A research paper calls for not only original ideas but also independent writing, and the sentences in your submission must be composed by you.
AI tools may support your research process. Writing code and debugging code, running or interpreting analyses, and searching literature are all acceptable uses. Spelling and grammar checkers are acceptable when they point out errors; they are not acceptable when used to rewrite or rephrase your sentences. AI may not draft, paraphrase, expand, or rewrite your prose, including passages you subsequently edit. If a tool suggests how to reword a phrase or sentence and you take that wording, or edit your sentence to match it, AI has written that sentence for you, even if you typed the change yourself. Translation tools such as Google Translate and DeepL are not acceptable, even for text you first wrote in another language, because the tool composes the English sentences. Your submission must be written directly in English.
Authors must disclose all AI use at submission, in a statement at the end of the manuscript after the Acknowledgements and before the References, naming the tools and what they were used for. Disclosed use consistent with this policy does not count against a manuscript. AI tools may not be listed as authors, as authorship requires accountability for the work.
Before publication, we screen every manuscript we accept, using both human review and software checks. We hold all authors to the same standard, both out of respect for the integrity of all authors who publish with NHSJS and out of responsibility to the wider research community that relies on what we publish. Acceptance is conditional on passing this screening.
Manuscripts that do not pass may be returned for rewriting or rejected. The APC covers editorial handling, including but not limited to screening, peer review, and the editorial decision, and that work has been completed in full. The APC is not refunded if a manuscript is subsequently rejected or withdrawn.