Authorship Guidelines

When a submission is uploaded to our system, the author list should be final and correct. Author lists with the incorrect information can mislead readers and cause confusion about who is responsible and accountable for the published work.

All authors listed must have given prior approval to have their name attributed to the file(s) being submitted and agree to publication. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors qualify for and have agreed to authorship. They are responsible for informing all co-authors of relevant editorial information throughout the review process.

The ICMJE recommends the following criteria for authorship. Authors must have:

  •  made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  •  contributed to the drafting the work, or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  •  provided final approval of the version to be published; AND
  •  agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved; AND
  •  agreed to be named on the author list, and approved of the full author list

All those designated as authors should meet all criteria for authorship, and all who meet the criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all criteria should be acknowledged.

Acknowledgements should include sources of funding, supervision of research groups, administrative support, language editing and proofreading. The corresponding author should obtain permission from those being acknowledged, as sometimes being named might constitute an endorsement of the publication.

The addition or removal of authors during the editorial process will only be permitted once a clear and justifiable explanation for why the edit is required has been provided to the editorial team and publisher. Attempts to introduce 'ghost' or 'gift' authorship will be treated as cases of misconduct and reported to the relevant institution.

Please ensure that the above guide is followed during the submission process.