A. Authorship Criteria
A contributor must meet all of the following criteria to qualify as an author:
1. Substantial Contribution
- Conceptualization or design of the study
- Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
- Development of methodology, software, or tools
- Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically
2. Participation in Manuscript Preparation
- Authors must have actively participated in drafting the manuscript or reviewing it for important intellectual content.
3. Approval of Final Manuscript
- All listed authors must approve the final version before submission and publication.
4. Accountability
- The accuracy and integrity of their own contributions
- Addressing questions or concerns related to the published work
Non-Author Roles
- General supervision
- Administrative support
- Technical assistance
- Editing or proofreading
- Funding acquisition
- Such contributors do not qualify for authorship but may be acknowledged under the Acknowledgements section.
- This aligns with ICMJE and COPE authorship guidelines.