The Importance of Authorship?

Authorship is more than just a byline—it represents recognition, responsibility, and reputation. In academic and professional circles, being listed as an author can significantly impact one’s career, social standing, and financial opportunities. But with that recognition comes a serious obligation: authors must stand behind their work and be accountable for its integrity.

To ensure fairness and transparency, only those who have made meaningful intellectual contributions to a study must be credited as authors. At the same time, those who are listed must fully understand their role and the responsibilities that come with it.

Since authorship alone doesn’t clarify each individual's specific contributions, many journals now require a breakdown of each contributor’s role, especially for original research. This practice helps clarify who did what and encourages transparency throughout the research and publication process. Editors are encouraged to adopt clear contributorship policies that outline expectations and reduce ambiguity around authorship decisions.

Still, a grey area remains: what level of contribution is truly enough to warrant authorship? To address this, the Journal of Metaverse has introduced a set of authorship criteria that can be used across journals. These guidelines aim to distinguish between authors and other contributors, ensuring that credit is both meaningful and merited.

Who Qualifies as an Author?

Some institutions have made various definitions of what authorship is. Some of these include:

• Significant involvement in the study's conception or design, or in gathering, analyzing, or interpreting the data;
• Contribution to drafting or critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content;
• Approval of the final version to be published;
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including resolving any questions about its accuracy or integrity.

To be listed as an author, an individual must meet all four of these criteria. This ensures that those who receive credit for a publication are also prepared to take responsibility for it. Those who meet only some of these criteria should be recognized in acknowledgments rather than listed as authors.

Authors must not only take ownership of their contributions but also be familiar with the work of their co-authors and trust in its integrity. The author list should be determined collectively by those involved in the research, not by journal editors, and ideally decided early in the research process, with adjustments made as needed.

In large, collaborative research teams, authorship decisions should be agreed upon in advance. If authors are added or removed after submission, all listed individuals must provide written consent and an explanation for the change. Additionally, this situation should be examined by the journal, and it may need to decide that there is no abuse and that it is appropriate for the author to be included as an author in the study.

The corresponding author plays a key role in managing the submission and review process. They handle communication with the journal, ensure ethical and administrative requirements are met, and remain available post-publication to address questions or concerns. While the corresponding author handles communication, all authors should stay informed and involved.

For group authorship (such as in large consortia), a group name may appear on the byline. However, specific individuals who take credit and responsibility for the work must be clearly identified in the manuscript, so their names can be indexed properly.

Non-Author Contributors
Not all individuals who support a research project qualify for authorship. Those who contribute to the work but do not meet all four criteria listed above for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors. This helps maintain clarity in assigning both credit and responsibility.

Examples of contributions that, by themselves, do not justify authorship include:

• Securing funding for the project
• Providing general supervision or administrative oversight
• Offering writing or editorial assistance, including proofreading or language editing
  

Such individuals may still be recognized in the Acknowledgments section. Acknowledgments can list contributors by name or collectively under a group title (e.g., Clinical Investigators, Participating Researchers), with a brief description of their specific roles, such as “collected patient data,” “offered scientific input,” or “supported manuscript editing.”

To ensure transparency and avoid the appearance of implied endorsement, corresponding authors are expected to obtain written permission from anyone they intend to acknowledge by name.
Additionally, any use of AI-based writing assistance must be disclosed in the DECLARATION OF AI USAGE subsection within the Declarations section of the manuscript.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology
As the use of AI technologies grows, it is crucial to maintain transparency about their role in the research and writing process. Authors are required to disclose any use of AI-assisted tools, such as large language models (LLMs), chatbots, or image generators, during the preparation of their manuscript.

At submission, authors must:

• State in the cover letter and the DECLARATION OF AI USAGE subsection how AI tools were used, if applicable
• Describe the role of AI in the Methods section if it assisted with data collection, analysis, or figure creation
  

Examples of AI tools include but are not limited to: ChatGPT, Gemini, Qwen, DeepSeek, and similar technologies. AI tools must not be listed as authors under any circumstances. These technologies cannot be held accountable for the accuracy, integrity, or originality of the content, responsibilities that are essential for authorship. Authors remain fully responsible for all content produced, including any portions assisted by AI.

Moreover, authors must:

• Carefully review and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and eliminate bias
• Refrain from citing AI tools as standalone sources or attributing authorship to them
• Ensure that all quoted or adapted materials, including those generated with AI, are properly cited and free from plagiarism

For detailed guidance, authors are encouraged to review the Journal of Metaverse’s AI & Generative AI Usage Key Principles, available at: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jmv/page/15748