1. Who Qualifies as an Author

Each author should have:

• made a significant contribution to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the research;
• drafted the manuscript or revised it critically;
• approved the final version and agreed to be accountable for the work.

Others who contributed, for example through technical help, data access, or language editing, are thanked in the Acknowledgements rather than listed as authors.

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors, because they cannot take responsibility for the work. See the Generative AI Policy.

2. Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding (submitting) author communicates with the journal on behalf of all authors. Before submission, the corresponding author ensures that:

• all authors are included in the author list, and the order of authors has been agreed by all of them;
• all co-authors have seen and approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission and publication;
• the names, affiliations, and email addresses of all authors are complete and correct in OJS, with an ORCID iD for each author where available.

3. Author Contributions

From Vol. 56 No. 2 (December 2026), every article includes an Author Contributions statement describing each author’s role, for example conceptualisation, methodology, data collection, analysis, writing, and review. The journal recommends the CRediT taxonomy.

4. Co-Authorship

• Credit is shared in proportion to each author’s contribution. Authors take credit only for work they have actually done or contributed to.
• For a multi-author article that derives substantially from a student’s thesis or dissertation, the student should normally be listed as the first author.
• Authors who analyse data collected by others acknowledge the contribution of the original researchers.

5. Affiliations

Each author’s primary affiliation is the institution where most of the work was done. If an author has since moved, the current affiliation may also be given. Affiliations must be accurate; authors must not list institutions with which they have no genuine connection.

6. Changes to Authorship

The author list should be final at submission. Changes after submission are allowed only in exceptional cases, and not after the manuscript has been accepted. A request must come from the corresponding author to the Editor-in-Chief and include:

Adding an author the reason for the addition; the new author’s background and specific contribution; why the author was not listed at submission.

Removing an author the reason for the removal; written confirmation from the author being removed.

In both cases, a signed statement from all authors agreeing to the change is required. Changes after publication are made only through a correction, as described in the R-W-C Policy.

7. Unacceptable Practices and Disputes

The journal does not accept:

• gift authorship: listing someone who did not contribute;
• ghost authorship: omitting someone who did contribute;
• purchased authorship: buying or selling a place on the author list, or submitting through paid agents.

Authorship disputes are resolved by the authors and, where needed, their institutions. The journal follows the COPE flowcharts and may pause the review or publication of a manuscript until a dispute is settled. See Publication Ethics.