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
• contributed to the drafting the work, or revising it critically for important intellectual content
• provided final approval of the version to be published
• 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
• agreed to be named on the author list, and approved of the full author list

Contributors who meet some but not all of these criteria can be acknowledged in the publication but should not appear on the author list.

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 sometime being named might constitute an endorsement of the publication.

Please note that a clear and justifiable reason to change the author list after submission will be required before an editor or the publisher will consider changing the author list post-submission. Please ensure that the above guide is followed during the submission process.Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.

Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.