Authorship and retractions

Authorship criteria and contributions

Authorship recognition is based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (https://www.icmje.org/). Each individual listed as an author must meet all four of the following criteria without exception:
  1. Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; and
  2. Drafted the manuscript or contributed significantly to its intellectual content; and
  3. Approved the final version to be submitted for publication; and
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the study are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section. It is the sole responsibility of the research team to ensure that all listed authors meet the ICMJE criteria. In cases of disagreement regarding authorship, the institutions responsible for conducting the research must assess and resolve the matter. Likewise, the order in which authors appear must be determined by mutual agreement among the authors themselves.

In addition, each author must clearly identify their individual contributions to the manuscript using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), available at: https://credit.niso.org/. The following contributor roles are recognized:

  • Conceptualization: Development of the core idea of the research, including definition of the aims and scope of the study.
  • Methodology: Design of the methodological strategy, experimental structure, or development of analytical models.
  • Software: Programming and development of code or software used in the research; includes implementation, testing, and adaptation of computational tools.
  • Validation: Verification of reproducibility of results and confirmation of procedures, data, or models.
  • Formal Analysis: Application of advanced quantitative or qualitative methods (statistical, mathematical, computational) for data processing and interpretation.
  • Investigation: Execution of the study, data collection, experimentation, or evidence gathering.
  • Resources: Provision of key materials such as samples, patients, animals, equipment, technology, or other critical resources.
  • Data Curation: Organisation, maintenance, and preservation of research data, ensuring data integrity and usability for future use.
  • Writing – Original Draft: Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of the published work, specifically the initial drafting of the manuscript (including substantial translation, if applicable).
  • Writing – Review & Editing: Critical review, revision, and editing of the manuscript prior to submission of the final version.
  • Visualization: Design and creation of figures, diagrams, or other visual representations of the content.
  • Project Administration: Overall coordination of study activities, including task planning and timeline management.
  • Supervision: Academic leadership, guidance, and scientific oversight of the project.
  • Funding Acquisition: Securing of financial resources or funding that enabled the development and/or publication of the study.

To complete this section, the initials of each author (in uppercase letters) should be listed, followed by the specific roles they fulfilled in the development of the manuscript. A single author may have contributed to multiple roles.

If authors request changes to authorship after manuscript submission or publication, whether to add or remove an author or to alter the order of authorship, a formal written justification must be submitted, along with a signed statement from all the authors involved, including the individual whose addition, removal, or repositioning is proposed. The same procedure applies to requests for adding or removing an institutional affiliation.

Corresponding author

The corresponding author serves as the primary liaison with the journal throughout the entire editorial process, from initial manuscript submission to final publication. The responsibilities of the corresponding author include: i) ensuring compliance with the journal’s administrative requirements; ii) providing detailed authorship information; iii) obtaining ethics committee approval, when applicable; iv) registering clinical trials, when applicable; and v) submitting the required declarations regarding funding and potential conflicts of interest. In addition, the corresponding author must be available to respond promptly to any requests or inquiries from the editorial team during the review and publication process
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Corrections  and retractions

Corrections

When significant errors are identified in a published article, a correction is issued. These errors may be brought to the journal’s attention by either the authors or readers, and the editorial team will handle the publication of the correction promptly. Previous versions of the article will be available upon request to the journal.

Retractions

In certain situations, a retraction followed by republication may be necessary when a published article contains substantial errors that could alter its interpretation or require widespread corrections. In these cases, the original article remains accessible but is marked as retracted. The updated version is republished, and a detailed appendix highlighting the changes is provided to allow readers to review the revisions.

While uncommon, retractions play a critical role in maintaining the credibility of the scientific record. They are used to correct the literature and inform readers when an article includes serious mistakes or unreliable data that undermine the validity of its findings and conclusions. These issues may stem from unintentional errors, oversight, or scientific misconduct.

One or more authors typically initiate retractions, but in some cases, the editorial team may also take the lead. Each case is reviewed individually, often with input from independent investigations conducted by the authors' affiliated institutions. Editors are responsible for ensuring that the process is handled transparently and efficiently. All retracted articles remain available online and are clearly marked as retracted to inform readers. All actions will follow the guidance and procedures outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/retraction-guidelines).