Authorship Policy | Global Scholar Publications

👥 Promoting Responsible Authorship, Transparency and Academic Accountability

Global Scholar Publications is committed to maintaining responsible, transparent, and ethical authorship practices across all journals in its publication portfolio. Authorship must accurately reflect the genuine intellectual and scholarly contributions made to a research work. Every individual listed as an author should have contributed meaningfully to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of the research and should accept responsibility for their contribution to the published work.

This Publisher-level Authorship Policy establishes the principles and procedures followed by Global Scholar Publications and its journals regarding authorship eligibility, contributor responsibilities, corresponding authors, author order, acknowledgements, artificial intelligence and authorship, authorship changes, authorship disputes, and the prevention of inappropriate authorship practices.

The policy applies to manuscripts submitted to all journals published by Global Scholar Publications and is intended to support fair academic credit, contributor accountability, transparent collaboration, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

🎯 Purpose of the Authorship Policy

The purpose of this Authorship Policy is to provide clear and consistent expectations regarding who qualifies as an author and how authorship-related matters should be managed throughout the publication process.

Responsible authorship protects genuine contributors from being omitted, prevents individuals without qualifying contributions from receiving inappropriate academic credit, reduces authorship disputes, and ensures that published articles accurately identify the researchers responsible for the work.

This policy applies throughout manuscript preparation, submission, editorial screening, peer review, acceptance, production, publication, and post-publication correction or investigation.

🌍 Scope of the Publisher's Authorship Policy

This policy applies to manuscripts submitted to journals published by Global Scholar Publications, regardless of discipline, article type, geographical location of authors, institutional affiliation, or number of contributors.

Individual journals may provide additional discipline-specific instructions in their Author Guidelines. However, such instructions should be consistent with the fundamental principles of responsible authorship established by this publisher-level policy.

The policy covers:

• 👤 authorship eligibility and qualification;
• 🤝 responsibilities of authors and co-authors;
• 📋 contributor roles and transparency;
• 📨 responsibilities of the corresponding author;
• 🔢 author order and collaborative research;
• 🙏 acknowledgements and non-author contributions;
• 🤖 artificial intelligence and authorship;
• 🔄 changes in authorship;
• ⚠️ authorship disputes and investigations;
• 🚫 ghost, guest, gift, and honorary authorship;
• 📝 authorship declarations and publication records;
• 🛠️ editorial actions for authorship-related concerns.

⚖️ Principles of Responsible Authorship

Authorship represents both academic credit and responsibility. Individuals listed as authors are expected to have made a genuine scholarly contribution and to accept responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of their contribution to the published work.

Global Scholar Publications follows these fundamental authorship principles:

• ✔ authorship should reflect genuine intellectual contribution;
• ✔ all qualifying contributors should receive appropriate recognition;
• ✔ individuals without qualifying contributions should not be listed as authors;
• ✔ authors should approve the manuscript before submission;
• ✔ authors should agree on the author list and author order;
• ✔ contributor roles should be represented honestly;
• ✔ authors should disclose relevant funding and conflicts of interest;
• ✔ authorship changes should be transparent and properly documented;
• ✔ artificial intelligence systems cannot be listed as authors;
• ✔ authors remain responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of submitted work.

✔ Who Qualifies as an Author?

An individual should be listed as an author when they have made a substantial intellectual or scholarly contribution to the research or manuscript and are willing to accept responsibility for their contribution and participate in the publication process.

Qualifying scholarly contributions may include:

• developing the research question, concept, or study objectives;
• designing the research methodology or study;
• conducting experiments, fieldwork, surveys, investigations, or other research activities;
• collecting, generating, validating, or interpreting research data;
• performing statistical, computational, scientific, technical, or analytical work;
• developing software, algorithms, models, methods, or other essential research components;
• conducting substantial literature analysis or theoretical development;
• drafting significant sections of the manuscript;
• critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content;
• participating substantially in interpretation of the findings;
• reviewing and approving the final version of the manuscript;
• accepting responsibility for the integrity of the work and responding appropriately to questions concerning the research.

Authorship should not be based solely on academic position, institutional authority, professional seniority, financial contribution, supervision, or access to facilities.

🚫 Who Should Not Be Listed as an Author?

Valuable assistance does not automatically establish authorship. Individuals who have not made a qualifying intellectual or scholarly contribution should not be included as authors merely because they supported the research project or are associated with the authors' institution.

Examples of contributions that generally do not independently justify authorship include:

• routine technical assistance;
• general administrative support;
• routine laboratory assistance;
• data entry without intellectual interpretation;
• general project administration;
• routine proofreading or language correction;
• providing laboratory space, equipment, or facilities alone;
• financial sponsorship or funding alone;
• institutional supervision without substantial intellectual contribution;
• general academic or managerial oversight without qualifying scholarly contribution.

Where appropriate, such contributions should be recognised in the Acknowledgements section rather than through authorship.

📝 Authorship Requirements Before Submission

Authors should resolve authorship matters before submitting a manuscript to any Global Scholar Publications journal. The research team should discuss authorship eligibility, contributor roles, author order, affiliations, and corresponding author responsibilities before submission.

Before submission, authors should ensure that:

• all individuals who qualify for authorship are included;
• no individual who does not qualify is included;
• all listed authors have reviewed the manuscript;
• all authors approve the final manuscript;
• all authors agree to its submission and potential publication;
• the author order has been agreed upon by the research team;
• author names and affiliations are accurate;
• contributor roles are accurately represented;
• funding and conflict-of-interest declarations are complete;
• the manuscript complies with applicable ethical and publication requirements.

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating these requirements to all co-authors and confirming that the submitted information is accurate.

👤 Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author serves as the primary communication contact between the authors and the relevant editorial office of Global Scholar Publications throughout submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication processes.

The corresponding author is expected to:

• 📨 submit the manuscript and required supporting information;
• ✔ confirm that all listed authors satisfy the applicable authorship criteria;
• 👥 ensure that all co-authors are aware of the submission;
• 📝 confirm that all authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript;
• 📋 provide accurate author names, affiliations, email addresses, and other publication information;
• 🔢 confirm the agreed author order;
• 💬 communicate editorial decisions and reviewer comments to co-authors;
• 🔄 coordinate manuscript revisions and author responses;
• ⚠️ communicate relevant ethical, authorship, or integrity concerns to the editorial office;
• 📢 communicate important post-publication issues affecting the article.

The corresponding author does not assume sole responsibility for the scientific integrity of the manuscript. Every listed author remains responsible for their contribution and should cooperate with editorial enquiries when necessary.

👥 Responsibilities of Co-authors

Each co-author should understand the research and manuscript sufficiently to take responsibility for their contribution and to support the overall integrity of the published work.

Co-authors are expected to:

• participate meaningfully in the research or manuscript preparation;
• review the manuscript before submission;
• approve the final submitted version;
• verify the accuracy of their contribution;
• disclose relevant conflicts of interest;
• cooperate with editorial or research-integrity investigations where necessary;
• assist in correcting significant errors identified after publication.

No author should knowingly permit a manuscript to be submitted under their name without reviewing and approving it.

📋 Contributor Roles and Transparency

Global Scholar Publications encourages transparent identification of the principal contributions made by each author. Contributor information helps establish accountability and allows readers to understand how the research was conducted.

Depending on the nature of the research, contributor roles may include:

• conceptualisation;
• methodology;
• investigation;
• software development;
• formal analysis;
• validation;
• data curation;
• visualisation;
• research supervision;
• project administration;
• funding acquisition;
• writing – original manuscript;
• writing – review and editing.

Contributor statements should accurately reflect the work performed. A contributor statement does not replace the requirement that every listed author satisfy the applicable authorship criteria.

🤝 Collaborative, Multi-Institutional and International Research

Global Scholar Publications recognises that modern research frequently involves collaboration between researchers from different disciplines, institutions, countries, laboratories, industries, and research organisations.

Collaborative research teams should establish authorship arrangements as early as reasonably possible and should clearly discuss:

• individual scholarly contributions;
• author eligibility;
• author order;
• corresponding author responsibilities;
• institutional affiliations;
• research data responsibilities;
• funding and sponsorship;
• intellectual or technical contributions;
• responsibility for responding to editorial enquiries.

Early discussion and documentation of contributor roles can help prevent authorship misunderstandings and disputes later in the publication process.

📖 Author Order

The order of authors should be determined collectively by the research team before submission. Global Scholar Publications does not impose a single universal method for determining author order because authorship conventions can vary across disciplines and research environments.

Authors should reach a mutually acceptable and transparent agreement regarding the sequence of authors. The publisher normally does not determine which contributor should appear first, last, or in any particular position.

Disagreements regarding author order should preferably be resolved by the authors or their institution before submission.

🙏 Acknowledgements and Non-Author Contributions

Individuals and organisations that have supported a research project but do not satisfy the applicable authorship criteria may be recognised in the Acknowledgements section.

Appropriate acknowledgements may include:

• technical assistance;
• statistical assistance;
• language or editorial assistance;
• administrative support;
• equipment or laboratory support;
• institutional cooperation;
• research grants and financial support;
• other non-author contributions that materially assisted the research.

Where appropriate, authors should obtain permission from individuals before naming them in an Acknowledgements section.

💰 Funding and Contributor Disclosure

Authors should disclose financial support, research grants, sponsorship, institutional funding, equipment support, commercial involvement, or other assistance that contributed to the research.

Funding disclosures should accurately identify relevant sources of support and, where applicable, indicate whether a funding organisation had any role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

⚠️ Authorship and Conflict of Interest

Authorship should be transparent and independent of undisclosed personal, professional, institutional, financial, or commercial interests that could influence the research or its reporting.

Authors are responsible for disclosing relationships or circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, interpretation, authorship arrangement, or publication of the manuscript.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence tools may be used for permitted supportive activities such as language improvement, grammar checking, formatting, or other appropriate assistance, subject to the applicable journal and publisher requirements.

Artificial intelligence systems, software, chatbots, or other automated tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Such systems cannot assume responsibility for the originality, accuracy, integrity, ethical compliance, or final content of a scholarly publication.

Human authors remain fully responsible for:

• the originality of the submitted manuscript;
• the accuracy of research findings and statements;
• proper citation and attribution;
• verification of AI-assisted content where applicable;
• ethical compliance;
• the interpretation and presentation of research results;
• the final submitted and published version.

Authors should follow the applicable AI Usage Policy and disclose AI assistance where required.

📄 Authorship Declaration

During manuscript submission, authors may be required to confirm that:

• all listed authors satisfy the applicable authorship criteria;
• all authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript;
• all eligible contributors have been appropriately recognised;
• no individual has been included without a qualifying contribution;
• the author names and affiliations are accurate;
• the author order has been agreed upon;
• contributor information is truthful and complete;
• the manuscript represents original scholarly work.

False, incomplete, or misleading authorship declarations may result in editorial investigation and appropriate action under the publisher's publication ethics procedures.

🔒 Accuracy of Author Names and Affiliations

Authors are responsible for providing accurate and consistent names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and other publication information during submission.

Accurate author metadata is important for attribution, indexing, citation, DOI registration, institutional reporting, author identification, and preservation of the scholarly record. Authors should carefully verify these details before submission and during the proofing stage.

🔄 Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, replace, or reorder authors after submission must be handled carefully because authorship changes affect academic credit, accountability, publication metadata, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

Global Scholar Publications expects authorship to be finalised before submission whenever possible.

A request for an authorship change should normally include:

• a clear explanation of the reason for the proposed change;
• the revised author list and author order;
• the specific contribution of any proposed new author;
• confirmation from all existing authors;
• confirmation from any author being added or removed;
• updated contributor roles where applicable;
• updated affiliations where necessary.

Editorial processing may be suspended while an authorship change is being reviewed.

➕ Adding an Author After Submission

An individual may be added after submission only when the person satisfies the applicable authorship criteria and the proposed change is supported by appropriate documentation.

The request should explain:

• the specific scholarly contribution made by the proposed author;
• why the individual was not included in the original submission;
• the agreement of all existing authors;
• the proposed author's approval of the manuscript.

The publisher or journal may decline the request where the proposed individual does not meet authorship criteria or where sufficient agreement and evidence are not available.

➖ Removing an Author After Submission

An author should not normally be removed without the individual's knowledge and written agreement.

Requests to remove an author should provide a clear explanation and confirmation from the affected authors. Where the parties cannot reach agreement, editorial processing may be paused and the matter may be referred to the relevant institution or research integrity authority.

🔢 Changes to Author Order

Requests to change the sequence of authors should include a clear explanation and confirmation from all affected authors. Global Scholar Publications normally relies on the research team to determine the appropriate author order and does not adjudicate the relative academic importance of individual contributions.

Changes after acceptance may require additional editorial review because they can affect publication metadata, indexing, academic credit, and the permanent publication record.

⏳ Authorship Changes After Acceptance

Authorship changes requested after acceptance are subject to heightened scrutiny because the manuscript has already completed editorial evaluation based on the originally declared author list.

The publisher or relevant journal may require:

• a formal written request from the corresponding author;
• written agreement from all authors;
• updated contributor information;
• an explanation of why the change was not requested earlier;
• institutional clarification where an authorship dispute exists.

Acceptance, production, or publication may be delayed until the authorship matter is resolved.

📢 Post-Publication Authorship Changes

Changes to authorship after publication will be considered only where credible evidence indicates that the published author list is inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise inconsistent with the applicable authorship requirements.

Where a change is approved, the publisher may issue an appropriate correction or other post-publication notice. The publication record should remain transparent and preserve an appropriate history of the change.

Post-publication authorship changes will not be made solely to increase academic credit, improve institutional reporting, enhance career advancement, or obtain citation benefits.

👻 Ghost Authorship

Ghost authorship occurs when an individual who has made a substantial scholarly contribution is omitted from the author list or is not appropriately recognised.

Examples may include:

• a researcher who substantially designed or analysed the study but is omitted;
• a contributor who prepared substantial manuscript content but is not appropriately recognised;
• a qualified contributor excluded because of institutional or commercial pressure;
• a contributor whose substantial research role is intentionally concealed.

Ghost authorship is inconsistent with transparent scholarly publishing and may result in editorial investigation and corrective action.

🎁 Gift, Guest and Honorary Authorship

Gift, guest, or honorary authorship occurs when an individual is listed as an author despite not making a qualifying scholarly contribution.

Such authorship may arise because of:

• academic seniority;
• institutional authority;
• personal relationships;
• access to research facilities;
• funding or sponsorship;
• professional reputation;
• expected academic or career benefit.

Global Scholar Publications does not consider professional status, academic position, institutional authority, funding, or supervision alone to be sufficient grounds for authorship.

🏷️ Misrepresentation of Author Contributions

Authors must accurately describe their contributions. False, exaggerated, incomplete, or misleading contributor statements may compromise research accountability and may constitute a publication ethics concern.

Examples include:

• claiming responsibility for work performed by another individual;
• assigning contributor roles that were not actually performed;
• concealing the involvement of a commercial organisation;
• misrepresenting who drafted, analysed, reviewed, or approved the manuscript;
• concealing the substantial involvement of an external writer or consultant.

⚠️ Authorship Disputes

Authorship disputes may concern eligibility, author order, contributor roles, omission of a legitimate author, inclusion of an ineligible author, or submission without the knowledge or approval of a listed author.

Global Scholar Publications encourages authors and research institutions to resolve authorship matters before submission. The publisher and its journals generally do not have authority to determine employment relationships, institutional hierarchy, ownership of research facilities, contractual rights, or legal entitlement to research outputs.

When an authorship dispute cannot be resolved by the authors, the relevant journal or publisher may:

• pause manuscript processing;
• request written explanations from the involved parties;
• request supporting documentation;
• seek clarification from the relevant institution;
• refer the matter to an appropriate research integrity authority;
• delay acceptance or publication;
• take corrective action based on reliable findings.

🏢 Institutional Responsibilities in Authorship Disputes

Research institutions are often better positioned to investigate authorship disputes because they may have access to research records, laboratory documentation, employment information, correspondence, research agreements, supervision arrangements, and other evidence concerning individual contributions.

Global Scholar Publications may therefore request institutional review or clarification when an authorship dispute cannot be resolved by the authors themselves. The publisher may consider reliable institutional findings when determining appropriate editorial or post-publication action.

🔍 Editorial Investigation of Authorship Concerns

Where a credible authorship concern is raised, the relevant journal or publisher may request:

• contributor statements;
• written confirmation from authors;
• research records or relevant correspondence;
• evidence of manuscript approval;
• documentation supporting individual contributions;
• institutional clarification or findings.

The purpose of an authorship investigation is to determine whether the published or submitted author list accurately represents genuine scholarly contribution and whether the listed authors have appropriately accepted responsibility for their work.

🚫 Submission Without Co-author Approval

Submission of a manuscript without the knowledge or approval of a listed co-author is a serious authorship concern.

Where such a concern is substantiated, Global Scholar Publications or the relevant journal may:

• suspend or reject the manuscript;
• contact the listed authors;
• request written clarification;
• seek institutional investigation;
• correct the publication record where necessary;
• retract a published article where publication integrity has been materially compromised;
• restrict future submissions in serious or repeated cases.

🌍 Authorship Across Different Disciplines

Global Scholar Publications publishes research across science, technology, multidisciplinary studies, biology, pharmacy, chemistry, life sciences, engineering, medicine, dentistry, and related fields. Authorship customs may differ between disciplines, but the fundamental principles of genuine contribution, transparency, accountability, and informed approval apply across the publisher's journal portfolio.

Authors should therefore follow both this publisher-level policy and any discipline-specific requirements contained in the Author Guidelines of the journal to which they submit.

🛠️ Enforcement of the Authorship Policy

The editorial response to an authorship concern will depend on the nature of the issue, available evidence, the stage of the publication process, the seriousness of the concern, and the cooperation of the individuals involved.

Possible actions may include:

• requesting clarification or additional documentation;
• requesting revised contributor statements;
• pausing editorial or peer-review processing;
• rejecting or withdrawing a manuscript;
• referring a dispute to an appropriate institution;
• issuing a correction after publication;
• publishing an appropriate post-publication notice;
• retracting an article where authorship misconduct materially affects publication integrity;
• restricting future submissions in serious or repeated cases.

Editorial action is intended to protect accurate attribution, author accountability, research integrity, and the reliability of the scholarly record.

🌟 Why Responsible Authorship Matters

Responsible authorship ensures that academic credit is assigned fairly and that every individual listed on a publication accepts appropriate responsibility for their contribution. It also helps readers, institutions, funders, researchers, and indexing services understand who contributed to the research.

Across the Global Scholar Publications journal portfolio, responsible authorship helps:

• recognise genuine intellectual contributions;
• prevent ghost, guest, gift, and honorary authorship;
• promote accountability for published research;
• clarify corresponding author and co-author responsibilities;
• encourage transparent contributor statements;
• reduce authorship disputes;
• maintain accurate author and affiliation metadata;
• protect the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record.

📚 Global Scholar Publications Journal Portfolio

The Authorship Policy applies across the complete journal portfolio of Global Scholar Publications. Authors submitting to any of the following journals are expected to follow this publisher-level policy together with the relevant journal's Author Guidelines.

🔗 Related Global Scholar Publications Policies

Authors, reviewers, editors, and research institutions should review the relevant editorial and publishing policies of Global Scholar Publications to understand the broader ethical and publication requirements applicable to submitted manuscripts.

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