1. Criteria for Authorship
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All authors must:
- Have made significant contributions to the research;
- Have participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
- Have approved the final version of the article;
- Be accountable for all aspects of the work.
These criteria align with the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) guidelines.
2. Order of Authorship
The order of authors should be determined collectively by the co-authors based on the relative contributions to the work. Any changes in authorship after submission must be approved by all listed authors and justified to the editor.
3. Corresponding Author Responsibilities
The corresponding author is responsible for:
- Ensuring all co-authors meet the authorship criteria;
- Coordinating the submission and peer-review process;
- Communicating with the journal and responding to reviewers.
4. Avoidance of Unethical Authorship
The journal does not accept:
- Guest authorship: listing individuals who made no contribution;
- Gift authorship: including individuals solely based on position or affiliation;
- Ghost authorship: excluding those who made significant contributions.
5. Acknowledgment of Contributions
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the authorship criteria (e.g., data collection assistance, language editing, technical support) should be properly acknowledged in a separate section of the manuscript.
6. Authorship Disputes
Any authorship disputes raised after submission will be handled according to COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.