Authorship Criteria

1. Authorship Criteria

Authorship is granted to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and preparation of a scholarly manuscript. All individuals listed as authors must have actively participated in the research process and must be willing to take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the published work.

To qualify for authorship, individuals must meet the following criteria:

1. Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the research, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data.

2. Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing its significant intellectual content.

3. Review and approve the final version of the manuscript submitted for publication.

4. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that any questions concerning its accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet these criteria must be recognized as authors. Conversely, individuals who do not fulfill the authorship requirements should not be included in the author list but may be acknowledged for their contributions.

2. Author Contributions

Each author must provide a clear and accurate statement describing their individual contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. The journal encourages the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to promote transparency and accountability in scholarly authorship.

Author contributions may include conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, validation, visualization, software development, supervision, project administration, resource provision, funding acquisition, original draft preparation, and manuscript review and editing.

An author may fulfill multiple roles, and the same role may be shared by several authors. Contribution statements must accurately reflect the work performed and be approved by all authors.

The identification of contribution roles does not automatically establish authorship eligibility. All listed authors must independently satisfy the journal's authorship criteria.

3. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the author group and the journal throughout manuscript submission, peer review, editorial revision, publication, and post-publication communication.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:

1. All listed authors meet the authorship criteria and have approved the manuscript before submission.

2. The author names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and other required metadata are accurate.

3. All necessary declarations, including conflicts of interest, funding information, ethical approval, and author contribution statements, are properly submitted.

4. Editorial correspondence, reviewer comments, and revision requests are communicated to the relevant co-authors.

5. All authors approve the final manuscript and any significant revisions before publication.

6. Requests for clarification or additional information after publication are addressed appropriately.

The corresponding author must remain accessible during the editorial process and after publication. However, this administrative responsibility does not reduce the scientific accountability of other co-authors.

4. Changes in Authorship and Author Order

The authorship list and author order must be agreed upon by all contributors before manuscript submission. The sequence of authors should reflect the collective agreement of the author group and the conventions applicable to their research discipline.

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be communicated formally to the Editor-in-Chief and accompanied by:

1. A clear explanation of the proposed change and its justification.

2. A revised author contribution statement, where applicable.

3. Written approval from all existing authors and any author being added or removed.

The editorial team will evaluate the request to ensure compliance with publication ethics and authorship requirements. Changes will not be implemented until the required documentation has been reviewed and accepted.

After publication, authorship changes will be considered only under exceptional and justified circumstances. Any approved changes must be documented transparently through an appropriate publication notice or correction.

In cases of unresolved authorship disputes, the journal may suspend editorial processing and refer the matter to the relevant affiliated institution for investigation.

5. Acknowledgements

Individuals or organizations that have contributed to the research but do not meet the authorship criteria should be recognized in the Acknowledgements section rather than included as authors.

Acknowledgements may include contributions such as technical assistance, administrative support, language editing, general research supervision, funding support, institutional assistance, or other contributions that do not independently qualify for authorship.

The nature of each contribution should be clearly described. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from individuals named in the Acknowledgements section before publication.

Acknowledgement of a contribution does not imply authorship or responsibility for the entire manuscript.

6. Prohibition of Guest, Gift, and Ghost Authorship

The journal strictly prohibits inappropriate authorship practices, including guest authorship, gift authorship, and ghost authorship.

• Guest Authorship: Including individuals as authors primarily because of their reputation, academic position, or institutional influence, despite their failure to meet authorship criteria.

• Gift Authorship: Granting authorship as a courtesy, reward, or personal favor to individuals who have not made sufficient intellectual contributions.

• Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who have made contributions that qualify them for authorship from the official author list.

All authors must be transparently identified based on their actual contributions. The journal reserves the right to request clarification, contribution statements, or supporting documentation when authorship irregularities are suspected.

If inappropriate authorship practices are identified, the editorial team may request corrections, suspend manuscript processing, reject the submission, or take appropriate post-publication action in accordance with established publication ethics procedures.

7. Authorship Accountability and Dispute Resolution

All authors share responsibility for maintaining the integrity, originality, and reliability of the published research. Each author must be able to explain their own contributions and identify the responsibilities of their co-authors.

Any disagreement concerning authorship eligibility, contribution recognition, or author order should initially be resolved among the authors. If the dispute cannot be resolved, the matter should be referred to the relevant institution or research organization.

The journal's editorial team may request additional documentation, suspend manuscript evaluation, or coordinate with the relevant institution when necessary. Editors are responsible for protecting the integrity of the publication process but are not responsible for independently determining the rightful ownership of disputed authorship.

This policy is intended to ensure fairness, transparency, accountability, and ethical recognition of scholarly contributions throughout the publication process.