Statement of Publication Ethics

The Journal of Educators Online (JEO) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. We adhere to the principles of transparency, accountability, and respect in all aspects of our publication process. This includes rigorous peer review, ethical authorship, avoidance of plagiarism, and the handling of conflicts of interest. Our commitment extends to ensuring data accuracy and respecting intellectual property rights. The JEO editorial board is dedicated to enforcing these ethical standards, fostering a culture of ethical publishing, and promoting responsible research practices. Our goal is to contribute positively to the scholarly community by ensuring that all articles published in JEO meet these high ethical expectations.

JEO adheres to the following policies:

Conflicts of Interest 

Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest related to their research, including financial, personal, and professional affiliations. This disclosure should be included at submission to ensure transparency and avoid bias in publication.

Authorship

JEO requires that all listed authors meet the criteria for authorship, contributing significantly to the research design, data collection, or analysis. Each author must approve the final manuscript, and any changes in authorship post-submission need justification.

Plagiarism

JEO employs tools to screen for plagiarism and mandates that submissions are original, with clear citations for any reused material. Instances of detected plagiarism will lead to rejection, and further actions may apply based on severity.

Retractions

Articles may be retracted if serious errors or ethical violations, such as data fabrication or falsification, are discovered post-publication. Retractions are accompanied by a notice explaining the reason, maintaining transparency.

Corrections

Authors are encouraged to notify the journal if significant errors are found in published work. Minor corrections may be noted within the article, while major errors leading to substantial changes will warrant a correction notice.

Publishing Malpractices

JEO adheres to best practices to prevent publishing misconduct, including thorough peer review, checks for data integrity, and adherence to ethical guidelines. Misconduct may result in barring the author from future submissions.

Open Access Archiving Policy

Once an article has been accepted for publication, authors may post the accepted version of the article on their own personal website, department’s website or institution repository without any restrictions. When posting or re-using the article, authors must provide a link to the appropriate DOI for the published version of the article at JEO.

Policy on Generative AI

As an academic journal, we recognize the potential benefits and ethical concerns of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a research tool. We believe that AI can serve as a valuable tool in assisting researchers with data analysis, authorship, and other research-related tasks. However, we also acknowledge the importance of ethical considerations when using AI in research. Our policy statement is grounded in the principle that AI should be used in ways that uphold ethical values such as fairness, transparency, accountability, and respect for individual rights. Authors must include a disclosure statement with their manuscript outlining the names and versions of the AI used and the extent of their use in the manuscript. This requirement encourages authors to carefully consider how they employ AI and promotes transparency in the research process.

Use of AI in Writing Assistance:
While the use of AI for writing assistance is permitted, authors must ensure that the final manuscript reflects their individual writing style, thoughts, and unique contributions. AI should serve as a support tool, not a replacement for the author’s intellectual input. Manuscripts should avoid sounding overly automated or generic, ensuring that the work retains its academic integrity and personal voice.

Encouragement for AI in Copyediting:
Authors are encouraged to utilize AI for copyediting purposes, such as improving language clarity, conciseness, organization, communication, and formatting. AI can be a valuable tool to enhance the overall quality of the manuscript without compromising the originality of the content. However, authors should document how AI was used during the editing process within the disclosure statement to maintain transparency.

Transparency and Documentation:
Researchers are expected to be fully transparent about the use of AI in their research. This includes providing detailed documentation of the AI tools used, the extent of their involvement in data analysis, writing, or any other research-related task, and the measures taken to ensure ethical use. Researchers should also disclose any limitations or potential biases of the AI models and make their data and models available for scrutiny and replication.

Ethical Considerations and Bias Mitigation:
Researchers must ensure that the data used to train AI models is representative and unbiased, and that the algorithms are transparent and explainable. Continuous bias assessment and mitigation should be part of the research process. To ensure comprehensive and balanced analysis, researchers are encouraged to consider using multiple AI models or combining AI with other research methods.

AI in Peer Review and Editorial Processes:
AI may be used to assist in generating review feedback. However, all AI-generated feedback will be reviewed and validated by human reviewers to prevent potential errors or biases from influencing the review process. This ensures that the integrity of the peer review process is maintained.

Consent for AI-Assisted Copyediting:
Accepted manuscripts may be reviewed by AI to assist with copyediting to fix simple punctuation and grammar errors, to confirm compliance with APA style, and to ensure clarity and readability. All changes will be tracked in the file for authors to review before publication. This process ensures that no content will be altered without the authors’ knowledge, maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript. By submitting a manuscript to this journal, authors provide consent for the manuscript to be uploaded to AI platforms for the purpose of copyediting once accepted. The journal guarantees that this process will comply with all relevant data protection laws, ensuring the confidentiality and security of the authors' work.

Ethical Use and Transparency:
Researchers must obtain informed consent from participants before collecting or using any data and ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of individuals and their personal information are protected. Researchers must be aware of the potential biases and limitations of generative AI and take steps to mitigate these issues.

Researchers must be transparent about the use of generative AI in their research, including acknowledging its contributions in any publications or presentations. While AI should not be listed as a co-author, its use as a writing tool should be identified in an author note.

This journal supports the ethical use of generative AI as a research tool. We encourage researchers to follow these guidelines to ensure that their use of this technology is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in their field.