Authorship Criteria

1. General Policy

International Journal Science and Technology (IJST) is committed to maintaining transparency, accountability, fairness, and integrity in scholarly authorship. All individuals listed as authors must have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and must accept responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the published work.

IJST adopts internationally recognized principles of responsible authorship, referring to the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), as applicable to scientific, engineering, and technological research.

Authorship must accurately reflect each individual's contribution to the conception, execution, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the research.

2. Authorship Eligibility Criteria

To qualify as an author of a manuscript submitted to IJST, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

  1. Substantial Contribution: Make a significant intellectual contribution to the conception or design of the research; or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data.

  2. Manuscript Preparation: Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.

  3. Final Approval: Review and approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.

  4. Accountability: Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged for their contributions.

3. Author Contributions

IJST encourages authors to provide a clear statement describing the contribution of each author using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT).

Contributions may include:

  • Conceptualization

  • Methodology

  • Software

  • Validation

  • Formal Analysis

  • Investigation

  • Resources

  • Data Curation

  • Writing – Original Draft

  • Writing – Review and Editing

  • Visualization

  • Supervision

  • Project Administration

  • Funding Acquisition

The contribution statement must accurately reflect the work performed by each author.

Participation in a CRediT role does not automatically establish authorship eligibility. All listed authors must satisfy the journal's authorship criteria.

4. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the authors and the IJST editorial office throughout the submission, peer-review, publication, and post-publication processes.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  1. Ensuring that all listed authors meet the authorship criteria.

  2. Obtaining approval from all authors before manuscript submission.

  3. Ensuring the accuracy of author names, affiliations, and contact information.

  4. Coordinating responses to editorial and reviewer comments.

  5. Ensuring that required declarations, ethical approvals, funding statements, and conflict-of-interest disclosures are provided.

  6. Communicating editorial decisions and manuscript revisions to all co-authors.

  7. Ensuring that all authors approve the final manuscript before publication.

  8. Cooperating with the editorial office in addressing post-publication questions concerning the manuscript.

5. Authorship Order

The order of authors must be determined through mutual agreement among all contributors before manuscript submission.

IJST does not prescribe a specific method for determining author order. However, the order should appropriately reflect the authors' intellectual contributions and the conventions of the relevant scientific discipline.

Any disagreement regarding author order should be resolved by the authors and their affiliated institutions before submission.

The editorial board is not responsible for determining the relative contributions of authors or resolving internal authorship disputes.

6. Changes in Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission must be submitted to the editorial office with a clear explanation.

The request must include written agreement from all listed authors and, where applicable, individuals being added or removed.

Changes in authorship will be considered only when supported by valid reasons and appropriate documentation.

IJST reserves the right to suspend the editorial process while authorship concerns are being reviewed.

Requests for authorship changes after publication will be evaluated in accordance with the journal's correction and publication ethics policies.

7. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

IJST strictly prohibits unethical authorship practices, including:

Gift or Honorary Authorship: Including individuals who have not made sufficient intellectual contributions to qualify as authors.

Guest Authorship: Adding individuals primarily to increase the perceived credibility, influence, or likelihood of acceptance of a manuscript.

Ghost Authorship: Excluding individuals who meet the authorship criteria or concealing substantial intellectual contributions.

Coercive Authorship: Including individuals as authors because of institutional authority, supervisory relationships, or other forms of pressure rather than legitimate scholarly contributions.

Authorship Misrepresentation: Providing inaccurate information about author contributions, affiliations, identities, or responsibilities.

General supervision, administrative assistance, provision of funding, or language editing alone does not automatically qualify an individual for authorship.

8. Acknowledgment of Non-Author Contributors

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the authorship criteria should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section.

Such contributions may include technical assistance, administrative support, laboratory services, equipment provision, language editing, or other forms of research support.

Authors should obtain permission from individuals named in the Acknowledgments section whenever appropriate.

9. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems, language models, and automated writing assistants, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to IJST.

AI systems cannot assume responsibility for research integrity, approve manuscript publication, or fulfill the accountability requirements of scholarly authorship.

Authors remain fully responsible for all manuscript content, including text, analyses, programming, figures, and other materials prepared with AI assistance.

Substantive use of AI tools must be disclosed transparently in accordance with the journal's AI Use Policy.

AI-generated content must be independently verified by the authors to ensure accuracy, originality, and compliance with research ethics.

10. Authorship Disputes and Misconduct

IJST takes allegations of inappropriate authorship seriously.

When an authorship dispute arises, the editorial board may request supporting documentation, including author contribution statements, written agreements, research records, or institutional clarification.

The journal may refer unresolved disputes to the authors' affiliated institutions for investigation.

Where evidence indicates authorship misconduct, IJST may take appropriate editorial action, including requesting clarification, suspending manuscript processing, rejecting the submission, publishing a correction, or retracting a published article when warranted.

Such actions will be considered in accordance with applicable publication ethics principles and COPE guidance.

11. Author Declaration

By submitting a manuscript to IJST, all listed authors confirm that:

  1. They meet the journal's authorship eligibility criteria.

  2. Their contributions are accurately represented.

  3. They have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript.

  4. They agree to the stated authorship order.

  5. They accept responsibility for the integrity of their contributions and cooperate in resolving concerns about the work.

  6. They have disclosed relevant conflicts of interest and funding information.

  7. They agree to comply with IJST's editorial policies and publication ethics requirements.

IJST expects all authors to uphold the highest standards of scholarly responsibility, transparency, and academic integrity throughout the publication process.