Authorship Criteria and Contributions Policy

Journal of Science and Science Education (JoSSEd) is committed to promoting transparency, accountability, fairness, and integrity in scholarly authorship. The journal recognizes that authorship provides academic credit for intellectual contributions and carries responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of published research.

The journal's authorship policy is informed by the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the ethical principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT).

All individuals listed as authors must satisfy the journal's authorship criteria, make meaningful scholarly contributions, approve the final manuscript, and accept responsibility for their contributions and the integrity of the published work.

1. Authorship Eligibility Criteria

JoSSEd adopts the four authorship criteria recommended by the ICMJE. To qualify for authorship, an individual must meet all four criteria:

1. Substantial Contribution: Making substantial contributions to the conception or design of the research; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data.
2. Manuscript Preparation or Critical Revision: Drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing it for important intellectual content.
3. Final Approval: Approving the final version of the manuscript to be published.
4. Accountability: Agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work by ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not satisfy all four criteria should not be listed as authors. Their contributions may instead be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section, subject to their permission.

All individuals who satisfy the authorship criteria should be appropriately recognized as authors and given the opportunity to participate in manuscript preparation, review, and final approval.

2. Author Contributions and CRediT Taxonomy

JoSSEd encourages transparent disclosure of individual author contributions using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT). Authors should provide an Author Contributions Statement identifying the specific roles performed by each contributor.

The CRediT taxonomy identifies 14 contributor roles:

A contributor may perform multiple roles, and each role may be shared by several contributors. Assignment of a CRediT role does not automatically establish eligibility for authorship; the four authorship criteria must still be satisfied.

3. Author Order and Authorship Agreement

The order of authors must be determined collectively by the authors based on their scholarly contributions and mutual agreement before manuscript submission.

All authors must approve the final author list and the order in which their names appear. The editorial team does not determine authorship order or resolve disputes regarding relative contributions.

Any changes to authorship order must be supported by a clear explanation and written agreement from all affected authors.

4. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the authors and the journal throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, publication, and post-publication processes.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• Ensuring that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria.
• Obtaining approval from all co-authors before manuscript submission.
• Ensuring the accuracy of author names, affiliations, and contact information.
• Submitting the manuscript and required declarations through the journal's OJS platform.
• Communicating editorial decisions and reviewer comments to all co-authors.
• Coordinating revisions and obtaining approval of the revised manuscript.
• Ensuring the completeness of funding, conflict of interest, ethics, and data availability statements.
• Responding promptly to editorial correspondence and post-publication inquiries.

The corresponding author must not make significant changes to the manuscript or author list without the knowledge and agreement of the relevant co-authors.

5. Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission must be submitted to the editorial office with a clear justification.

Any requested authorship change must include written confirmation from all existing authors and any individuals being added or removed.

The editorial team may suspend manuscript processing while an authorship change request is being evaluated.

After manuscript acceptance, changes in authorship are generally discouraged and will be considered only under exceptional circumstances with appropriate documentation and agreement from all relevant parties.

After publication, authorship corrections may require a formal published correction and appropriate updates to the article's metadata.

6. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

JoSSEd prohibits unethical authorship practices, including:

• Gift Authorship: Including individuals who have not made qualifying scholarly contributions.
• Guest Authorship: Adding individuals primarily because of their academic reputation, institutional position, or professional influence.
• Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who have made qualifying contributions to the research and manuscript.
• Coercive Authorship: Including individuals as authors because of pressure, authority, or institutional relationships rather than qualifying contributions.
• Authorship for Payment: Selling, purchasing, or exchanging authorship positions without legitimate scholarly contributions.
• Unauthorized Authorship Changes: Adding, removing, or rearranging authors without appropriate agreement.

Academic titles, institutional leadership positions, financial support, administrative assistance, or general supervision alone do not justify authorship unless the individual also meets all applicable authorship criteria.

7. Acknowledgements and Non-Author Contributions

Individuals who contribute to a research project but do not satisfy the journal's authorship criteria should be recognized in the Acknowledgements section rather than included as authors.

Examples include individuals who provide technical assistance, administrative support, language editing, general research advice, or other contributions that do not independently qualify for authorship.

Authors should obtain permission from individuals named in the Acknowledgements section because acknowledgement may imply their endorsement of the published work.

8. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence systems, including generative AI tools and large language models, cannot be listed as authors because they cannot independently satisfy the journal's authorship criteria or accept responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and ethical implications of scholarly publications.

Authors remain fully responsible for all manuscript content, including material generated or modified with AI assistance.

The use of generative AI tools in manuscript preparation must be transparently disclosed where required by the journal's AI policy. Such disclosure should identify the tool used and describe its relevant purpose.

AI-assisted writing must not be used to fabricate references, generate misleading research findings, conceal plagiarism, or misrepresent scholarly contributions.

9. Authorship Disputes and Misconduct

Disputes regarding authorship eligibility, contribution, author order, or unauthorized changes should initially be addressed through discussion among the authors.

When a dispute cannot be resolved, the editorial team may request written explanations and supporting documentation from the parties involved.

Because journals are generally not positioned to independently investigate competing claims regarding research contributions, unresolved disputes may be referred to the authors' institutions or other appropriate authorities.

The editorial team may suspend manuscript processing until the dispute has been appropriately resolved.

Confirmed authorship misconduct may result in manuscript rejection, publication of a correction, or other appropriate editorial action consistent with the journal's Publication Ethics Policy.

10. Author Contributions Statement

All submitted manuscripts should include an Author Contributions Statement that clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of individual authors.

The statement should accurately reflect the contributions made by each author and should be approved by all co-authors before publication.

The example above is illustrative only. Authors must report their actual contributions and must not assign roles that were not performed.

11. Authorship Verification and Editorial Oversight

JoSSEd reserves the right to request authorship confirmation, contribution statements, institutional information, or other relevant documentation when questions regarding authorship arise.

Editors may seek clarification when the author list or contribution statements appear inconsistent with the reported research activities.

Authors must provide accurate information and cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries regarding authorship eligibility, contributions, and research integrity.

12. Ethical Standards and Reference Guidelines

This policy is informed by internationally recognized guidance on responsible scholarly authorship and publication ethics, including:

• ICMJE: Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.
• COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics.
• CRediT: Contributor Roles Taxonomy.