Citations Policy

The Journal of Computing and AI (JCAI) is committed to promoting ethical citation practices in line with international publishing standards and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors must ensure that citations are accurate, relevant, and contribute meaningfully to the scholarly conversation in AI, computing, and related fields.

1. Accurate and Relevant Citations

  • Citations must directly support the statements or claims made in the manuscript.

  • Authors must avoid citing irrelevant sources simply to increase citation count or give undue weight to certain works.

  • All referenced material must be properly attributed and accurately represented.

2. Ethical Self-Citation

  • Self-citations are permitted only when genuinely relevant to the submitted research.

  • Excessive or unnecessary self-citation designed to manipulate metrics is strictly prohibited.

  • Authors must not coordinate with colleagues solely to mutually inflate citation counts.

3. Balanced and Inclusive Referencing

  • Reference lists should reflect a diverse and balanced view of the field, citing both foundational and recent research.

  • Citations should not disproportionately favor papers published in JCAI unless academically justified.

  • Relevant prior work—even if it contradicts the manuscript’s findings—must be acknowledged to ensure transparency.

4. Citation Manipulation

The following practices are considered unethical and may result in manuscript rejection or disciplinary action:

  • Citing irrelevant or excessive articles for the purpose of artificially boosting citation metrics

  • Omitting key references to skew the context of the research

  • Engaging in citation rings or reciprocal citation arrangements

If an editor or reviewer is suspected of coercive citation practices, authors are encouraged to report this immediately to the Editor-in-Chief.

5. Responsibility and Research Integrity

By following these citation guidelines, authors help:

  • Preserve the integrity of the research record

  • Promote objective and fair scholarly communication

  • Support the global AI and computing research community in building credible knowledge networks

JCAI reserves the right to take corrective action, including retraction, in cases of citation misconduct discovered after publication.