Authorship Criteria and Contributorship Policy

The Journal of Physics: Theories and Applications (JPhys: Theor. Appl.) recognizes authorship as a fundamental element of academic integrity, reflecting the intellectual contributions, responsibilities, and accountability of individuals involved in scientific research. To promote fairness, transparency, and ethical publication practices, the journal establishes clear criteria for authorship, disclosure of individual contributions, and the management of authorship-related matters. This policy is informed by the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), adapted to the multidisciplinary nature of physics and applied physics research. It applies to all manuscripts submitted to and published in the journal.

1. General Principles

The Journal of Physics: Theories and Applications is committed to maintaining transparency, accountability, and integrity in scholarly authorship. Authorship must accurately reflect the intellectual and scientific contributions of individuals involved in the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of research.

All individuals listed as authors must satisfy the journal's authorship criteria and accept responsibility for their contributions to the published work. Authorship decisions should be discussed and agreed upon by all contributors before manuscript submission. The journal encourages authors to establish the author list and order of authorship at an early stage of the research process and to resolve potential disagreements through transparent communication.

The journal recognizes that research in physics and applied physics may involve theoretical modeling, mathematical analysis, computational simulations, experimental investigations, instrumentation development, data analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Contributions must be evaluated according to their intellectual and scientific significance rather than the contributor's academic position, institutional affiliation, seniority, or financial support alone.

2. Authorship Criteria

The journal adopts the four authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), applied where appropriate to the journal's scope and research disciplines. To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

  1. Substantial Scientific Contribution: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the research, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data, including theoretical development, mathematical formulation, computational modeling, experimental design, or scientific methodology.

  2. Manuscript Preparation: Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.

  3. Final Approval: Review and approve the final version of the manuscript before submission or publication.

  4. Accountability: Agree to be accountable for the author's own contributions and to help ensure that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet all four criteria should be included as authors. Individuals who make meaningful contributions but do not satisfy all authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately, with their permission, rather than automatically included in the author list.

The journal does not consider funding acquisition, general supervision, administrative support, routine technical assistance, equipment provision, language editing, translation, or proofreading alone sufficient to establish authorship.

3. Author Contributions

The journal requires a clear and accurate Author Contributions Statement identifying the specific roles performed by each author. Authors are encouraged to use the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), where applicable, to improve transparency and consistency in reporting individual contributions.

Relevant contribution roles may include:

  • Conceptualization

  • Methodology

  • Software

  • Validation

  • Formal Analysis

  • Investigation

  • Resources

  • Data Curation

  • Writing – Original Draft

  • Writing – Review and Editing

  • Visualization

  • Supervision

  • Project Administration

  • Funding Acquisition

Authors should select only the roles that accurately reflect their actual contributions. Not every contribution role applies to every manuscript, and the use of CRediT does not replace the journal's authorship eligibility criteria.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the contribution statement is accurate and has been reviewed and approved by all co-authors. All listed authors should agree on the description of their respective contributions before the manuscript is submitted.

4. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the authors and the journal's editorial office throughout submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication communication.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  1. Confirming that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria.

  2. Ensuring that all authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript and consented to its submission.

  3. Providing accurate author names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID identifiers where available.

  4. Submitting the Author Contributions Statement and ensuring that it accurately reflects the work performed by each author.

  5. Ensuring that relevant declarations concerning research ethics, funding, competing interests, data availability, and the use of artificial intelligence are provided when applicable.

  6. Communicating editorial decisions, reviewer comments, and revision requirements to all co-authors.

  7. Obtaining approval from all authors for the final version of the manuscript.

  8. Responding to editorial inquiries concerning the accuracy, integrity, interpretation, or reliability of the published research.

The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors are kept informed of significant communications with the editorial office. Designation as corresponding author does not, by itself, confer authorship eligibility or greater ownership of the research.

5. Authorship Changes

Any request to change the authorship of a manuscript after submission must be accompanied by a clear explanation and written agreement from all affected authors, including any individual being added or removed.

Authorship changes include:

  • Adding or removing an author.

  • Changing the order of authors.

  • Changing the corresponding author.

  • Correcting an author's name or institutional affiliation where the correction affects the publication record.

Requests should be submitted to the editorial office as early as possible and before publication. The journal may request supporting documentation to establish the reason for the proposed change and confirm the agreement of the relevant individuals.

Changes after acceptance or publication will be considered only when supported by an adequate justification and evidence. The journal may suspend editorial processing while a request is being evaluated and may refer unresolved disputes to the relevant institutions. The journal does not independently determine disputed intellectual ownership or replace institutional procedures for investigating authorship disputes.

Any correction to the published record will be handled in accordance with the journal's publication ethics procedures.

6. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

The journal does not permit inappropriate authorship practices that undermine research integrity or misrepresent the contributions of individuals.

Such practices include:

  • Gift Authorship: Including an individual as an author without a qualifying scientific or intellectual contribution.

  • Honorary Authorship: Granting authorship solely on the basis of academic rank, professional status, institutional authority, or supervisory position.

  • Guest Authorship: Adding an individual primarily to increase the perceived credibility or likelihood of acceptance of a manuscript.

  • Ghost Authorship: Excluding an individual who has made qualifying contributions to the research and manuscript.

  • Authorship Manipulation: Deliberately misrepresenting contributions, author identities, affiliations, or the agreed order of authorship.

  • Unauthorized Authorship Changes: Adding, removing, or reordering authors without the required agreement of the affected individuals.

Providing funding, general supervision, administrative assistance, laboratory access, routine technical support, equipment, language editing, translation, or proofreading alone does not automatically qualify an individual for authorship.

Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria may be acknowledged, provided their contributions are described accurately and their permission is obtained.

7. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Physics: Theories and Applications. AI tools cannot assume the responsibilities, accountability, or ethical obligations required of human authors.

Authors who use AI tools for substantive assistance in manuscript preparation, such as generating or revising text, producing code, analyzing data, or creating scientific content, must disclose such use in accordance with the journal's applicable AI policy. The disclosure should identify the tool used and explain its purpose where required by the journal.

Routine use of basic spelling, grammar, or reference-formatting tools need not be disclosed unless required by the journal's separate AI policy or submission instructions.

Authors remain fully responsible for verifying the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of all submitted content, including AI-assisted text, equations, code, data analysis, references, figures, and interpretations. AI-generated material must not be presented as verified scientific evidence without appropriate validation. Authors must also ensure that the use of AI does not breach confidentiality, research ethics, copyright, or data-protection requirements.

8. Author Identification and Accountability

All authors must provide accurate names and institutional affiliations. ORCID identifiers are encouraged to support reliable author identification and attribution. Affiliations should reflect the institutions at which the reported research was conducted or with which the authors were appropriately associated during the work.

Every author must approve the final manuscript and cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries concerning research integrity, corrections, retractions, or other post-publication matters.

Where concerns arise regarding authorship, contribution statements, or the integrity of the research, the journal may request clarification, supporting documentation, or an institutional investigation. Suspected violations will be handled in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement and relevant COPE guidance.

9. Compliance and Enforcement

Compliance with this Authorship Criteria and Contributorship Policy is required for all manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Physics: Theories and Applications.

The editorial team may request clarification or supporting documentation when authorship eligibility, author contributions, or changes to the author list are unclear. Depending on the circumstances and available evidence, suspected violations may result in suspension of editorial processing, rejection of a manuscript, referral to the relevant institution, or appropriate correction of the published record.

The journal seeks to handle authorship concerns fairly, confidentially, and consistently, while providing relevant authors with an opportunity to respond. Decisions will be guided by the evidence available, the journal's publication ethics policies, and applicable publication ethics standards.

Through this policy, the Journal of Physics: Theories and Applications seeks to promote responsible scientific collaboration, transparent attribution, accountability, and the integrity of the scholarly record.