GENERATIVE AI (GENAI) POLICY

Generative AI (GenAI) presents both opportunities and challenges in scientific research and academic publishing. At the International Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy (IJCP), we recognize the transformative potential of GenAI in enhancing research efficiency and creativity, while also addressing the ethical and transparency concerns it raises. This policy outlines our principles, expectations, and technical guidance for the use of GenAI in the preparation, review, and publication of manuscripts, ensuring accountability, integrity, and trust in scientific publishing.

The International Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy (IJCP) encourages authors, reviewers, and editors to adhere to this policy to uphold the highest ethical and professional standards in academic research and publishing.

Transparency in the Use of GenAI
The International Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy (IJCP) requires authors to disclose the use of GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, Bard, or similar technologies, in any aspect of their manuscript preparation. This includes, but is not limited to, drafting text, enhancing grammar, performing data analysis, or generating visualizations.

Authors must include a clear statement in the acknowledgments section or as a footnote in the manuscript, specifying the tool used and its purpose. For example: “This manuscript utilized ChatGPT (OpenAI) for drafting text and refining grammar. All content was reviewed and validated by the authors.”

Failure to disclose the use of GenAI tools may be considered a breach of publishing ethics.

Accountability and Authorship
The use of GenAI does not absolve authors of their responsibility for the content of the manuscript. Authors remain fully accountable for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their submissions, including any content generated with GenAI assistance.

GenAI tools cannot be listed as authors, as they do not meet the criteria for authorship, including the ability to take responsibility for the work. Authors must ensure that all GenAI outputs are accurate, free of bias, and comply with ethical standards.

Ethical Compliance
The use of GenAI in the preparation of manuscripts must adhere to IJCP’s ethical guidelines, including:

  • Prohibiting the generation of fabricated or manipulated data.
  • Avoiding reliance on GenAI for generating references or citations, as these tools may produce inaccurate or fictitious sources.
  • Ensuring all content produced with GenAI is verified for accuracy and originality.

Undisclosed or unethical use of GenAI tools will be treated as a violation of publishing ethics.

Peer Review Process
The International Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy (IJCP) does not utilize GenAI tools in the peer review process. Manuscripts are evaluated by qualified human reviewers who apply their expertise and judgment to assess the quality and merit of submissions.

Reviewers are also discouraged from using GenAI tools to evaluate manuscripts to ensure that all assessments reflect their professional expertise.

Editorial and Publishing Practices
While IJCP reserves the right to use GenAI tools for auxiliary tasks such as grammar checking, similarity detection, or editorial efficiency, all editorial decisions are made by human editors. Outputs generated by GenAI are carefully reviewed to ensure they meet the journal’s high standards.

Authors are encouraged to use GenAI-based tools for tasks such as language polishing but must disclose their usage during submission.

Technical Guidance for Authors
To ensure compliance with this policy, authors should follow these steps:

  • Clearly disclose the use of GenAI tools, specifying their purpose, in the manuscript.
  • Verify all GenAI-generated content for accuracy, originality, and compliance with ethical guidelines.
  • Use plagiarism-detection tools (such as Turnitin and iThenticate) to ensure that GenAI outputs do not inadvertently replicate existing content.
  • Avoid relying on GenAI for tasks requiring critical intellectual contributions, such as hypothesis formulation or complex data interpretation.
  • Manually verify all references and citations included in the manuscript.

Continuous Review
As GenAI technologies evolve, IJCP will periodically review and update this policy to reflect advancements and align with emerging best practices in academic publishing.