Anonymous Peer Review Policy

The Journal of Artificial Intelligence Systems (JAIS) employs a double-anonymous peer review process to promote fairness, objectivity, and impartiality during manuscript evaluation. Under this review model, the identities of authors and reviewers remain confidential throughout the editorial and peer-review process. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted materials do not contain information that could directly or indirectly reveal their identity to reviewers.

The purpose of anonymous peer review is to minimize potential bias arising from an author's identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, academic reputation, or professional relationships, allowing manuscripts to be evaluated solely on their scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Preparing an Anonymous Manuscript

Before submitting a manuscript for peer review, authors should carefully remove all information that could identify the authors or their institutions. The anonymized version of the manuscript should not contain:

Author names.
Institutional affiliations.
Email addresses.
ORCID iDs.
Acknowledgements.
Funding statements that identify the authors or institutions.
Competing interest statements containing identifying information.
Running headers or footers containing author names.

Author information should instead be provided separately during the online submission process where requested by the journal's submission system.

Removing File Metadata

Authors should ensure that document metadata and file properties do not contain identifying information before submission. Many word processing and PDF applications automatically store author names and other personal information within file properties.

Before uploading files, authors should review and remove any personal metadata from:

Microsoft Word document properties.
PDF document properties.
Presentation or supplementary files.
Image metadata where applicable.

Authors are encouraged to inspect all submitted files carefully to ensure that hidden metadata does not unintentionally reveal authorship.

Self-Citations

Authors may cite their previously published work where scientifically appropriate. However, self-citations should be written in a manner that preserves reviewer anonymity.

Whenever possible, previous publications should be cited in the same objective manner used when citing any other scholarly work. Language that explicitly identifies the authors should be avoided during peer review.

For example, rather than writing:

In our previous study, we developed a new deep learning framework.

Authors should instead write:

A previous study proposed a deep learning framework for this application (Author, Year).

Following completion of peer review, appropriate author names and complete citations should be restored before final publication.

Figures, Tables, and Supplementary Materials

Figures, tables, datasets, software, appendices, and supplementary files submitted for peer review should also be examined to ensure they do not contain identifying information.

Authors should remove:

Author names embedded within figures.
Institutional logos.
Laboratory names.
University branding.
Hidden metadata within image files where applicable.

Where previously published figures are reproduced with permission, references should be presented in a neutral manner that does not compromise reviewer anonymity.

Source Code and Data Repositories

Because JAIS publishes research in artificial intelligence and computational sciences, manuscripts frequently include links to software repositories, datasets, or online resources. Authors should ensure that repositories shared during peer review do not reveal their identity where anonymous review is intended.

If public repositories contain identifying information, authors are encouraged to use anonymous repository links, temporary private access, or anonymized versions during peer review whenever technically feasible.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to respect the anonymity of the review process and should not attempt to discover the identity of the authors. Reviews should be based solely on the scientific quality, originality, methodology, clarity, reproducibility, and significance of the submitted work.

If a reviewer believes they have identified the authors or recognizes a potential conflict of interest, the reviewer should promptly notify the handling editor before proceeding with the review.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of both authors and reviewers throughout the editorial process. Editorial staff will make reasonable efforts to ensure that manuscripts distributed for peer review have been appropriately anonymized.

Where identifying information is detected prior to review, the editorial office may request that authors submit a revised anonymized version before the manuscript proceeds to external review.

Limitations of Anonymous Review

The journal recognizes that complete anonymity cannot always be guaranteed. In specialized research areas, unique datasets, publicly available preprints, conference presentations, software repositories, or highly specialized research topics may allow knowledgeable reviewers to infer the identity of authors.

When this occurs, reviewers are expected to continue evaluating the manuscript objectively and impartially. Knowledge or suspicion of authorship should not influence the review or editorial recommendation.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and unpublished materials are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers, editors, and editorial staff must not disclose or use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal or professional advantage.

Policy Review

This Anonymous Peer Review Policy is reviewed periodically to ensure continued alignment with internationally recognized standards of scholarly publishing, research integrity, and peer-review best practices. Any revisions will become effective upon publication on the journal website unless otherwise stated.