Authorship Policies

Being an Author

Authorship provides scholarly credit and carries responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and accountability of published work. The XERON Journal of Medical Research (XJMR) requires all listed authors to satisfy recognised authorship criteria and to approve the manuscript before submission.

All authors are not required to communicate separately with the journal. One author must be designated as the corresponding author and will manage communication between XJMR and the co-authors throughout submission, peer review, publication, and any post-publication correspondence. However, the designation of a corresponding author does not reduce the responsibility or accountability of the other authors.

Authorship Criteria

XJMR follows the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four of the following conditions:

1. Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.

2. Draft the manuscript or critically revise it for important intellectual content.

3. Approve the final version to be published.

4. Agree to remain accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that questions concerning its accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as authors. Contributors who do not meet all four criteria should be identified in the acknowledgment section rather than included in the author list. (ICMJE)

Individuals should not be included as authors solely because they:

• provided funding;

• supervised a department or research group;

• provided administrative support;

• collected data without further intellectual contribution;

• edited the language;

• performed routine technical work; or

• hold a senior institutional position.

Gift, guest, honorary, and ghost authorship are not permitted.

Author Order

The sequence of authors should be determined collectively by the authors according to the nature and extent of each individual’s contribution. XJMR does not determine author order and will not arbitrate disagreements concerning the sequence of authors.

The corresponding author must confirm that:

• all eligible authors have been included;

• no ineligible individual has been listed;

• all authors have approved the author order;

• all affiliations are accurate;

• all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript; and

• every author accepts responsibility for their contribution.

The authors should resolve questions about authorship and author order before submitting the manuscript. The ICMJE considers authorship and author order to be the collective responsibility of the author group rather than the journal editor. (ICMJE)

Author Contribution Statement

Every manuscript must include an Authors’ Contributions statement describing the specific contribution made by each author.

XJMR encourages the use of the CRediT Contributor Role Taxonomy, which provides standard terminology for describing research contributions. CRediT does not determine whether an individual qualifies for authorship; it is used to explain each contributor’s role transparently. (CRediT)

Relevant CRediT roles include:

• Conceptualization

• Methodology

• Investigation

• Data curation

• Formal analysis

• Software

• Validation

• Visualization

• Resources

• Funding acquisition

• Project administration

• Supervision

• Writing—original draft

• Writing—review and editing

An author may be assigned more than one role, and the same role may be assigned to multiple authors. All authors should review and approve the contribution statement before submission.

Example

Authors’ contributions: AK contributed to conceptualization, methodology, investigation, and preparation of the original draft. SM performed data curation and formal analysis. RH contributed to supervision, validation, and critical revision of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agreed to be accountable for the work.

Each author should know which co-authors were responsible for specific parts of the study and should have confidence in the integrity of their contributions. (ICMJE)

Corresponding Author: Responsibilities Before Publication

XJMR ordinarily recognises one primary corresponding author for communication with the journal.

Before and during submission, the corresponding author is responsible for:

• confirming that all authors satisfy the authorship criteria;

• obtaining approval of the manuscript and author order from all co-authors;

• entering accurate names, email addresses, ORCID identifiers, and affiliations;

• ensuring that the manuscript is original and is not under consideration elsewhere;

• submitting ethical approval and clinical-trial registration information where applicable;

• providing complete funding and conflict-of-interest disclosures;

• submitting the Author Declaration and Licence to Publish Form;

• coordinating responses to reviewers and editors;

• communicating all important editorial decisions to the co-authors; and

• informing the journal promptly of any correction required before publication.

The corresponding author must remain available throughout peer review and respond to editorial enquiries within the specified time. The corresponding author may delegate administrative tasks, but remains responsible for ensuring that the journal’s requirements are completed. (ICMJE)

Responsibilities of All Authors

Each author must:

• approve the manuscript before submission;

• approve all substantial revisions;

• disclose relevant competing interests;

• verify their name and affiliation;

• accept responsibility for their own contribution;

• assist in investigating concerns about the work;

• approve the final publication proof; and

• cooperate with requests for clarification, supporting information, or corrections.

The corresponding author acts as the principal contact, but all authors share responsibility for the published article.

Corresponding Author: Responsibilities After Acceptance

After acceptance, the corresponding author will receive the edited manuscript or publication proof and must circulate it among all co-authors.

The corresponding author must verify:

• spelling and sequence of authors’ names;

• academic and institutional affiliations;

• corresponding-author details;

• ORCID identifiers;

• article title and abstract;

• tables, figures, and captions;

• authors’ contribution statement;

• funding and conflict-of-interest statements; and

• accuracy of corrections made during production.

Proof corrections should be limited to production errors, factual inaccuracies, and essential clarifications. Substantial changes to the study, results, or authorship cannot normally be introduced at the proof stage without editorial approval.

Corresponding Author: Responsibilities After Publication

After publication, the corresponding author should remain available to respond to questions concerning the article and cooperate with requests for data, documentation, clarification, correction, or investigation.

Where a correction is required, the corresponding author must:

• inform all co-authors;

• provide the journal with a clear explanation;

• obtain the agreement of all authors where possible; and

• submit supporting documentation requested by the editor.

When one or more authors disagree with a proposed correction, the journal may publish an explanatory statement describing the disagreement or refer the matter to the relevant institution for investigation.

Author Declaration and Licence to Publish

The corresponding author must submit the completed Author Declaration and Licence to Publish Form on behalf of the author group.

Through this form, the authors confirm that:

• the manuscript is original;

• the work has not been published previously;

• the manuscript is not under review elsewhere;

• the author list and sequence have been approved;

• all affiliations are accurate;

• all authors satisfy the journal’s authorship criteria;

• ethical requirements have been fulfilled;

• competing interests and funding have been disclosed; and

• XJMR is authorised to publish and distribute the accepted article.

The corresponding author must retain evidence that all co-authors have approved the declaration. The journal may request individual confirmation from any author when necessary.

Co-authorship and Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged with a description of their contribution.

Examples include individuals who provided:

• technical support;

• administrative assistance;

• statistical advice without broader intellectual involvement;

• language editing;

• patient recruitment;

• general supervision;

• access to facilities; or

• routine data collection.

Written permission should be obtained before naming an individual in the acknowledgment section because acknowledgment may imply that the person endorses the work. (ICMJE)

Financial or material support should be reported in the funding or acknowledgment statement and does not, by itself, justify authorship.

Changes to Authorship Before Acceptance

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be sent by the corresponding author to the editorial office.

The request must include:

• the reason for the proposed change;

• the revised author list;

• an updated contribution statement;

• written agreement from every listed author;

• written agreement from any author being added; and

• written agreement from any author being removed.

Editorial processing may be suspended until the journal receives confirmation from all affected authors.

A person should not be added merely because they assisted in responding to reviewer comments. However, a substantial new intellectual contribution made during revision may justify authorship when the individual meets all authorship criteria.

Changes to Authorship After Acceptance

Authorship changes after acceptance will be considered only in exceptional and adequately documented circumstances.

The publication process may be suspended while the editor:

• reviews the explanation;

• confirms the consent of all authors;

• evaluates the revised contribution statement; and

• requests clarification from the authors’ institutions where necessary.

Approval of an authorship change remains at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Changes to Authorship After Publication

After publication, author addition, deletion, or reordering will be considered only when supported by a clear explanation and written agreement from all authors, including the author being added or removed.

When the change is approved, XJMR will publish a formal correction linked to the original article.

Where the authors cannot agree, the journal will not decide who qualifies for authorship. The matter may be referred to the relevant institution or employer for investigation. Any correction will be based on the outcome of that institutional review. ICMJE and COPE guidance places responsibility for resolving authorship disputes primarily with the authors and their institutions rather than journal editors. (ICMJE)

Authorship Disputes

Authors are expected to resolve authorship disagreements before submission. If a dispute arises during review or production, XJMR may suspend consideration of the manuscript until the authors provide written confirmation that the matter has been resolved.

The journal may contact:

• all listed authors;

• the individual raising the concern;

• the research institution;

• the relevant ethics committee; or

• another competent authority.

XJMR follows relevant Committee on Publication Ethics guidance when addressing suspected ghost, guest, gift, or disputed authorship. COPE recommends transparent contribution policies and documented procedures for managing authorship concerns. (Publication Ethics)

Confidentiality

XJMR treats submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and unpublished material as confidential.

Authors must also protect the confidentiality of:

• reviewer reports;

• editorial correspondence;

• unpublished manuscript versions;

• confidential data;

• identities of reviewers; and

• documents shared during peer review.

Authors must not publish, distribute, or publicly post confidential reviewer reports or editorial correspondence without written permission from the journal.

Unauthorised disclosure of confidential peer-review material may result in rejection of the manuscript or further action under the journal’s publication-ethics procedures.

Reviewer Suggestions

Authors may recommend at least two suitably qualified reviewers during submission.

Suggested reviewers should:

• have relevant expertise;

• be able to provide an objective assessment;

• not be affiliated with the authors’ institution;

• not be recent collaborators of the authors;

• not have a personal, financial, or academic conflict of interest; and

• preferably use an institutional email address.

Authors should provide each reviewer’s:

• full name;

• designation;

• institutional affiliation;

• country;

• institutional email address; and

• relevant area of expertise.

Authors may also request the exclusion of particular reviewers and provide a reason. The editors will consider such requests but are not required to follow them.

Reviewer selection remains solely the responsibility of the editorial team. Suggested reviewers must not be contacted by the authors regarding the submitted manuscript.

Group and Consortium Authorship

XJMR accepts manuscripts submitted on behalf of study groups, collaborative networks, or research consortia.

For group authorship, the corresponding author must provide:

• the official name of the group or consortium;

• the names of members who qualify as authors;

• the names of other collaborators or contributors;

• the contribution of each author or contributor;

• confirmation that all listed authors approve the manuscript; and

• conflict-of-interest disclosures from all authors.

Members identified as authors must satisfy all authorship criteria and accept responsibility for the work. Contributors who do not meet the full criteria should be listed separately as collaborators or acknowledged contributors. (ICMJE)

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools, language models, chatbots, and image-generation systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot approve the manuscript or accept responsibility for its accuracy and integrity.

Authors remain fully responsible for any material created or revised with AI-assisted technologies. The use of such tools must be disclosed in the manuscript and cover letter when they have contributed substantively to writing, data analysis, coding, translation, or figure generation. (ICMJE)

Policy Enforcement

Failure to comply with this policy may result in:

• return of the submission;

• suspension of peer review;

• rejection of the manuscript;

• publication of a correction;

• retraction of a published article;

• notification of the authors’ institutions; or

• other action appropriate to the nature of the concern.

XJMR reserves the right to request authorship declarations, contribution records, raw data, institutional confirmation, or other documentation necessary to evaluate an authorship concern.