Authorship identifies intellectual contribution and responsibility for the published work. Each author should have made a substantive contribution to conception, design, evidence, analysis, or interpretation; participated in drafting or critical revision; approved the final manuscript; and agreed to accountability for their contribution and the integrity of the work.

Agreeing the author list

Discuss authorship and order before submission and revisit them when contributions change. The order should be agreed by the authors and should not be imposed through honorary status or payment. Gift, honorary, purchased, and undisclosed ghost authorship are unacceptable.

Funding, routine administration, provision of resources, or general supervision alone does not establish authorship. Acknowledge other assistance with permission. Contributors who are eligible for authorship should have an opportunity to participate in critical revision and approve the final work; relevant participation should not be concealed to reduce the author list.

Individual and corresponding-author responsibilities

Each author should understand the contribution attributed to them and be able to identify who is responsible for other parts of the research. Authors must cooperate in addressing questions about accuracy or integrity rather than assuming that the corresponding author alone carries responsibility.

The corresponding author coordinates communication, confirms approval from all authors, enters accurate metadata, and ensures that declarations and supporting files are complete. This person should keep co-authors informed of decisions, substantive revisions, proofs, and requests for records or corrections. Changes to the corresponding author should be communicated clearly to the Editorial Office.

Changes and disputes

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors require an explanation and written agreement from all affected contributors, including anyone being added or removed. Explain the contribution and reason for the change. The editor may pause assessment or production while the request is considered.

The journal cannot ordinarily determine contested research contributions without evidence from the parties or responsible institution. Unresolved disputes may therefore require institutional review. After publication, a justified change to the author record is documented transparently when appropriate; an authorship disagreement alone does not establish that findings are unreliable.

Prepare a contribution statement under Authorship & CRediT. AI systems cannot be listed as authors.