For Authors

Originality and Plagiarism

Submissions must be the author’s own original work and must not be under consideration elsewhere.

All sources, including data, figures, and text, must be properly cited and referenced.

Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and unauthorized reuse of content will lead to rejection or retraction.

Breakdown of Work

As part of our commitment to research transparency and publication ethics, all submitted manuscripts must include a clear breakdown of each author's contributions to the work. This practice ensures accountability and proper acknowledgment of each contributor’s role in the research and writing process.

Required Contribution Statement

Authors must provide a contribution statement at the end of the manuscript or during the submission process, outlining the specific roles and responsibilities of each author using a standardized format (e.g., CRediT – Contributor Roles Taxonomy). The following categories are recommended:

• Conceptualization: Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.
• Methodology: Development or design of methodology; creation of models.
• Investigation: Conducting the research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments or data/evidence collection.
• Data Curation: Management activities to annotate, clean, and maintain research data.
• Writing – Original Draft: Preparation, creation, and presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft.
• Writing – Review & Editing: Critical review, commentary, or revision – including pre- or post-publication stages.
• Supervision: Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution.
• Funding Acquisition: Acquisition of the financial support for the project.

Ethical Compliance

Providing a truthful breakdown of contributions is an ethical requirement. Submitting authors are responsible for ensuring all co-authors agree with the contribution statement. Misrepresentation of contributions may be considered a form of academic misconduct and may result in rejection or retraction of the manuscript.

If disputes or questions arise regarding authorship or contribution, the editorial team may request supporting documentation or communications to verify claims.

Acknowledgments

Contributors who do not meet the journal’s authorship criteria but have supported the project (e.g., through technical assistance, writing help, or general support) should be acknowledged in a separate Acknowledgments section with their permission.

3. AI Acknowledgment and Transparency
   • Authors must disclose the use of any generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepL, etc.) in the creation or editing of the manuscript.
   • AI tools must not be listed as co-authors.
   • The use of AI should be limited to assistive functions (e.g., grammar correction, data analysis, language translation). It should not replace intellectual contribution or critical argumentation.
   • A clear statement should be included in a footnote or an "Acknowledgment" section, such as:

“This manuscript was assisted by [name of AI tool] for [purpose, e.g., grammar editing, summarizing references, translation support]. The authors take full responsibility for the content and interpretation of the work.”

4. Conflicts of Interest
   • All potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, must be disclosed upon submission.
5. Multiple Submissions
   • The same manuscript must not be submitted to more than one journal concurrently.
6. Authorship
   • Only those who made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research should be listed as authors.