Artificial Intelligence Policy

Guidelines for Responsible Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Journal of Coaching and Sports Science recognizes the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in scientific research, manuscript preparation, peer review, and scholarly publishing. JCSS supports the responsible use of these technologies when they enhance research quality, efficiency, and scholarly communication while maintaining scientific integrity, transparency, confidentiality, intellectual property rights, data privacy, and human accountability. AI tools must not replace human critical thinking, scientific expertise, interpretation, evaluation, or editorial judgment. Authors, reviewers, and editors remain fully responsible and accountable for their respective contributions to the scholarly publishing process.


For Authors

  1. Responsible Use of AI in Manuscript Preparation

Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in a limited and responsible manner to support manuscript preparation, including:

  1. assisting with literature organization and synthesis;
  2. identifying potential research gaps;
  3. organizing or structuring manuscript content;
  4. improving language, clarity, and readability;
  5. assisting with translation; and
  6. performing other appropriate supporting activities.

AI tools must not replace the authors' critical thinking, scientific reasoning, analysis, interpretation, or intellectual contribution.

Authors must carefully review, verify, and edit all AI-assisted outputs before including them in a manuscript. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, completeness, and scientific validity of the submitted and published work.

  1. Declaration of Generative AI Use

Authors must transparently disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation.

The declaration must include:

  1. the name of the AI tool or service used;
  2. the purpose for which the AI tool was used; and
  3. confirmation that the authors reviewed and verified the AI-assisted output and accept full responsibility for the final manuscript.

Basic tools used solely for spelling, grammar, or punctuation checks do not require disclosure.

However, when an AI tool makes substantive changes to sentence structure, organization, interpretation, or manuscript content, its use must be disclosed.

The declaration should be placed in a separate section immediately before the References under the heading:

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Manuscript Preparation Process

Authors may use the following format:

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] for [PURPOSE]. Following the use of this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed, verified, and edited the output as necessary and take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and content of the final manuscript."

  1. AI as Part of Research Methodology

When artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, or other AI-assisted technologies form part of the research process—including research design, coding, data analysis, modeling, classification, prediction, or data visualization—their use must be clearly described in the Methods section.

Authors should provide sufficient information regarding:

  1. the AI tool, model, or system used;
  2. the purpose of its use;
  3. how it was implemented;
  4. relevant parameters or procedures where applicable;
  5. validation procedures;
  6. human oversight; and
  7. relevant methodological limitations.

The description should provide sufficient transparency to enable readers to understand and, where reasonably possible, reproduce the research procedure.

AI-generated analytical outputs must be critically evaluated and validated using appropriate scientific procedures.

  1. Accuracy, References, and Scientific Integrity

Authors are responsible for independently verifying all factual statements, references, citations, statistical information, interpretations, and other outputs produced or suggested by AI tools.

AI-generated or AI-suggested references must be verified against the original scholarly sources before being included in the manuscript.

Authors must not use AI tools to:

  1. fabricate or manipulate research data;
  2. fabricate research findings;
  3. create false or unverifiable references;
  4. misrepresent existing literature;
  5. conceal inappropriate manipulation of data or results; or
  6. generate scientific claims that have not been critically evaluated by the authors.

The inclusion of fabricated, inaccurate, or unverifiable references, data, or findings may constitute grounds for editorial action, including rejection or other action in accordance with JCSS publication ethics policies.

  1. Authorship and Human Accountability

Generative AI tools and AI-assisted technologies must not be listed as authors or co-authors and must not be cited as authors.

Authorship requires intellectual responsibility, accountability for the integrity of the work, approval of the final manuscript, and the ability to respond to questions regarding the accuracy and integrity of the research.

These responsibilities can only be attributed to human authors.

All listed authors remain collectively responsible for ensuring that the final manuscript represents their authentic scholarly contribution.

  1. Privacy, Confidentiality, and Intellectual Property

Authors must ensure that their use of AI tools complies with applicable requirements concerning:

  1. privacy;
  2. confidentiality;
  3. informed consent;
  4. copyright;
  5. intellectual property;
  6. research participant protection; and
  7. data protection.

Authors should carefully review the terms and conditions of any AI tool before entering unpublished manuscripts, research data, personal information, copyrighted materials, or other protected information.

Personal, confidential, sensitive, or protected information must not be entered into an AI system unless the authors have appropriate authorization and have verified that the system provides adequate privacy, confidentiality, and data protection.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that AI use does not compromise research participants' rights, intellectual property rights, or subsequent publication rights.

  1. AI-Generated and AI-Assisted Images

Generative AI tools may be used to create explanatory or illustrative images that represent concepts, processes, relationships, or research workflows, provided that the resulting image is scientifically accurate and its use is transparently disclosed.

When generative AI is used to create or substantially modify an image, figure, illustration, or graphical material, authors must disclose:

  1. the name of the AI tool used; and
  2. the nature of its contribution.

The disclosure should appear in the relevant figure caption and, where applicable, in the manuscript's AI declaration.

AI tools must not be used to fabricate, manipulate, or misrepresent research results or underlying data.

Figures representing empirical results must faithfully correspond to the underlying data and research procedures.

Authors remain responsible for the scientific accuracy, integrity, originality, and appropriate publication rights of all visual materials.

 

For Reviewers

  1. Confidentiality of Manuscripts

Submitted manuscripts are confidential documents.

Reviewers must not upload, copy, paste, or otherwise provide a submitted manuscript, any part of a manuscript, unpublished research information, or confidential peer-review material to an external generative AI or AI-assisted tool.

This restriction protects authors' confidentiality, intellectual property, unpublished research, and personal or sensitive information.

This requirement applies even when an AI tool is described as private, secure, or confidential unless the journal has specifically authorized its use within an approved editorial system.

  1. Human Responsibility for Peer Review

Peer review requires independent scientific judgment, critical thinking, subject expertise, and professional responsibility.

AI tools must not replace a reviewer's scientific assessment or independently determine:

  1. methodological validity;
  2. scientific quality;
  3. originality;
  4. significance;
  5. interpretation of findings;
  6. suitability for publication; or
  7. editorial recommendations.

The reviewer remains fully responsible and accountable for all evaluations, comments, criticisms, recommendations, and assessments contained in the review report.

  1. Supportive Use of AI

AI tools may be used only in a limited supportive capacity where manuscript confidentiality is fully maintained.

Appropriate supportive uses may include:

  1. improving the language of comments independently written by the reviewer;
  2. improving clarity and readability;
  3. organizing or restructuring the reviewer's own comments; and
  4. assisting with general background literature searches without providing confidential information from the manuscript.

AI-generated information must be independently verified by the reviewer.

AI must not perform the scientific review on behalf of the reviewer.

  1. Disclosure of AI Use by Reviewers

When generative AI or AI-assisted technologies are substantively used to assist in preparing a review report, reviewers should disclose their use in the Comments to the Authors section.

Basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation checks do not require disclosure.

A reviewer may use the following format:

"During the preparation of this review report, I used [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] for [PURPOSE]. I subsequently reviewed and edited the output as necessary and take full responsibility for my critical assessment, comments, and recommendations regarding this manuscript."

 

For Editors

  1. Confidentiality

Editors must treat submitted manuscripts, peer-review reports, author correspondence, and associated editorial materials as confidential.

Editors must not upload, copy, paste, or otherwise provide submitted manuscripts or any part of them to external generative AI tools where doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property rights, proprietary information, or data privacy.

  1. Human Editorial Decision-Making

Editorial assessment and decision-making must remain under human responsibility.

Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies must not replace an editor's:

  1. critical evaluation;
  2. scientific judgment;
  3. interpretation of reviewer reports; or
  4. final editorial decision.

Editors remain fully responsible and accountable for the editorial process, the final decision, and its communication to authors.

  1. Supportive Use of AI

Editors may use appropriate AI-assisted technologies in a limited supportive capacity where confidentiality is maintained.

Appropriate uses may include:

  1. improving the language, clarity, or structure of editorial correspondence and decision letters;
  2. supporting general background literature searches;
  3. assisting with technical or administrative checks;
  4. supporting manuscript completeness checks; and
  5. other administrative activities that do not transfer scientific or editorial judgment to AI.

Editors must exercise meaningful human oversight and independently verify AI-assisted information before using it in the editorial process.

AI tools must not independently determine whether a manuscript should be accepted or rejected.

  1. Privacy and Security

Where AI-assisted technologies are used in editorial activities, editors must ensure that appropriate privacy, confidentiality, and security safeguards are maintained.

External AI tools must not receive confidential manuscript content unless their use has been specifically authorized by JCSS and appropriate safeguards for confidentiality, data privacy, and intellectual property have been established.

 

Human Oversight and Accountability

JCSS considers artificial intelligence a supporting technology rather than a substitute for human scientific judgment.

Accordingly:

  1. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, scientific validity, and integrity of their manuscripts.
  2. Reviewers remain responsible for independent scientific assessment and the content of their review reports.
  3. Editors remain responsible for editorial evaluation, interpretation of peer-review reports, and final editorial decisions.

Human oversight and accountability must remain central throughout the research, peer-review, and publication processes.

 

Policy Review and Updates

Artificial intelligence technologies and international standards for their use in scholarly publishing continue to evolve.

JCSS will periodically review and update this policy to reflect developments in AI technologies, research integrity, publication ethics, data protection, and international scholarly publishing standards.

Last updated: August 2026