Cited by 129Publishing and Scholarly CommunicationAcademic Publishing and Open AccessAcademic Writing and Publishing

Best Practices for Using AI Tools as an Author, Peer Reviewer, or Editor

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Leung, Tiffany I, de Azevedo Cardoso, Taiane, Mavragani, Amaryllis, Eysenbach, Gunther·2023·Journal of Medical Internet Research

Abstract

The ethics of generative artificial intelligence (AI) use in scientific manuscript content creation has become a serious matter of concern in the scientific publishing community. Generative AI has computationally become capable of elaborating research questions; refining programming code; generating text in scientific language; and generating images, graphics, or figures. However, this technology should be used with caution. In this editorial, we outline the current state of editorial policies on generative AI or chatbot use in authorship, peer review, and editorial processing of scientific and scholarly manuscripts. Additionally, we provide JMIR Publications’ editorial policies on these issues. We further detail JMIR Publications’ approach to the applications of AI in the editorial process for manuscripts in review in a JMIR Publications journal.

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  • Many journals, organizations, and publishers have started to provide GAI usage guidelines for authors and reviewers and made continuous updates.

    “In response, many journals, organizations, and publishers have started to provide GAI usage guidelines for authors and reviewers and made continuous updates [30–32].”

    From Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) usage guidelines for scholarly publishing: a cross-sectional study of medical journals (2025) · cites this paper as [32]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) says the paper surveys generative-AI policies for authors and peer reviewers, and the For Peer Reviewers section gives examples from NIH, publishers, WAME, and JMIR Publications. The Closing Comments describe policies as evolving, but do not establish that many journals, organizations, and publishers had made continuous updates to their guidelines. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Some journals specified conditions in which GAI can be used, such as requiring reviewers to obtain permission from authors and editors, confirming that manuscripts shall not be uploaded as training data, and providing authors with the choice to opt for or against a GAI-assisted review process.

    “Some journals specified conditions in which GAI can be used. For example, they required reviewers to obtain permission from authors and editors, to confirm that manuscripts shall not be uploaded as training data, and provide authors with the choice to opt for or against a GAI-assisted review process [30, 32].”

    From Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) usage guidelines for scholarly publishing: a cross-sectional study of medical journals (2025) · cites this paper as [32]

    The For Peer Reviewers section says reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality and check AI tools’ terms of use; JMIR would not permit a tool when submitted content might be reused. It also discusses authors’ choice between open and closed peer review. It does not say reviewers must obtain permission from both authors and editors, require confirmation that manuscripts will not become training data, or offer authors a choice specifically about AI-assisted review. Page numbers are not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • These biases are inherited from the training data used to develop LLMs.

    “These biases are inherited from the training data used to develop LLMs (Leung et al., 2023).”

    From Large language models for automated scholarly paper review: A survey (2025) · cites this paper as Leung et al., 2023

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Research works printed but not linked: 9

  1. [3]Anderson R Vines T Miles J SSP conference debate: AI and the integrity of scholarly publishing The Scholarly Kitchen 2023 6 27 2023-07-05 https://tinyurl.com/yxy9w2ah
  2. [18]Editorial Director Copyright, licensing, attribution of TOC images JMIR Publications 2023 2023-07-05 https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/articles/115001352708-Copyright-Licensing-Attribution-of-TOC-images
  3. [19]JMIR Copyediting Team How should the "Acknowledgments" section be formatted? JMIR Publications 2023 2023-07-05 https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/articles/360015982471-How-should-the-Acknowledgments-section-be-formatted-
  4. [25]Peer-review (FAQs for reviewers) JMIR Publications 2023-08-04 https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/sections/115000390167-Peer-Review-FAQs-for-Reviewers-
  5. [29]Editorial Director What are JMIR Preprints? JMIR Publications 2023 2023-07-07 https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/articles/115001350367-What-are-JMIR-Preprints-
  6. [30]Editorial Director What is open peer-review? JMIR Publications 2023 2023-07-07 https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/articles/115001908868-What-is-open-peer-review-
  7. [31]JMIR Editorial Team (For reviewers) how to write a high-quality peer review JMIR Publications 2023 2023-07-24 https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/articles/16470162812827
  8. [33]Publishing ethics Elsevier 2023-07-24 https://beta.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/publishing-ethics
  9. [34]Taylor & Francis Editor Resources 2020 2023-07-24 https://tinyurl.com/4dwu7p4s

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Authors
Leung, T. I., de Azevedo Cardoso, T., Mavragani, A., & Eysenbach, G.
Affiliations
  • SIU Medicine (US)
  • JMIR Publications (CA)
Corresponding author
Leung, Tiffany I
Venue
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Published
2023-08-31
Volume
25
Pages
e51584
ISSN
1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4386306053
Cited by
127
References
20
Citations by year
2026: 52 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 4
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Publishing and Scholarly Communication
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Academic Publishing and Open Access
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Academic Writing and Publishing
Keywords
generative AI, AI ethics, scholarly publishing, editorial policy, peer review, manuscript authorship, chatbots, AI-generated text
MeSH terms
Artificial Intelligence, Authorship, Humans, Language, Software, Editorial Policies

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