Policy on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation for National Wellbeing Service Journals
Introduction
The National Wellbeing Service (NWS) recognises that authors may use digital tools to support writing. However, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning models, chatbots, or similar technologies raises concerns regarding authorship, copyright, academic integrity, and the reliability of scholarly work. The following policy governs use of AI in manuscripts submitted to NWS journals. We have a strict AI policy.
1. Human Authorship and Responsibility
Manuscripts submitted to NWS journals should be the original work of the named human authors. It should reflect their own scholarly contribution. AI tools, including large language models, cannot be listed as authors as they do not satisfy authorship criteria. Authors must retain full responsibility for the content and integrity of their work.
2. Permitted AI Use (Disclosure is mandatory)
The use of digital and AI tools is only permitted for assistive purposes, such as checking spelling without altering substantive content. AI created or assisted contents can lead to a desk rejection.
When using any form of AI in preparing a manuscript, authors should state explicitly in the submission, the specific tool used and the purpose of its use. Failure to disclose AI use may lead to desk rejection or withdrawal of accepted papers.
If you are based at a university, you will generally have access to a AI detector checker. If not, then we recommend that authors use an online AI detector such as the free online Scribbr AI detector. (Authors are responsible for checking the security and confidentiality when using online tools.) Papers are checked using AI detectors for AI created or assisted content.
- Prohibited AI Use in NWS Journals
The use of AI is not permitted for:
- Generating any text, interpretations, opinions, literature reviews, or theoretical content;
- Creating, synthesising, or suggesting references or citations;
- Producing data, analyses, or results;
- Paraphrasing or summarising sources not directly consulted by authors;
- AI-generated images, figures, and artwork (unless the paper is about AI).
Manuscripts found to contain moderate to significant sections of AI-generated content that has not been properly attributed or verified will be rejected or, if published, may be retracted.
- Reference and Article Integrity
All citations should correspond to genuine, published sources that have been accessed and read by the authors. Authors are accountable for the accuracy and completeness of their reference list and/or bibliography. Where reference integrity cannot be verified, editors may reject the manuscript during initial screening. The use of AI to recommend references can lead to incorrect, fabricated, and non-existent bibliographic citations.
When preparing and writing the article, we recommend maintaining an AI tracker so authors have an accurate record of their AI use which should be provided on submission. This will be made available for the reviewers and if the manuscript is accepted, it will also be published.
5. Originality and Copyright Declarations
By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:
- They hold the copyright or have appropriate permission for all material submitted, including text, figures, and tables;
- No part of the manuscript includes content for which copyright ownership is uncertain or for which the rights cannot be transferred or licensed to NWS.
- Disclosure Statement
Every manuscript must include the following disclosure in the cover email and in a separate section of the submission file:“The authors confirm that the manuscript is human-authored. AI tools were/ were not used [delete as appropriate] in the preparation of this manuscript. Where used, the tools were limited to [describe specific use], and all content was reviewed and verified by the authors. The authors confirm that paper has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration in any other publication.”
If the manuscript is accepted for publication, then the statement will be added to the final version of the published article.
7. Editorial Review and Sanctions
The NWS publisher reserves the right to use AI detection tools and editorial judgment to screen for undisclosed and/or inappropriate use of AI. Breaches of this policy may lead to:
- Desk rejection prior to peer review;
- Withdrawal of accepted manuscript;
- Retraction of published articles;
- Notification to authors’ institutions.
To avoid an article rejection, it is essential that any limited AI use is provided at submission and not later in the reviewing process.