Academic Integrity Policy

1 Purpose

Larkwell Editorial provides academic and research editing intended to improve the presentation of the author's work while respecting the rules that govern it. Permitted assistance depends on the institution, funder, publisher, assessment, and discipline. This policy applies to academic and research projects in addition to the accepted proposal and other applicable project terms.

2 Establishing permitted assistance

Before work begins, the client must provide relevant editing rules, disclosure requirements, and restrictions, including any supervisor or institutional approval needed. The proposal will identify the permitted level of support. If a rule is unclear, the work should be limited or paused while clarification is obtained. A general permission to use editing services is not assumed for every assessed submission.

3 Editing and the author's contribution

Where permitted, we may address grammar, clarity, organization, terminology, presentation, and citation consistency within the agreed brief. Substantive changes must remain within the permitted assistance and the author's responsibility. We do not replace a student's assessed intellectual contribution or provide work to be misrepresented as independent performance. Legitimate commercial ghostwriting is handled separately from academic editing.

4 Research honesty

We will not knowingly invent research data, sources, experiments, interviews, quotations, approvals, or results, or help conceal fabrication or falsification. A request to change findings to obtain a preferred result is outside our service. If supplied material appears incomplete or unsupported, we may query it; an editorial pass is not a substitute for scientific verification or an institutional investigation.

5 Citations and source checks

Citation consistency work follows the specified style and available source details. Checking punctuation or formatting does not confirm that a cited work exists, supports the claim, or has been read by the author. Any source verification, reference reconstruction, or specialist fact checking must be expressly scoped. We do not guarantee a plagiarism score, a similarity threshold, or approval by an automated detection system.

6 Authorship acknowledgements and disclosures

The author must follow the applicable contribution and disclosure rules. Editorial assistance alone does not necessarily qualify a contributor for authorship. Some publications require acknowledgement of writing, technical editing, or proofreading support, including the source of funding. Where a contribution requires authorship or another disclosure, a private confidentiality arrangement cannot be used to conceal it. Permission should be obtained where naming a contributor requires it.

7 Participant information and confidential research

The client must have appropriate authority to provide research material, including participant information, unpublished findings, and restricted records. Personal information should be removed or minimised where possible. Ethics approvals, consent conditions, embargoes, and funder restrictions must be identified before transfer. We do not undertake to satisfy an institution's research data management requirements through an ordinary editing engagement alone.

8 Tools and submission rules

Any external checking, transcription, or generative tool must be consistent with confidentiality, the accepted engagement, and the applicable academic rules. Restricted material must not be uploaded to an unauthorized service. The client must make accurate declarations about assistance actually used and supply any relevant institutional restrictions before work begins.

A traditional editorial service does not imply a universal certification about every tool used or an ability to defeat a detection system. If a project requires a particular prohibition, approved tool list, or disclosure, that condition must be agreed before materials are provided. We do not guarantee a plagiarism score, similarity threshold, or AI-detection result.

9 Approval and outcome

The author must review suggested changes, verify facts and references, approve the final manuscript, and make required declarations before submission. We do not guarantee a grade, degree, grant, journal acceptance, peer-review outcome, or publication date. The absence of a guaranteed outcome does not excuse a failure to perform the editing service that was agreed.

10 Questions and prohibited requests

Contact projects@larkwelleditorial.com if you are unsure whether a proposed task is permitted. We may decline or stop work where the intended use conflicts with the relevant rules or this policy. Any payment reconciliation follows the agreement, Cancellation and Refund Policy, and applicable law. We do not impose a blanket forfeiture simply because a project raises an integrity concern.