Authorship:

Authorship and Criteria:
All contributors who made significant scholarly contributions (e.g., analysis, design, written description, interpretation, proofreading) must be acknowledged as authors. An authorship is a way to take responsibility for the submitted research work [1]. An authorship ensures that credit is given where it’s due. Authors should take accountability for their contributions, recognition of co-authors, and confirmation of the integrity of their work [2].  

Corresponding Author and Responsibilities:
The corresponding author is the one selected from the group of authors. The corresponding author will communicate the article to the journal on behalf of the group of authors with each author’s due consent. The corresponding author is the middle layer between the journal and authors for any queries about published articles. The corresponding author should also care about genuine contributors to the research work [4].

Guest Author (Honorific Author): Authors listed solely due to high institutional rank despite no contribution. The corresponding author must ensure that the article properly acknowledges every author’s contribution.

Ghost Author: The deliberate omission of author names in a work is done to confidently conceal any potential conflicts of interest from editors, reviewers, and readers. The corresponding author must ensure the authors list and their order, conflicts of interest are declared (if any), and institutional partnerships are disclosed.

Forged Author: Authors listed without consent are contacted to confirm their contribution.

Orphan Author: Authors who drafted the article. All contributors who made significant scholarly contributions (e.g., analysis, design, written description, interpretation, proofreading) must be acknowledged as authors. Therefore, the corresponding author should identify the author’s facts before listing them in the author’s list. Additionally, ethics training has been conducted in the related institutions.

The duties of the corresponding author are as given below:

  • Ensure that the submitted research is original, not plagiarised, and has not been published elsewhere, conducted ethically, responsibly, and strictly with all relevant laws and regulations.
  • Introduce all findings clearly and truthfully without fabrication, falsification, or undue data manipulation.
  • Describe the methods clearly and unambiguously so that others can confirm their findings.
  • Disclose all funding and potential conflicts of interest, if any.
  • Ensure compliance with the rules and regulations delineated in the Global Code of Conduct, which includes disclosure statements covering principles such as fairness, respect, care, and honesty [3].
  • Ensure the proof’s contents are accurate, including all co-author details such as names, affiliations (where work is conducted), physical addresses, email addresses, and Orcid IDs.

Altering and Reordering Author’s List:
The author’s name may be altered due to various causes, such as gender identity, divorce, marriage, or religious conversion. The journal will protect your privacy and carefully handle your request. Please feel free to contact the journal office to make any such changes. We will ensure to update the metadata in the indexing services. Moreover, the correction notice of such changes will not be published, so your privacy will be the topmost priority [1] [4]. Please visit correction, retraction, and republication policy for more detailed information.

In reordering, adding, or retracting the author list, the corresponding author will take accountability for approval from each author for submission to the Journal Editorial Office.

Disputes in the Authorship:
The journal editor is not responsible for conflicts arising after any change in the author list. In case of any unresolved disputes, authors are advised to contact their affiliated institution for assistance. Authors ensure that they have mentioned the affiliation where the work is conducted. Authors can update their addresses if they switch to a new one. Authors should note that the journal remains unbiased vis-à-vis jurisdictional rights exemplified on published maps and institutional affiliations [1]. For more detailed information, please visit the conflicts of interest policy.

Group Authorship:
When citing the authors of an article, it is permissible to group them. However, it is important to list each author in the primary author list and as part of the relevant group if applicable. Lastly, compiling a list of all authors belonging to the group at the end of the article is necessary.

If there is a need to include a list of group members who did not contribute directly to the article, this list can be placed in the Acknowledgement section. If you submit an article with an extensive author list, please consult the journal editor before submitting it to ensure a smooth process.

To mention the group members’ names who did not contribute to the article directly, the corresponding author can put them in the Acknowledgement section. For a long list of authors, please get in touch with the journal editor before submitting articles to avoid complications.

Editors should not limit the number of authors unless there is a good reason. Multiple authors are necessary for some types of research. All authors listed should meet the criteria for authorship. If there are too many authors, editors can ask for a detailed description of each author’s contributions. If some don’t meet the criteria, their names can be removed [1].

Authors Contribution Declaration:
It is essential to acknowledge the involvement and contribution of each author, regardless of the required level of detail. The acknowledgement section should include individuals who contributed significantly to the work but didn’t meet authorship criteria, such as proofreaders, writers, funders, and those who provided direct or indirect assistance [4]. For more detailed information, please visit the acknowledgement policy.

References:

  1. World Association of Medical Editors (WAME): Authorship
  2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors
  3. Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings
  4. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): Authorship and contributorship