Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

 

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Additional Information: Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors

Why Authorship Matters
Who Is an Author?
Non-Author Contributors
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology

1. Why Authorship Matters

Authorship provides significant academic, social, and financial recognition. It also implies responsibility and accountability for the published work.

These guidelines ensure that contributors who have made substantial intellectual contributions are recognized as authors, and they understand their responsibility and accountability for the published content.

Including local researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) when the data originate from those regions is crucial. Including local authors enhances fairness, context, and research implications.

Excluding local investigators as authors should prompt questions and could lead to rejection.

Authorship does not indicate specific contributions, so some journals now request and publish information about each contributor’s role. Developing contributorship policies helps reduce ambiguity about contributions. These policies clarify contributions but do not resolve the issue of the quantity and quality needed for authorship. Here are some criteria for determining authorship.

2. Who Is an Author?

Authors should meet the following criteria:

 

Authors should identify which co-authors are responsible for specific parts of the work and have confidence in their integrity. All who meet these criteria should be listed as authors.

Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged appropriately. These criteria reserve authorship for those who deserve credit and can take responsibility for the work. Individuals meeting the first criterion should have the chance to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript.

Authors are responsible for determining who meets these criteria. If there is disagreement, the institutions where the work was performed should investigate, not the journal editor.

The order of authors should be decided collectively by the author group. The corresponding author handles primary communication with the journal and ensures all administrative requirements are met.

All authors should be available to respond to queries during and after the publication process.

For large multi-author groups, authorship should be decided before starting the work and confirmed before submission. Group members named as authors should meet all criteria, approve the final manuscript, and be confident in the integrity of their co-authors’ contributions.

3. Non-Author Contributors

Contributors who do not meet all four authorship criteria should not be listed as authors but should be acknowledged.

Examples of contributions not qualifying for authorship alone include:

• Funding acquisition
• General supervision
• Administrative support
• Writing or technical assistance

Acknowledgments should specify the nature of the contributions and obtain written permission from those acknowledged to avoid implying endorsement.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology

Authors must disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies (e.g., large language models, chatbots) in their submissions. The specific use of AI should be detailed in the cover letter and relevant manuscript sections.

For instance, AI used for writing assistance should be mentioned in the acknowledgment section, while AI used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation should be described in the methods section. AI should not be listed as an author since it cannot take responsibility for the work's accuracy, integrity, and originality. Human authors are responsible for editing AI-generated content to ensure it is correct and unbiased. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be cited as authors, and all quoted material must be properly attributed.