Authorship Criteria

Four authorship criteria

UJC adopts the ICMJE criteria. A person is listed as an author only if they meet all four criteria, and everyone who meets them must be listed:

  1. a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; and

  2. drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and

  3. approving the final version to be published; and

  4. agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work, so that questions about its accuracy or integrity can be investigated and resolved.

What is not sufficient for authorship

Obtaining funding, general supervision, administrative support, providing access to laboratories or instruments, routine instrument operation on request, and language editing do not by themselves qualify a person for authorship. Such contributors are recognized in the Acknowledgments with their written permission. Conversely, students, laboratory assistants, or technicians who meet all four criteria must be listed as authors.

Key provisions

  • Position and seniority: Not a basis for authorship.

  • Undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, dissertation: The student who conducted the main research is an author. The supervisor is an author only if they meet all four criteria; the supervisory role may be stated through CRediT or the Acknowledgments. The origin of the manuscript is stated in the manuscript.

  • Corresponding author: Ensures that all authors meet the criteria and approve the manuscript, the author list, the author order, and the contributions; that all declarations are accurate; is available to respond to the editor during and after publication; and signs the Statement of Originality and Authorship.

  • Author order: Agreed upon by the authors before submission; the editor does not determine the order.

  • Contribution statement: Mandatory, using the 14 CRediT roles.

  • Identity and affiliation: Full name, full affiliation, and an active email address; ORCID is recommended. Fictitious identities or affiliations are prohibited.

  • Changes to the author list: After submission, only for legitimate and documented reasons, accompanied by written approval from all authors (including those added or removed) and an updated contribution statement. After acceptance or publication, only to correct demonstrable errors; after publication, changes are recorded through a Correction.

  • Authorship disputes: Resolved by the authors and their institutions; the editor assesses compliance with the policy, not the relative size of contributions, and may suspend the process until the dispute is resolved.

Prohibited practices

  • Guest/gift authorship: listing a person who has made no contribution that meets the criteria.

  • Honorary authorship: granting authorship status because of position, seniority, or personal relationships.

  • Ghost authorship: omitting those who are entitled to authorship or concealing substantial contributions.

  • Buying and selling authorship, fictitious authors, and submitting a manuscript without the authors' knowledge.