Publication Ethics

Research in Nondestructive Evaluation is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. RNDE follows the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authorship

All listed authors must have made a substantive contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported work. All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript and for managing communication with the journal on behalf of all authors. AI tools may not be listed as authors.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

ASNT supports the responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence in manuscript preparation. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to comply with ASNT’s Policy on the Ethical Use of AI.

Disclosure requirements. Authors must disclose substantive AI use in their manuscript. A disclosure checklist is integrated into the submission portal. Authors are asked to identify the AI tool(s) used, the extent and nature of use (e.g., data analysis, manuscript drafting, figure creation), and the human oversight applied to AI-generated content. Where disclosure is required, it should appear in the Methods or Acknowledgments section.

Substantive use (disclosure required): AI-assisted data analysis; figure or image creation using generative AI; manuscript drafting or writing.

Nonsubstantive use (disclosure not required): spell-checking and grammar correction; language translation; formatting references; summarizing or outlining content during the writing process.

Author responsibility. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, validity, and replicability of all content in their submission, including AI-assisted content. AI-generated sections must be critically reviewed and verified, and AI-generated contributions must be cited following established citation guidelines.

Peer review. Reviewers may use AI tools to support their evaluation but must not input unpublished manuscript content into AI tools that store, learn from, or share user data, and must not delegate the review to AI. Reviewers who use AI tools must disclose this in their confidential comments to the editor.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial interests that could be perceived as influencing the results or interpretation of their work. Disclosures must appear in the manuscript as a Conflict of Interest Statement. Reviewers and editors who have a conflict of interest with a submitted manuscript must recuse themselves.

Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts may be screened for text similarity prior to peer review. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and fabrication or falsification of data are grounds for immediate rejection and may be reported to the authors' institutions.

Research Ethics

Research involving human subjects. NDE research rarely involves human subjects, but where it does (e.g., occupational exposure studies, human factors research), studies must have been conducted in accordance with applicable national and institutional guidelines. Prior ethical approval from the relevant institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee must have been obtained, and a statement confirming this approval, including the name of the ethics committee and permit or reference numbers where available, must be included in the manuscript.

Research involving animals. Studies involving vertebrates or regulated invertebrates must have been carried out with approval from the relevant institutional animal use and care committee. Authors must include a statement providing the name of the ethics committee and the animal license or permit numbers.

Research involving protected heritage sites or cultural property. NDE research conducted on protected heritage sites, historic structures, or cultural artifacts must comply with applicable national laws and heritage protection guidelines. Authors must confirm that any necessary access permits were obtained and should identify the relevant regulatory bodies in the manuscript.

Biosafety and biosecurity. Research involving hazardous biological materials must comply with institutional biosafety and biosecurity policies consistent with national and international guidelines.

Data Integrity

Authors are expected to retain their raw data and make it available upon reasonable request. Manipulation of figures or data beyond accepted scientific practice is not permitted. Authors should include a Data Availability Statement indicating where supporting data can be accessed.

Corrections and Retractions

Errors identified after publication will be addressed through corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions in accordance with COPE guidelines. Retracted articles remain visible on rnde.asnt.org with a retraction notice. RNDE does not remove published articles from the record.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision or raise a concern about the review process should contact the Managing Editor at rnde@asnt.org. Unresolved concerns may be escalated in accordance with COPE procedures.