Authorship, Contributors and Changes

Eligibility

Authors must make substantial contributions, participate in drafting or critical revision, approve the submitted and final versions, and accept accountability for the work. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria are acknowledged with permission.

CRediT and author order

• CRediT roles are required for each author.
• One corresponding author is designated to communicate with the journal and coordinate co-author approval.
• The author order must be agreed by all authors before submission.
• Group or consortium authorship must identify accountable authors and, where appropriate, list collaborators separately.

Changes after submission

Adding, removing or reordering authors requires a written explanation, revised CRediT statement and documented agreement from all listed, added and removed authors. Processing may be paused while the request is assessed. After acceptance, changes are allowed only in exceptional circumstances; after publication they require a linked correction. The journal does not adjudicate unresolved authorship disputes and may refer them to the relevant institutions.

Deceased authors

A deceased contributor may remain an author if authorship criteria were met before death. The corresponding author must disclose the death, confirm approval available from the author or authorized representative where appropriate, and identify a living author responsible for queries.