Authorship Criteria

AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA

Introduction & Fundamental Principles
Scholarly publication demands the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and public accountability. The designation of authorship must reflect substantial and intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. Each listed author must take personal responsibility for the validity and integrity of the published work.
1. Mandatory Authorship Criteria
Every individual listed as an author must meet all four of the following cumulative criteria:
  1. Substantial Contribution: Significant contributions to the conceptualization, design of the research, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
  2. Drafting & Critical Revision: Active involvement in drafting the initial manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
  3. Final Approval: Reading, reviewing, and giving explicit approval for the final version of the manuscript to be published.
  4. Accountability: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Important Note: Administrative positions, institutional seniority, personal relationships, or the sole provision of funding/research facilities do not justify authorship without fulfilling all four criteria above.
2. Author Contribution Statement
To promote transparency, each manuscript must include a detailed statement of individual author contributions according to technical roles, such as:
  • Conceptualization: Formulating the overarching research goals and ideas.
  • Methodology: Development or design of methodology.
  • Formal Analysis & Data Curation: Processing, visualization, or testing of data.
  • Writing – Original Draft & Editing: Writing the initial draft and critical revision of the text.
  • Supervision & Project Administration: Research leadership or project management.
These roles supplement, but do not replace, the requirement for authors to fulfill the four main authorship criteria.
3. Role & Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author
The Corresponding Author serves as the primary liaison between the author team and the editorial office throughout the submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication processes.
Key responsibilities include:
  • Accuracy of Author Information: Ensuring correct names, affiliations, active email addresses, and ORCID IDs for all co-authors.
  • Collective Consent: Verifying that all co-authors agree on the author list order, manuscript content, and journal submission.
  • Review Coordination: Managing responses to peer-review comments and submitting revisions in a timely manner.
  • Ethics & Funding Declarations: Ensuring full disclosure of funding sources, author contributions, and conflict of interest statements.
  • Post-Publication Communication: Acting as the point of contact to address inquiries, critiques, or requests for data clarification from readers following publication.
4. Acknowledgments
Individuals who contributed to the study or manuscript preparation but do not meet all four mandatory authorship criteria must not be listed as authors. Instead, their contributions should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section. Examples of such support include:
  • Technical assistance with data collection or data entry.
  • Language editing, proofreading, or writing assistance.
  • Administrative, managerial, or general departmental support.

5. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

  1. Artificial Intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT, Large Language Models, or other AI systems) cannot be listed as an author, as they lack the legal capacity to take responsibility for the integrity, copyright, or ethics of scholarly work.
  2. Any use of AI tools in data analysis, content generation, or language editing must be transparently disclosed in the methodology or acknowledgments section.
  3. Human authors retain responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript content, including any AI-generated elements.
6. Authorship Misconduct
The journal strictly prohibits any form of authorship manipulation:
  • Guest / Honorary Authorship: Including well-known figures solely to improve the chances of acceptance without significant contributions.
  • Gift Authorship: Adding supervisors, colleagues, or senior members as a courtesy or favor without meaningful intellectual involvement.
  • Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who made substantial intellectual contributions and deserve authorship credit.
  • Unauthorized Listing: Including an individual's name without their explicit written consent.