PUBLICATION ETHICS
The publication of the ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning (AJODL) is committed to the Ethics in Research and Publication Statement of Open University Malaysia. Authors who publish their work in this journal are expected to observe the highest standards of research and publication ethics. Authors are expected to be guided by the following principles.
- Non-maleficence: where an author is obliged not to cause any harm.
- Integrity: where an author displays the highest level of integrity to ensure truthfulness, honesty, and transparency, and avoids misconduct such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and misrepresentation.
- Justice: where an author displays and maintains fairness and equality, and avoids any form of discrimination in their work.
- Beneficence: where an author always aims to maximise the benefit and minimise risk, and never to exploit or to cause any harm, harassment or discomfort.
- Respect for individual’s right, autonomy and dignity: where an author must base their work on fundamental respect for all individuals by acknowledging their rights, autonomy, privacy, and dignity.
- Responsibility: where an author is obliged to display the highest level of professionalism, competency, accountability, and commitment towards the community and society they are engaged with.
In line with the above principles, AJODL is committed to:
- maintain the integrity of the academic records by providing clear roles and responsibilities of its editor, also known as Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board Members, reviewers, and authors;
- ensure confidentiality and respect for privacy by incorporating the double-blind peer review process in managing the journal;
- ensure the fair and transparent management of allegations of misconduct, malpractice, and other ethical concerns, guided by relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts, and to make reasonable attempts to reach a just resolution for any concern raised;
- protect the intellectual property and copyright of the authors; and
- foster editorial independence through its policies.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are original, properly referenced, and free from plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, duplicate submission, and redundant publication.
Authors must ensure that all sources, including text, data, images, tables, figures, and ideas from other works, are properly acknowledged and cited. Any form of plagiarism or misrepresentation of another person’s work may be treated as publication misconduct.
Authors must also comply with AJODL’s separate Artificial Intelligence Usage Declaration policy, where applicable. Any use of AI tools in the preparation of a manuscript must be declared according to the journal’s stated requirements.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Usage Declaration
All authors must include a declaration on the use of artificial intelligence tools, generative AI tools, or AI-assisted technologies in their manuscript. The declaration should be placed in the Acknowledgments section. This policy applies to tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Grammarly, QuillBot, DeepL, Elicit, Scite, and similar AI-assisted writing, editing, translation, research, or reference tools.
Required Declaration
For manuscripts using AI tools: “The authors used [name of AI tool] to assist with [specific purpose, e.g., grammar checking, language editing, translation, literature search assistance, reference formatting, or improving clarity]. All AI-assisted content has been reviewed, verified, and revised by the authors. The authors take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and final content of the manuscript.”
For manuscripts not using AI tools: “No artificial intelligence tools or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation of this manuscript.”
Guidelines for AI Tool Usage
- Authors must specify which AI tool was used and for what purpose.
- All AI-assisted output must be reviewed, corrected, verified, and approved by the authors.
- AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Authorship requires human responsibility, accountability, consent, and the ability to defend the work.
- Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, references, data, analysis, interpretation, conclusions, and ethical integrity of the manuscript.
Acceptable Uses of AI Tools
Acceptable uses include grammar checking, spelling correction, language editing, improving sentence clarity, translation support, formatting assistance, reference formatting, literature search assistance, and organizing preliminary notes, provided that all outputs and cited sources are independently verified by the authors.
Restricted and Prohibited Uses
AI tools may support writing, but must not replace author judgment or scholarly responsibility. AI tools should not be used to fabricate references, create false citations, generate research data, conduct unverified data analysis, interpret findings independently, draw conclusions, or prepare peer-review comments on confidential manuscripts without permission.
AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Visuals
The journal does not permit AI-generated or AI-manipulated images, figures, tables, graphs or research visuals that represent actual data, evidence, observations, or findings. Limited AI assistance may be considered only for non-data-based conceptual illustrations, flow diagrams, or graphical summaries, and only if fully disclosed, checked for rights and accuracy, and approved by the editors. Authors must not use AI to alter images in a way that could misrepresent research evidence.
Important Note
Failure to provide accurate information about AI tool usage may be treated as a breach of publication ethics and may result in manuscript rejection, correction, retraction, or other editorial action. The journal may request further clarification from authors regarding AI use at any stage of submission, revision, or publication.
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Disclaimer:
The ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning (AJODL) is not affiliated, supported by, nor linked to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The term ASEAN is used here to refer to the geographical area of specific interest to the AJODL. The AJODL is dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Open and Distance Learning particularly in, but not limited to, ASEAN nations.
