Authorship and Contribution

All authors listed on a manuscript must satisfy the following four conditions:

Substantial Contribution: Each author should have made significant contributions to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.

Manuscript Development: Authors must participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it to enhance its intellectual content.

Final Approval: All authors are required to review and approve the final version of the manuscript before submission for publication.

Accountability: Authors must agree to take responsibility for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any concerns related to accuracy or integrity are addressed appropriately.

Only individuals who meet all four criteria should be listed as authors. Those who contribute to the work but do not meet the authorship criteria, such as by providing administrative support or technical assistance, should be mentioned in the acknowledgments section.

The corresponding author assumes primary responsibility for communication with the journal throughout the submission, peer review, and publication processes. This role involves ensuring the timely and accurate submission of essential documents, including authorship details, ethical approval certificates, clinical trial registrations, and conflict-of-interest disclosures. While these tasks can be delegated, the corresponding author must oversee and verify their completion.

During peer review, the corresponding author must remain accessible to address editorial inquiries and provide additional information when requested. Following publication, they are expected to respond to critiques, supply data if needed, and collaborate with the journal on any post-publication issues.

All authors are required to sign the author information and copyright agreement form, which is mandatory for submission. Additionally, each author must register and log in to the journal's online submission system using their unique ORCID ID to facilitate communication and ensure transparency.

For collaborative projects involving multiple authors, it is essential to define authorship roles and responsibilities before starting the research. Every contributor listed as an author must meet the criteria for authorship and agree to assume public responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the work. The corresponding author is responsible for collecting completed author information and copyright agreement forms from all contributors during the submission process.

In large-scale collaborative studies, authorship may be attributed to a group. In such cases, the corresponding author must provide a list of individuals who meet the authorship criteria. The group name should be clearly mentioned in the manuscript, and each contributor’s role must be detailed in supplementary documentation.

Requests to modify authorship such as changes to the order of authors, or the addition or removal of contributors may be made during the peer review process or between the manuscript’s acceptance and publication. These requests must meet the following requirements:

•    A detailed justification for the proposed change must be submitted.
•    A signed declaration confirming unanimous agreement among all contributing authors, including those being added  or removed, is mandatory.
•    No changes to authorship will be allowed after publication.

All authorship modification requests must be submitted in writing to the Editor or Publisher through the contact information provided on the journal’s website. The final decision regarding authorship changes rests solely with the Editor.

Authorship criteria and contributions were guided by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) recommendations.