Authorship and Contributorship Policy

The journal is committed to ensuring transparency, fairness and accountability in authorship and contributorship. The journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research. All authors must have contributed to the research design, data collection, analysis or interpretation; participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript; approved the final version; and agreed to take responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged, with their permission. This may include technical assistance, administrative support, language editing or other contributions.

Changes in Authorship

Any request to add, remove or rearrange authors after submission must be accompanied by a clear justification and written agreement from all affected authors. Such changes require approval from the Editor-in-Chief.

Authorship Disputes

The journal will examine authorship disputes in accordance with COPE guidelines. Where necessary, the matter may be referred to the relevant institutions for investigation. The journal may suspend editorial processing until the dispute is resolved.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors must disclose relevant use of AI tools in manuscript preparation or research and remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality and integrity of their work.

Author Declaration

By submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author confirms that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria, have approved the submitted manuscript, and agree to its submission and publication.