Authorship and Contribution Policy

Research Integrity • Contributor Transparency • Ethical Authorship • Scholarly Accountability

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1. Authorship Criteria

An author is defined as an individual who has made a substantial intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, drafting, or revision of the reported study.

In accordance with the ICMJE Authorship Recommendations, authorship requires that all listed authors satisfy all four of the following conditions:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the published record.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should not be listed as authors and should instead be acknowledged appropriately in the Acknowledgements section.

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2. Contributor Roles (CRediT Taxonomy)

To improve transparency and accurately identify each contributor’s role, ISRE adopts the internationally recognized CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). 

Authors must clearly specify their contributions from the following categories:

• Conceptualization – Development of research ideas, aims, or objectives.
• Methodology – Design or development of research methodology.
• Software – Programming, software development, and computational implementation.
• Validation – Verification of reproducibility and reliability of findings.
• Formal Analysis – Statistical, mathematical, or computational analysis.
• Investigation – Conducting experiments, fieldwork, or data collection.
• Resources – Provision of study materials, equipment, participants, or data resources.
• Data Curation – Management, annotation, preservation, and maintenance of data.
• Writing – Original Draft – Initial preparation and writing of the manuscript.
• Writing – Review & Editing – Critical review, revision, and editing of the manuscript.
• Visualization – Preparation of tables, figures, graphs, or visual presentation.
• Supervision – Oversight and leadership responsibility for research planning and execution.
• Project Administration – Coordination and management of project activities.
• Funding Acquisition – Securing research funding or financial support.

Contributor roles may be published alongside the article to support transparency, accountability, and accurate attribution of scholarly work.

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3. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The Corresponding Author serves as the primary contact between the journal and all co-authors during submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication communication.

• Ensuring that all listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria.
• Confirming that all authors approve the submitted and final manuscript versions.
• Managing communication between the editorial office and co-authors.
• Providing accurate affiliation, funding, and conflict-of-interest disclosures.
• Ensuring ethical approval and participant consent where applicable.
• Coordinating responses to editorial queries, peer-review comments, and revision requests.
• Ensuring integrity, originality, and transparency throughout the publication process.

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4. Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, replace, or reorder authors after manuscript submission must follow COPE-authorship change procedures and require editorial approval.

• A written explanation from the Corresponding Author describing the requested change.
• Signed written consent from all listed authors, including affected individuals.
• Submission of supporting documentation where necessary.
• Editorial review according to COPE authorship-change guidance.

Authorship changes after acceptance or publication may require additional review, institutional confirmation, correction notices, or formal investigation, depending on the nature of the request. Unauthorised or disputed authorship changes may result in suspension of the review process and rejection of the manuscript, or referral to relevant institutions.

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5. Unethical Authorship Practices

ISRE strictly prohibits unethical authorship practices that compromise scholarly integrity and publication ethics.

• Ghost Authorship: Exclusion of individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions.
• Gift or Honorary Authorship: Inclusion of individuals with little or no meaningful contribution.
• Purchased Authorship: Selling, purchasing, or trading authorship positions.
• Paper-Mill Involvement: Use of fraudulent manuscript-production or authorship services.
• False Contribution Statements: Misrepresentation of actual author contributions.

Confirmed violations may result in manuscript rejection, retraction, institutional notification, temporary submission restrictions, or permanent publication bans according to COPE-aligned procedures.

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6. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Authorship

Artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume accountability, approve manuscripts, disclose conflicts of interest, or accept legal and ethical responsibility.

Authors using AI-assisted tools for language editing, visualization, or technical support must disclose such use transparently within the manuscript where appropriate.

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7. Multidisciplinary and Collaborative Research

Given ISRE’s interdisciplinary focus, collaborations across Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) are encouraged. All collaborators must follow the same ethical authorship principles, contribution transparency standards, and accountability requirements regardless of discipline, institution, nationality, or funding source.

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8. Transparency and Accountability

ISRE promotes responsible authorship, publication transparency, editorial integrity, and accountability throughout the scholarly publishing process.

This policy aligns with:

• ICMJE Recommendations
• COPE Core Practices
• CRediT Taxonomy
• DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice
• Scopus Author and Publication Standards

The journal reserves the right to investigate authorship concerns, contribution disputes, ethical complaints, or publication-integrity issues in accordance with internationally recognised ethical publishing standards and COPE-aligned procedures.