Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship identifies those who have contributed intellectually to the reported work and can take responsibility for it. Academic rank, institutional position, employment, or personal relationships do not independently establish eligibility.

Eligibility

Each listed author must meet all of the following requirements:

  1. Make a substantive contribution to the research question or design, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of evidence.
  2. Draft the manuscript or critically revise its substantive intellectual content.
  3. Approve the version submitted and the final version to be published.
  4. Accept responsibility for their contribution and cooperate in resolving questions about the accuracy or integrity of the work.

Contributors should have a reasonable opportunity to participate in drafting or revision and final approval. Funding acquisition, administrative assistance, general supervision, or language editing alone does not qualify a person as an author. Acknowledge other contributions with the contributor's permission.

Contribution statement and author order

Explain each author's role in an author contribution statement. The CRediT taxonomy may be used to describe roles; it does not replace the authorship criteria. Authors must agree on the author list and order before submission. Gift, guest, purchased, and ghost authorship are unacceptable.

Corresponding author

The corresponding author coordinates submission, confirms that all authors approve the manuscript, checks metadata and declarations, circulates editorial correspondence, and obtains approval for the final proofs. This coordinating role does not remove the responsibilities of other authors.

Changes and disputes

A request to add, remove, or reorder authors must explain the reason and include written agreement from all affected authors, including anyone added or removed. The editor evaluates the request and may pause processing. Changes after publication require an appropriate correction notice rather than an unrecorded alteration.

Editors do not adjudicate unresolved institutional authorship disputes. Where agreement cannot be established, the journal may request investigation by the relevant institution and suspend processing or take other action appropriate to the evidence.

Artificial intelligence tools

AI systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot approve publication or accept responsibility. Authors remain accountable for the accuracy, originality, references, and lawful use of all submitted material, including material developed with AI assistance.