IJEMR follows the authorship and contributorship principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and, where applicable, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Authorship must reflect genuine intellectual contribution and accountability. All contributors must be recognised fairly and transparently.

1. Authorship Criteria

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data.

2. Draft the manuscript or critically revise it for important intellectual content.

3. Approve the final version to be published.

4. Agree to be accountable for their own contribution and for helping ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria must not be listed as authors, but may be acknowledged where appropriate.

2. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• ensuring that all authors meet the authorship criteria;

• confirming that all authors have seen and approved the submitted manuscript;

• managing communication with the Editorial Office;

• submitting required declarations, including conflicts of interest and funding;

• coordinating responses to reviewer comments and proof corrections; and

• notifying the journal promptly if a material error is identified after publication.

3. Contributor Recognition

Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be recognised in an Acknowledgements section, with their permission.

Examples include assistance with:

• data collection;

• technical support;

• language editing;

• administrative support;

• funding acquisition;

• supervision without substantial intellectual contribution; or

• general guidance.

Acknowledged contributors are not responsible for the content of the article unless explicitly stated.

4. Contributor Roles

Authors are encouraged to provide a contributor-role statement using the CRediT taxonomy, where relevant. Roles may include:

• Conceptualization

• Methodology

• Investigation

• Data Curation

• Formal Analysis

• Software

• Validation

• Visualization

• Writing – Original Draft

• Writing – Review & Editing

• Supervision

• Project Administration

• Funding Acquisition

Contributor-role statements should accurately reflect each individual’s actual contribution.

5. Authorship Order

Authors are responsible for agreeing on the number, order and contribution of authors before submission. IJEMR does not determine authorship order or mediate routine authorship disagreements.

The journal may request written confirmation from all authors where an authorship concern arises.

6. Changes to Authorship

Any request to add, remove or reorder authors after submission must include:

• a clear written explanation for the change; and

• written agreement from all current authors and any author being added or removed.

Changes after acceptance will be considered only in exceptional circumstances. Changes after publication may require a formal correction notice.

7. Group Authorship

For group or collaborative authorship, the manuscript must identify:

• the name of the group;

• individuals who meet authorship criteria; and

• the group member or corresponding author responsible for communication with the journal.

All named authors remain accountable for the work according to their contribution.

8. Use of Generative AI

Generative AI tools, chatbots and other AI systems cannot be listed as authors. They cannot approve a manuscript, disclose conflicts of interest or accept accountability for published work.

Authors must disclose material use of AI tools in preparing the manuscript and remain fully responsible for all text, data, citations, analysis and conclusions.

9. Authorship Misconduct

The following practices are unacceptable:

• gift, guest or honorary authorship;

• ghost authorship;

• excluding a qualifying contributor;

• adding authors without their knowledge or approval;

• misrepresenting contributions;

• submitting a manuscript without all authors’ approval; or

• using authorship to conceal conflicts of interest or inappropriate influence.

10. Disputes and Investigations

Authorship disputes should normally be resolved by the authors’ institutions or employing organisations. IJEMR may pause peer review or publication while a serious dispute is investigated.

Where authorship misconduct is substantiated, the journal may reject the manuscript, issue a correction, publish an expression of concern, retract an article or notify the relevant institution.