1. General Statement

PrimEarly: Journal of Elementary Education and Early Childhood Studies recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies can support authors, editors, reviewers, and other stakeholders in the scholarly publishing process. However, the use of AI must not compromise academic integrity, authorship accountability, confidentiality, originality, transparency, research ethics, or the quality of scholarly communication.

The journal permits the responsible use of AI-assisted technologies under the conditions stipulated in this policy. The use of AI does not transfer responsibility for the content of a manuscript, research findings, peer-review reports, or editorial decisions to an AI system. Authors, editors, and reviewers remain fully responsible for their respective contributions and decisions.

2. Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted technologies as supporting tools in manuscript preparation for purposes such as language improvement, grammar correction, translation, formatting assistance, and other non-substantive editorial tasks.

However, AI must not replace the intellectual contribution, scholarly judgment, or ethical responsibility of the authors. Authors remain fully responsible for:

• The accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.
• The validity of research data, methods, analysis, interpretation, and conclusions.
• The accuracy and verifiability of citations, references, quotations, and source attribution.
• The originality of ideas, arguments, and scholarly contributions.
• Compliance with research ethics and publication ethics requirements.
• Verification of all content generated or assisted by AI.
• The appropriate protection of research participants' privacy and confidential information.

In research involving elementary education and early childhood education, authors must exercise particular care when using AI with data involving children, students, teachers, parents, or educational institutions. Identifiable information, confidential interviews, student records, photographs, assessment results, and other sensitive research materials must not be entered into AI systems without appropriate authorization and adequate data protection.

AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the content, integrity, and accountability of a scholarly publication.

The use of AI to generate substantive academic content without appropriate human verification, fabricate or manipulate research data, produce unverifiable references, or misrepresent intellectual contributions is prohibited.

3. Disclosure of AI Use by Authors

Authors who use AI-assisted technologies in preparing their manuscripts must disclose such use to PrimEarly. The disclosure should identify:

• The name of the AI tool or system used.
• The purpose and nature of its use.
• The section or aspect of the manuscript in which the tool was used, where applicable.

The disclosure should be included in an appropriate section of the manuscript or provided through the journal's submission system, as required by the editorial team.

Examples of acceptable disclosures include:

Example 1: Language Editing

AI Disclosure: The authors used [name of AI tool] to assist with language editing, grammar correction, and improvement of readability. All AI-assisted outputs were reviewed and verified by the authors, who remain fully responsible for the content of this manuscript.

Example 2: Research Assistance

AI Disclosure: The authors used [name of AI tool] to assist with [specific research-related task]. The authors independently verified the outputs, evaluated their appropriateness, and take full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the reported findings.

Authors must not use AI to fabricate data, generate false references, misrepresent sources, conceal substantive AI-generated contributions, or circumvent established research and publication ethics standards.

4. Use of AI by Editors

Editors may use AI-assisted technologies for limited administrative or technical purposes that support journal management and editorial work, provided that such use does not compromise confidentiality, fairness, editorial independence, or academic integrity.

Editors must not delegate editorial judgment or decision-making authority to AI systems. Decisions concerning the following matters remain the responsibility of the authorized editor:

• Acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.
• Selection and appointment of peer reviewers.
• Assessment of scholarly quality and originality.
• Evaluation and interpretation of reviewers' comments.
• Investigation of ethical concerns and alleged misconduct.
• Decisions regarding corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.
• Final editorial decisions.

Editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, unpublished research data, personal information, reviewer reports, or other protected materials into AI systems that do not provide adequate confidentiality and data protection.

Any AI-generated recommendations or outputs used for legitimate editorial purposes must be critically assessed and verified by the editor before being acted upon. Editors remain accountable for all editorial decisions.

5. Use of AI by Reviewers

Reviewers must not upload or enter confidential manuscripts, substantial portions of manuscripts, unpublished research data, or related confidential materials into public or otherwise unauthorized AI systems.

AI-assisted technologies must not replace the reviewer's independent scholarly assessment, critical evaluation, or professional judgment. Reviewers remain responsible for the accuracy, fairness, confidentiality, and originality of their review reports.

Reviewers must protect:

• The confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
• Authors' intellectual property and unpublished research findings.
• The confidentiality of the peer-review process.
• The independence and accountability of scholarly evaluation.
• The privacy of research participants and other individuals whose information appears in a manuscript.

Reviewers who are uncertain whether a particular AI application is permissible must consult the editor before using it in connection with a manuscript under review.

6. AI and Research Integrity

The use of AI-assisted technologies must not be employed to:

• Fabricate, falsify, or manipulate research data, results, or findings.
• Generate false, misleading, or unverifiable references and citations.
• Misrepresent research sources, quotations, or evidence.
• Plagiarize or reproduce another person's intellectual work without appropriate attribution.
• Conceal substantive AI-generated contributions or misrepresent the origin of scholarly work.
• Produce misleading research instruments, participant responses, interview transcripts, or assessment results presented as authentic data.
• Disclose confidential or identifiable participant information without appropriate authorization.
• Impersonate authors, reviewers, research participants, or editors.
• Circumvent research ethics requirements, peer-review procedures, or established publication ethics standards.

AI-assisted outputs must be evaluated critically and verified against reliable evidence. Authors must not present AI-generated text, simulated data, or generated examples as empirical findings obtained from actual research participants.

Where AI is used as part of the research methodology, such as for data classification, text analysis, educational content analysis, or other analytical procedures, its role must be transparently reported in the methodology section. Authors should identify the tool and explain its function sufficiently to support the interpretation and reproducibility of the research, where applicable.

Any suspected misuse of AI will be assessed in accordance with the journal's publication ethics and research integrity policies.

7. Editorial Responsibility and Enforcement

The PrimEarly Editorial Board reserves the right to request clarification, additional information, or supporting documentation from authors regarding the use of AI-assisted technologies when necessary.

Failure to disclose AI use when required, providing misleading information about AI use, or using AI in a manner that violates academic integrity or research ethics may constitute a breach of publication ethics.

Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the journal may request clarification or revision, reject a submitted manuscript, suspend editorial processing while concerns are investigated, publish a correction, retract a published article, or take other appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics policies.

All concerns will be assessed fairly and on the basis of relevant evidence. The use of an AI-detection tool or an AI-generated assessment alone does not constitute conclusive evidence of misconduct.

8. Final Responsibility and Policy Review

AI-assisted technologies are tools and cannot assume authorship, editorial, or peer-review responsibility