The listing of authors' names in papers is an important mechanism to give credit those who have made important contributions to the work. It also ensures transparency for those responsible for the integrity of content.
The authors listed in an article must meet all the following criteria:
- Contributions in the fields of design, study design, implementation, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation have been made significant to the work reported.
- The article has been drafted, written or substantially revised or reviewed.
- We agree on the journal to which the article will be submitted.
- All versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version approved for publication, and any significant changes introduced in the proofing stage have been reviewed and agreed upon.
- Agree to take responsibility and accountability for the contents of the article.
Authors’ declaration and warranties
By submitting a research article for publication by Red Flower Publications, the author must certify and warrants:
The authors submitting the papers have been authorized by all co-authors to submit the research paper; and
- They are the only authors of the article and have the legal right and able to submit the article and authorize Red Flower Publications to publish the research article. If the law requires the article to be published in the public domain, the author will notify the Red Flower Publications at the time of submission.
- The research article is original, has not been published in other journals (medical or other) or is not currently considered for publication in another journal, and does not violate any existing copyright or other lawful rights;
- the article contains nothing that is unlawful, illogical or that would constitute a breach of contract or confidentiality if published;
- The preparation of the research article(s) has been carried out with due care, diligence and all other necessary investigations to ensure its accuracy. All statements claiming to be factual in it are true and correct, to their best.
Large multicentre groups
When large-scale multi-centre groups conduct research, the groups should identify the person who assumes direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals must meet the above-mentioned criteria for authorship and must be listed as all qualified persons. The editors will ask these individuals to complete the author-specific publications of the journal and forms of disclosure of competing interests. When submitting a manuscript by a group, the corresponding author or contact should clearly indicate the preferred citation and identify the name of all individual authors as well as the group name. Journals usually list other members of the group in the acknowledgement. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) lists the names of groups and individuals identified as direct authors of manuscripts; if the collaborators are listed in the section "Collaborator" it also lists the names of collaborators (without affiliation).
The group should make a joint decision on the contributors/authors before submitting the manuscript for publication. The corresponding or contact author should be prepared to explain the existence and order of these individuals. The editors' role is not to make decisions about the author/contributor or to arbitrate conflicts related to the author.
Corresponding or contact author
Prior to submission, the author's list and order must be agreed between all authors on the list, and the role of corresponding or contact author must also be agreed. The author or contact has the responsibility to reach a consensus with all co-authors on all aspects of the article, including authorship and to ensure that all appropriate links are listed. The respective or contact author is also responsible for coordinating with the co-authors for editorial enquiries, and acting on behalf of all co-authors in all communications related to the article through submission, peer review, production, and after publication. The author responsible for the corresponding or contact is also responsible for signing the publication agreement on behalf of all authors mentioned.
Artificial intelligence-based tools and technologies for content creation
Authors must know that using tools and technologies based on AI to generate content in articles, such as large language models (LLMs), generative AI and chatbots (such as ChatGPT), is not consistent with our author criteria.
All authors are fully responsible for the originality, validity and integrity of the content of their submissions. Consequently, LLMs and other similar tools do not meet the author's criteria.
Changes in authorship
All changes to the author before or after publication must be agreed by all authors, including those added or deleted. The author must obtain the confirmation of all co-authors and provide full explanations of why changes were needed. If there is a need for changes in the author after publication of the article, this will be changed through a post-publication notice. Any change of author must comply with our authorship criteria, and requests for significant changes to the list of authors after the acceptance of the article may be rejected if there is no clear reason and evidence for the author's contribution.
Scientific, technical or medical writers support
Contributions by professional scientists or medical authors or anyone who has helped write the manuscripts must be recognized and their source of funding declared. It should be in the section “Acknowledgments” with an explanation of its role, or it should be in the author list if necessary. Authors are advised to consult the joint positions statement of the American Medical Writers' Association (AMWA), the European Medical Writers' Association (EMWA) and the International Society of Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP).
Assistance with experiments and data analysis
Any important contribution to the work reported should be properly credited according to our authorship criteria. If a part of the work has been transferred to a professional laboratory or data analyst, it must be explicitly stated in the manuscript, explaining its role, and, where appropriate, listed on the author list. The authors should be prepared to retain all original data related to their work and share them with the journal's editorial office if requested.
Acknowledgments
Individuals who have contributed to the article (e.g. general supervision, financing, study design, data collection, data analysis, technical assistance, formatting-related writing assistance, academic debates that have greatly contributed to the study), but do not meet the authors' criteria, should be listed by name and affiliation in the “acknowledgement” section. The authors are responsible for announcing and obtaining permission from the persons named in this paragraph. The process of obtaining permission should include sharing the articles so that identified persons can verify the context in which their contributions are acknowledged.
Groups of persons who have contributed materially to the article but who have not justified their contribution may be included under the headings “clinical researchers” or “participation investigators”, and their functions or contributions should be described, for example “serving as scientific advisors”, “critically reviewing the study proposal”, “collecting data” or “provides and cares for the study patients”. Because readers can infer their approval of the data and conclusions, these persons must give written permission to be recognized.
Any assistance from AI tools for content generation (e.g., large language models) or other similar technical tools for content generation in articles must be clearly acknowledged in articles. The author is responsible for ensuring the validity, originality and integrity of the content of the article. Authors are expected to use such tools responsibly and in accordance with the editorial policies and principles of publishing ethics.
Affiliations
The author must list all relevant affiliations that indicate where the research was approved, supported, and conducted. For non-research articles, the author must indicate his or her current affiliation with the institution. In the event of an author moving to another institution before publication, he or she should list the affiliation where the work was done, and the current affiliation and contact information should be listed in the acknowledgement section. A single change in affiliation is not an effective reason to remove an author from the publication if he meets the author's criteria.
Author name changes on published articles
There are many reasons for authorship, whether it is an online publication wishing to update the name of the author to reflect this change, or not publicly announcing the change in the corrigendum. Red Flower Publications will update the journal articles where authors request the full or partial change of their own name without the need for a corrigendum. In addition, the pronouns accompanying the author's biography and declaration statement will be updated as part of the name change if necessary.
When you ask for a name change, Red Flower Publications will:
- Change the metadata associated with articles on the Red Flower Publications platform
- Update the HTML and PDF versions of articles;
- Resupply the new metadata and content of articles to any abstracting and indexing service that has an agreement with the journal. (Please note that these services may have their own bibliographic policies regarding changes to the author's name. Red Flower Publications cannot be held responsible for controlling updates to articles on third-party websites and services when articles are disseminated.
If you want to publish a corrigendum alongside your name change, Red Flower Publications will accommodate it on request, but not to change the author's name.
To request a name change, please contact Red Flower Publications using the Red Flower Publications Contact Form .
The Red Flower Publications considers that an individual who requests a name change without explicit consent is a violation of publishing ethics.
Please note that the above policies are only for name changes and do not apply to corrections of errors such as missing hyphens or spelling errors.
Common authorship issues
Number of authors
It is necessary to consider the number of qualified authors responsible for publishing. This depends to some extent on the complexity of research and publication, but in biomedical research (with few exceptions), it is not uncommon for >10 authors to meet this need. Many authors question whether they could have all provided "substantial intellectual contributions". It is often preferable that fewer authors be recognized (e.g., as non-author contributors or collaborators).
Author sequence
The author should decide how to determine this when starting work, including the designation of the principal author and corresponding author, who may or may not be the same person. However, the final order must be based on the actual roles and contributions of the authors to the development of the publication (and therefore cannot be agreed until this is completed). Those who have made the most contributions are generally listed in order, but can also be used in alphabetical order. It may be useful to describe whether alphabetical order or other conventions were used in the submission section of a publication to determine the order of the author.
Death or incapacity of an author
If the author dies after completing most of the work, the posthumous author may be considered, if all other authors agree. As a first step, we suggest seeking advice on the correct assignment and process from the instructions of the journal or the editorial office.
If the journal or publisher agrees to the posthumous author, but requires the signature of the submission form, then, in the case of a sponsor-employed author or contractor, the supervisor may be the best appropriate representative. In other cases, family members or persons with a lawyer must be contacted. In any case, it is appropriate to contact the family of the deceased author, inform them of the intention and ask for their consent to listing or acknowledgment.
Company- or sponsor-employed authors
Scientists and clinicians employed by sponsors are often qualified as authors of company-sponsored research publications and should have the opportunity to do so. Such authors should not be denied the authorship for fear of perception of bias. Any criteria used to determine authorship should be applied equally to employees, contractors, and others.
Note: Some parts of the author's section are reproduced or adapted from ICMJE definition of the role of authors and contributors. Red Flower Publications prepared this reprint. The ICMJE does not endorse or approve the content of this reprint. The official version of the author and contributor role definition is on the ICMJE website. Users should refer to this official version when citing the document.
The "Authorship: Common issues" section was adapted from Battisti WP, Wager E, Baltzer L, Bridges D, Cairns A, Carswell CI, et al. Good Publication Practice for Communicating Company-Sponsored Medical Research: GPP3. Ann Intern Med. 2015;163:461-464. doi:10.7326/M15-0288 Appendix Table 2. Common Issues about Authorship.
