI’s role in research and writing. It outlines best practices, clarifies expectations around disclosure and oversight, and addresses common questions about using AI tools while safeguarding intellectual property rights and maintaining the integrity of your research.

After reading this document you’ll be able to:

  • Use AI responsibly: Apply best practices and properly disclose AI use in manuscripts and peer review
  • Protect your work: Maintain intellectual property rights and ensure privacy, data protection, and licensing compliance
  • Navigate policies confidently: Understand copyright implications and publisher requirements for AI-generated content
  • Choose the right tools: Evaluate, test, and select appropriate AI technologies while recognizing and mitigating potential biases
  • Apply AI effectively: Leverage AI for literature reviews, manuscript drafting, data visualization, and research promotion while considering environmental sustainability

Author guidance on generative AI tools 

Authors may wish to use artificial intelligence tools or technologies (“AI Technology”) when preparing a manuscript or other material for publication in journals published by EAM (the “Material”). EAM welcomes the thoughtful use of AI Technology. When used responsibly, authors can maintain high editorial standards, safeguard intellectual property and other rights, and foster transparency with readers. While EAM authors remain fully accountable for their Material and any Technologies or sources they use in its creation, EAM recognizes AI Technology’s growing role in manuscript preparation and provides the following guidance.

 

Review terms and conditions

Before choosing the AI Technology that can best support their research and manuscript development, authors should carefully review the terms and conditions, terms of use, or any other conditions or licenses associated with that technology. Authors must confirm that the AI Technology does not claim ownership of their content or impose limitations on its use, as this could interfere with an author’s rights to use specific outputs in their manuscripts, the journal or an academic society’s rights, or EAM's rights, including EAM’s ability to publish the Material. Authors should periodically revisit the AI Technology terms to ensure continued compliance. 

Human oversight

Authors may only use AI Technology as a companion to their writing process, not a replacement. As always, authors must take full responsibility for the accuracy of all content, and verify that all claims, citations, references, and analyses are aligned with their expertise and research. Before including AI-generated content in their Material, authors must carefully review it to ensure the final work reflects their expertise, voice, and originality while adhering to EAM's ethical and editorial standards.

Authors should maintain documentation of all AI Technology used, including its purpose, whether it impacted key arguments or conclusions, and how they personally reviewed and verified AI-generated content. Authors must disclose the use of AI Technologies when submitting their Material to a EAM-published journal. If not provided, the journal may request this documentation. 

Rights protection

Authors must not use any AI Technology that restricts their own, EAM’s, or any other party’s use of the Material. This includes ensuring that the AI Technology used and the provider of that AI Technology does not gain any rights over the author’s underlying content, including the right to ingest or “train” their AI Technology on the content, besides the limited right to access and use the Material to perform the service. By reviewing an AI Technology’s terms and conditions for clauses such as “ownership”, “data reuse”, or “opt out” among others, authors can prevent unintended rights transfers. 

Responsible and ethical use

Authors must use AI Technology in a manner that aligns with privacy, confidentiality, and compliance obligations. This includes respecting data protection laws, avoiding the use of AI to replicate unique styles or voices of others, and fact-checking AI-generated content for accuracy and neutrality. Authors should be aware of potential biases in AI outputs and take steps to mitigate stereotypes or misinformation. When inputting sensitive or unpublished content, authors should use Technologies with appropriate privacy controls to protect confidentiality. 

Adherence to agreements

Authors must adhere to the terms and conditions of their agreement with EAM. Authors remain responsible for upholding their contractual representations, such as ensuring their Material is original, not previously published, and that they have the right to grant the necessary permissions to EAM as set forth in their agreement.

EAM values authors' unique creativity and expertise and views AI Technologies as tools that enhance rather than replace creativity. EAM remains committed to providing clear guidance that fosters trust with readers, protects authors' and EAM’s rights, and ensures high-quality content. 

This guidance is not intended as legal advice. Authors should consult their representatives with specific questions.