Authorship and Contributorship Policy
Authorship and Contribution Policy
SAER Journal recognizes that authorship involves not only being listed as a contributor but also meaningful scholarly contribution, responsibility, accountability, and commitment to the integrity of the published work. Authorship and contribution statements are expected to be transparent, accurate, and reflective of the actual contributions made by the individuals involved.
1. Principle of Authorship
An individual should be listed as an author only if they have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the work and are able to take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and scientific quality of the published content.
Authorship is assessed with particular regard to contributions such as:
- Conceptualization, design, or planning of the research,
- Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data,
- Drafting the manuscript or revising it for important intellectual content,
- Approval of the final version to be published,
- Accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the work.
2. Contributions That Do Not Qualify for Authorship
Providing funding alone, administrative supervision, limited technical assistance with data collection, language editing, or general advisory support does not by itself qualify an individual for authorship.
Such contributions may be acknowledged appropriately in an acknowledgements or contribution statement.
3. Gift, Honorary, and Ghost Authorship
Individuals who have not made sufficient scholarly contributions must not be listed as authors. Gift or honorary authorship based solely on status, position, institutional affiliation, or similar considerations is not acceptable.
Excluding an individual who has made a meaningful contribution from the author list or concealing that person's contribution may constitute ghost authorship and is not acceptable.
4. Author Order
The order of authors should be determined by agreement among the authors. SAER Journal does not impose a specific disciplinary convention for author order.
Where authors disagree regarding order, the journal expects the matter to be resolved by the authors or through appropriate institutional mechanisms.
5. Corresponding Author
The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal during submission and peer review and for ensuring that relevant information is communicated to the other authors.
The role of the corresponding author does not remove the scientific and ethical responsibilities of the other authors. All authors remain responsible for their respective contributions to the published work.
6. Contribution Statements
SAER Journal supports transparent reporting of author contributions. Authors are encouraged to describe their roles in areas such as conceptualization, methodology, data collection, analysis, writing, review, visualization, project administration, and other relevant contributions.
The journal may request a formal contribution statement where considered necessary.
7. Changes in Authorship
Requests to add or remove an author or change author order after submission must be submitted to the editor with an appropriate explanation.
The journal may require confirmation from all affected authors and may request additional information or documentation depending on the nature of the proposed change.
8. Post-Publication Authorship Changes
Where an authorship error or omission is identified after publication, the matter will be reviewed editorially and a correction notice may be issued where appropriate.
In serious authorship disputes, the journal may seek assessment from the relevant institution or competent authority rather than attempting to conduct an institutional investigation beyond its editorial role.
9. Responsibilities of Authors
All authors are responsible for supporting the scientific integrity of the work, ensuring the accuracy of their own contributions, and cooperating with the editor where significant scientific or ethical concerns arise.
Authors are expected to assist in resolving reasonable questions concerning the scientific or ethical aspects of the work.
10. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship
Artificial intelligence systems, large language models, chatbots, and other automated tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors.
Use of AI-assisted technologies does not reduce the responsibility of human authors for accuracy, originality, appropriate attribution, and scientific integrity.
11. Group or Consortium Authorship
Where a manuscript is submitted on behalf of a research group or consortium, authorship and contribution responsibilities should be described clearly.
The relationship between individual authors and group contributors should be presented as transparently as possible.
12. Acknowledgements
Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria but have provided meaningful assistance may be recognized in the acknowledgements section.
Being named in the acknowledgements does not imply author-level responsibility for the content of the work.
13. Authorship Disputes
SAER Journal may facilitate communication in authorship disputes but does not have authority to conduct institutional investigations or make legal determinations regarding authorship.
Unresolved disputes may be referred to the relevant university, research institution, ethics committee, or other competent authority.
14. Policy Updates
SAER Journal may review and update this authorship and contribution policy in response to developments in scholarly publishing and research ethics.
