1. Policy Statement

Elmer Press permits the limited, transparent, and responsible use of AI tools in manuscript preparation, provided that such use does not compromise scientific integrity, authorship accountability, data authenticity, or ethical standards. All content submitted must remain the product of human intellectual responsibility and oversight.

2. Scope of Application

This policy applies to all journals, submissions, and publication-related materials managed by the Publisher, including articles, reviews, case reports, editorials, letters, figures, tables, supplementary materials, and submission-related communications.

3. Core Principles

Authors bear full responsibility for all content. Any material use of AI must be disclosed. AI must not compromise scientific integrity. This policy aligns with international editorial standards including ICMJE and COPE.

4. Permissible Uses of AI

AI may be used for language editing, readability improvement, translation, structural organization, coding assistance, and research workflow support when properly disclosed and verified.

5. Prohibited Uses of AI

AI must not be used as an author, for fabrication or falsification, generating fake references, plagiarism concealment, misleading image manipulation, or handling confidential data improperly.

6. Disclosure Requirements

Authors must disclose AI use in the cover letter and in a dedicated section within the manuscript. Disclosure must include tool name, purpose, and verification details.

7. Authorship and Responsibility

All authors must approve the final manuscript, verify all content, and accept full accountability. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

8. Verification of Content

Authors must verify accuracy of all statements, references, data, and figures, particularly AI-assisted outputs.

No fabricated or misleading AI-generated data or images are permitted. Scientific meaning must not be altered.

9. Privacy and Legal Compliance

Authors must ensure compliance with privacy, confidentiality, copyright, and data protection requirements.

10. Editorial Oversight

The Publisher reserves the right to request disclosures, supporting materials, and to reject manuscripts where AI use is inappropriate or undisclosed.

11. Non-Compliance

Violations may result in rejection, retraction, institutional notification, or submission restrictions.

12. Policy Updates

This policy will be periodically updated to reflect evolving standards in scholarly publishing.