Generative AI Policy

Policy on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Established: October 21, 2026

1. Introduction and Scope

The journal Psychological Research and Intervention (PRI; p-ISSN 2614-0403, e-ISSN 2614-7041), published by the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, permits the use of generative AI in a limited and transparent manner under human oversight. This policy applies to authors, reviewers (peer reviewers), and editors, and complements the PRI Publication Ethics, which are based on the COPE guidelines.

This policy is adapted from Generative AI Policies for Books and Commissioned Content (Elsevier, n.d.-b) and tailored to PRI's double-blind review process, publication language (English), CC BY 4.0 license, and ethical rules. The policy will be updated in line with developments in technology and publication ethics standards.

Definition. Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies are tools that generate or modify text, images, audio, code, or data based on instructions (prompts), for example ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, DeepL Write, paraphrasing tools, as well as AI agents and deep research features. Basic spelling and grammar checkers, reference managers (Mendeley, Zotero), and similarity-checking software (Turnitin/iThenticate) are not tools that must be disclosed, provided they do not generate new content.

Core principles:

  1. Human oversight: AI is only an assistive tool; critical thinking, analysis, and scientific conclusions remain human.
  2. Transparency: substantive use of AI must be disclosed.
  3. Accountability: authors, reviewers, and editors are fully responsible for their respective work.
  4. Confidentiality: manuscripts being processed by the PRI editorial team must not be entered into generative AI tools.
  5. Integrity: AI must not be used to falsify data, references, or images.

2. Guidelines for Authors

Authors may use generative AI to support writing, provided that its use is overseen by humans, verified, and disclosed. Authors remain fully responsible for the entire content of the manuscript.

2.1 Permitted uses

  1. Assisting in searching and summarizing the literature, providing an overview of the field, and identifying research gaps.
  2. Assisting in drafting outlines, organizing content, and improving readability and language.
  3. Assisting in translating the manuscript from Indonesian into English, with re-checking by the authors (must be disclosed; see 2.3).

AI must not replace the authors' critical thinking. AI output must be revised (edited) responsibly by the authors so that the manuscript reflects the authors' own original analysis, arguments, and ideas. Output from AI agents or deep research features must not be used directly as manuscript text.

2.2 Authors' responsibilities

  1. Content verification. Check the accuracy, completeness, and impartiality of all AI output. Every reference must be checked against its original source, because AI can produce incorrect or fabricated citations.
  2. Data protection. Read the terms of use of the AI tool. Make sure the AI tool used provides information on how it safeguards the privacy and confidentiality of the content/material written by the authors. The AI tool obtains only limited rights and access to the authors' material and does not restrict the publication rights to the manuscript.
  3. Research data and participants. Entering raw data that could identify participants (identities, recordings, interview transcripts, individual psychological test results) into publicly accessible AI tools is prohibited, unless the data have been anonymized and are in line with ethical approval and informed consent.
  4. Intellectual property rights. Uploading copyrighted material owned by others, or published material that is not openly licensed, to freely accessible external AI tools is prohibited.
  5. Visual content and identity. Generating images that imitate copyrighted images, real people, brands, or a person's voice is prohibited.

2.3 Disclosure requirements

Authors must include a statement on the use of generative AI in the manuscript (template in Section 5). The statement includes the name of the tool, the purpose of its use, and the extent of the authors' oversight, and will be published with the article.

  1. No disclosure needed: basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation checks; reference managers used to compile the reference list.
  2. Disclosure required: drafting or rewriting text, paraphrasing, translation, summarizing literature, and creating outlines.
  3. AI in the research process (e.g., data analysis, AI-assisted qualitative coding, sentiment analysis, or AI as the intervention being studied) is described in the Methods section, not in the writing statement. State the name of the tool, its version, provider, and how it was used so that the study can be replicated.

2.4 Authorship and Author Contribution Statement (CRediT)

AI must not be listed as an author or co-author, nor cited as an author. Authorship entails responsibilities that only humans can carry: guaranteeing the accuracy and integrity of the work, approving the final version, approving the submission, and ensuring that the work is original and does not infringe the rights of others. This is in line with the authorship provisions of the PRI Publication Ethics.

Author contribution statement (CRediT). Every manuscript must include a CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement describing each author's role based on the 14 CRediT roles (Elsevier, n.d.-a): Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, and Funding acquisition. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the role descriptions are accurate and agreed upon by all authors; each author's name is followed by their roles (one author may have several roles), for example Ani Lestari: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft; Budi Santoso: Formal analysis, Writing – Review & Editing. This statement is provided at submission and placed immediately above the Acknowledgments. CRediT does not change PRI's authorship criteria, and AI cannot be assigned any CRediT role.

2.5 Images, graphs, and illustrations

  1. Generative AI must not be used to create or alter images in the manuscript, including enhancing, obscuring, moving, removing, or adding elements.
  2. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, and color balance are permitted as long as they do not remove or obscure the original information.
  3. Exception: if AI is part of the research design or methods (e.g., experimental stimuli generated by AI), describe it in detail in the Methods section (tool name, version, provider, procedure). The editor may request the versions of the images before AI processing as supplementary files at manuscript submission.
  4. Generative AI must not be used to create graphical abstracts or cover illustrations.

3. Guidelines for Reviewers (Peer Reviewers)

Reviewers are prohibited from using generative AI to review PRI manuscripts. Manuscripts are reviewed double-blind by at least two reviewers, so the confidentiality of the manuscript and the identities of the parties involved must be protected.

  1. Manuscript confidentiality. Do not upload the manuscript, any part of its content, its data, or its images to generative AI tools. Uploading a manuscript may violate confidentiality, the authors' proprietary rights, and the data privacy of participants.
  2. Confidentiality of review reports. The same prohibition applies to review reports, assessment forms, and correspondence with the editor, including when the sole purpose is to improve language or readability.
  3. Human assessment. Scientific review requires critical thinking and original judgment that are beyond the capabilities of AI, and AI risks producing incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions. Reviewers are fully responsible for the content of their review reports.
  4. Suspected AI use by authors. If you find indications of undisclosed AI use (e.g., fabricated references or inconsistent text), report them to the editor through the system. The editorial team does not use third-party AI detection tools by uploading manuscripts and does not make direct accusations against authors.
  5. What is still permitted. Reviewers may use basic spell checkers on the text of their own reports that does not contain excerpts from the manuscript, and may search the literature independently to verify the authors' claims without entering any manuscript content.

4. Guidelines for Editors

Editors must not use generative AI to assess manuscripts or make editorial decisions; decisions remain the responsibility of the editor.

  1. Do not upload manuscripts, parts of manuscripts, reviewer reports, or correspondence with authors and reviewers to generative AI tools, including for improving the language of decision letters.
  2. Editorial decisions. Initial screening (fit with the focus and scope and with the journal's house style), reviewer selection, and decisions to accept, revise, or reject are made by the editor without the assistance of generative AI.
  3. Tools that may still be used. The journal management system (OJS) and the Turnitin/iThenticate similarity checker (15% similarity threshold) continue to be used in accordance with the PRI Publication Ethics, because they do not generate new content and run within institutionally licensed services.
  4. Disclosure check. The editor ensures that every manuscript includes a statement on the use of generative AI (or a statement of no AI use) and that any use of AI in the research is described in the Methods section.
  5. Handling suspected violations. The editor investigates suspected undisclosed AI use, fabricated references, or image manipulation by requesting written clarification from the authors, following the COPE flowcharts, before making a decision (see Section 6).
  6. Technical editing. Language editing and layout of accepted manuscripts do not use public generative AI. If an institutionally licensed AI service that guarantees data confidentiality is used, its use must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief and overseen by humans.

5. AI Use Statement Template

The statement is placed at the end of the manuscript, immediately before the References, under the heading Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process. Because PRI publishes in English, the statement is written in English.

If AI was used:

During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [TOOL NAME, version] in order to [PURPOSE]. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article.

Indonesian version: Selama penyusunan karya ini, penulis menggunakan [nama alat, versi] untuk [tujuan]. Setelah menggunakan alat tersebut, penulis meninjau dan menyunting isi sesuai kebutuhan dan bertanggung jawab penuh atas isi artikel yang diterbitkan.

If AI was not used:

The author(s) declare that no generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were used in the writing of this manuscript.

Examples:

Use

Example statement

Translation

…used DeepL Pro and ChatGPT (GPT-4o) in order to translate the manuscript from Indonesian into English…

Language improvement

…used Claude in order to improve the readability and language of the Introduction and Discussion sections…

Outline

…used Gemini in order to suggest an outline for the literature review…

AI in research

Not in this statement; described in the Methods section (tool, version, provider, procedure)

Authors also tick the AI disclosure item on the submission checklist in OJS.

6. Violations, Sanctions, and Policy Review

Violations of this policy are handled as breaches of publication ethics, with sanctions in accordance with the PRI Publication Ethics and the severity of the violation.

Manuscript stage

Example of violation

Action

Before/during review

Substantive AI use not disclosed

Authors are asked to complete the statement; if not fulfilled, the manuscript is rejected

Before/during review

Fabricated references, or data or images manipulated with AI

Manuscript rejected; may be accompanied by notification to the authors' institution

After publication

Violation proven in a published article

Correction (corrigendum) or retraction of the article in accordance with COPE guidelines

Serious/repeated violation

Fabrication or repeated violations

Authors blacklisted and their institution notified

Reviewer/editor

Uploading a manuscript to a generative AI tool

Removal from review or editing duties and review of board membership

Questions about this policy may be sent to journal_psikologi@uny.ac.id. The PRI Editorial Board reviews this policy at least once a year.

References

This policy was developed with reference to Elsevier's generative AI policy and the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) author contribution taxonomy, and was then adapted to the provisions of the PRI journal:

Elsevier. (n.d.-a). CRediT author statement. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.elsevier.com/researcher/author/policies-and-guidelines/credit-author-statement

Elsevier. (n.d.-b). Generative AI policies for books and commissioned content. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/publishing-ethics-books/generative-ai-policies

Psychological Research and Intervention. (n.d.-a). About the journal. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/pri/about

Psychological Research and Intervention. (n.d.-b). Author guidelines. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://journal.uny.ac.id/publications/pri/login#authorGuidelines

Psychological Research and Intervention. (n.d.-c). Peer review process. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/pri/review

Psychological Research and Intervention. (n.d.-d). Publication ethics. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/pri/ethics