Authorship and Contributorship Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

Qubahan Academic Journal (QAJ) is committed to ensuring that authorship accurately reflects substantial intellectual contributions to published research.

This policy establishes the requirements for authorship eligibility, contributorship disclosure, corresponding-author responsibilities, authorship order, changes to authorship, and the resolution of authorship disputes.

The policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to QAJ.

2. Authorship Eligibility

QAJ adopts the four authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four requirements:

Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the research, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the research data.
Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing it for important intellectual content.
Approve the final version of the manuscript intended for publication.
Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that concerns regarding the accuracy or integrity of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet these four criteria must be identified as authors, and every listed author must meet all four criteria.

Individuals who make meaningful contributions but do not satisfy all four authorship criteria must be recognized appropriately in the acknowledgments section, subject to their permission.

3. Author Contributions

The corresponding author must provide a statement describing the contributions of each author.

QAJ encourages the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), where relevant, to identify contributions such as:

Conceptualization.
Methodology.
Software.
Validation.
Formal analysis.
Investigation.
Resources.
Data curation.
Writing — original draft.
Writing — review and editing.
Visualization.
Supervision.
Project administration.
Funding acquisition.

Contribution statements must accurately represent the work performed by each author.

Participation in an individual activity does not automatically establish eligibility for authorship unless the journal's full authorship criteria are satisfied.

4. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author is responsible for:

Managing correspondence with the journal during submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication.
Confirming that all authors satisfy the journal's authorship requirements.
Ensuring all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript.
Confirming the authors' agreement on the order of authorship.
Coordinating required declarations of funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approval, and research contributions.
Informing all co-authors of significant editorial decisions and manuscript revisions.
Cooperating with reasonable editorial inquiries after publication.

The corresponding author does not have authority to add, remove, or rearrange authors without the required agreement of the affected contributors.

5. Authorship Order

The sequence of authors must be determined collectively by the contributing authors before submission.

The journal does not determine author order on the basis of academic rank, professional seniority, institutional influence, financial contributions, or personal relationships.

All authors must agree to the submitted order of authorship.

6. Changes to Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be submitted to the editorial office with:

A written explanation of the proposed change.
A revised authorship and contribution statement.
Written approval from all existing authors.
Written approval from any author being added or removed.

The editorial office will assess the documentation before determining whether the change may be accepted.

Requests made after publication may require a formal correction notice or further investigation.

7. Prohibited Authorship Practices

QAJ prohibits the following:

Guest authorship: Listing an individual who does not meet the authorship requirements.

Gift or honorary authorship: Granting authorship because of professional status, institutional authority, personal relationships, or other reasons unrelated to qualifying contributions.

Ghost authorship: Omitting an individual who meets the authorship requirements.

Unauthorized authorship: Including an individual without their knowledge or approval.

Authorship manipulation: Deliberately misrepresenting contributions, author identities, or authorship order.

Evidence of authorship misconduct may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or referral to the relevant institution, depending on the circumstances.

8. Acknowledgments

Contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged when appropriate.

Examples include individuals who provide technical assistance, administrative support, language editing, or other services without qualifying for authorship.

The corresponding author must obtain permission from individuals named in the acknowledgments.

9. Authorship Disputes

Disagreements regarding authorship eligibility, contributions, or author order must be reported to the editorial office.

Where disputes arise, QAJ may request supporting documents, contribution statements, and written explanations from the involved parties.

If the dispute cannot be resolved through documented agreement between the contributors, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institutions for investigation.

The editorial office may suspend manuscript processing until the dispute is adequately addressed.

The journal will consider institutional findings and applicable publication ethics guidance when determining any subsequent editorial action.

10. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence tools, language models, and automated writing systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot fulfill the responsibilities and accountability required for scholarly authorship.

Authors must disclose the use of AI-assisted tools in accordance with QAJ's Generative AI Policy.

Human authors retain full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of manuscripts prepared with AI assistance.

11. Author Declaration

During manuscript submission, the corresponding author must confirm that:

Every listed author meets the journal's authorship criteria.
Every eligible contributor has been appropriately recognized.
All authors approved the submitted manuscript and authorship order.
Individual contributions have been accurately reported.
All relevant conflicts of interest have been disclosed.
No person has been added or omitted inappropriately.

12. Reference Standards

This policy is informed by:

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors.

https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): Core Practices.

https://publicationethics.org/files/editable-bean/COPE_Core_Practices_0.pdf