Changes in Authorship and Authorship Disputes

Prior to initial submission, it is the responsibility of the authors to discuss and agree upon the list of authors, the order in which they appear, and the contribution statement for each individual. Once a paper has been submitted, any change to authorship—including additions, removals, or changes in author order—requires that the authors contact the Editorial Office with an official letter describing the requested change and providing a justification for it. All authors must agree to the request and to the stated reason for the change.

If the authorship-change request occurs before publication, the review or production process will be placed on hold until the matter is resolved. If the request is made after publication, further investigation may be necessary, and a correction or formal notice may be issued. In handling such cases, we follow the relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts.

Please note that minor corrections—such as fixing misspelled names, institutional affiliations, or credentials—may generally be made at the Editor’s discretion without requiring formal approval from all authors. Nonetheless, informing all authors of these corrections is recommended for the sake of transparency.