Authorship Criteria

1. Mandatory Authorship Requirements

Not just anyone can be listed as an author. An individual must simultaneously meet all four of the following criteria:

Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the research, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
Actively participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
Read, review, and grant final approval of the manuscript version to be published.
Agree to be fully accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the entire manuscript.

Note: Holding a high-ranking position, seniority, or merely providing research funding does not automatically grant authorship rights if the four criteria above are not met.

2. Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author acts as the primary contact bridging communication between the authors and the journal editors. Their primary duties include:

Ensuring the completeness and accuracy of all authors' data (names, affiliations, emails).
Ensuring that all team members have agreed to submit the manuscript.
Handling revisions and responding to notes from reviewers or editors.
Guaranteeing transparency regarding funding sources and the absence of conflicts of interest.
Serving as the main point of contact for readers' inquiries after the article is published.

3. Order of Authors and Changes in Authorship

The order of author names must be determined through a joint agreement by the team prior to manuscript submission. If there is a need to add, remove, or rearrange author names after the manuscript has been submitted, the corresponding author must report this to the editor, accompanied by a letter of consent signed by all authors.

4. Use of the "Acknowledgments" Section

Individuals who assisted in the research process (such as laboratory technicians, field surveyors, or language proofreaders) but do not meet all four mandatory authorship criteria should have their names placed in the Acknowledgments section, provided they have given their explicit permission.

5. Strictly Prohibited Authorship Malpractices

This journal strictly prohibits the following three forms of authorship manipulation:

Guest Authorship: Including the name of a well-known figure or expert solely to increase the manuscript's prestige, even though the individual had no actual involvement in the research.
Gift Authorship: "Gifting" an authorship position to a superior, friend, or colleague as a favor or repayment.
Ghost Authorship: Deliberately omitting the name of an individual who actually made a significant contribution to the research.

6. Strict Rules on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI technologies (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) are strictly prohibited from being listed as authors, as AI lacks the legal capacity to bear accountability. If authors use AI tools to help refine grammar or generate analysis codes, this must be transparently declared in the Methods section. Any data errors or fictitious information (AI hallucinations) remain 100% the responsibility of the human authors.

7. Authorship Dispute Resolution

If a dispute or disagreement arises among authors regarding who is entitled to be included in the author list, the issue must first be resolved amicably among the team members. If an impasse is reached, the editor reserves the right to suspend the publication process and refer the case to the ethics committee of the university or institution where the researchers are affiliated.