Authorship and Contributorship Policy

Reog: Journal of Ecoethnoscience Education is committed to ensuring transparency, accountability, fairness, and appropriate recognition of contributions to scholarly work.

This policy establishes the journal's requirements concerning authorship, contributorship, Author order, Corresponding Author responsibilities, authorship changes, authorship disputes, and inappropriate authorship practices.

Reog refers, where applicable, to guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy), and internationally recognized principles of responsible authorship and scholarly publishing.

1. Authorship Requirements

As specified in the journal's manuscript requirements, a manuscript submitted to Reog must be written by at least two Authors. Collaboration across institutions and, where appropriate, countries is encouraged.

Collaboration requirements or preferences must never be used to justify the inclusion of an individual who does not qualify for authorship.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made genuine and significant scholarly contributions to the research and/or preparation of the manuscript.

Individuals listed as Authors are expected to:

  1. make a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of the work;
  2. participate sufficiently in the research and/or manuscript preparation to take responsibility for their stated contribution;
  3. review and approve the manuscript submitted to Reog;
  4. approve the final version accepted for publication; and
  5. accept responsibility and accountability for their respective contributions and for the integrity of the published work.

All individuals who qualify for authorship should be appropriately included, while individuals who do not qualify for authorship must not be listed as Authors.

Academic position, seniority, institutional authority, supervision, professional relationship, financial contribution, reputation, or personal relationship alone does not justify authorship.

2. Author Contributions and CRediT

Every manuscript must include an Author Contributions Statement describing the contributions of all Authors using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy).

CRediT provides a standardized framework for transparently describing individual contributions to scholarly work. The taxonomy consists of the following 14 contributor roles:

  1. Conceptualization – Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.
  2. Methodology – Development or design of methodology; creation of models.
  3. Software – Programming, software development, implementation of computer code and supporting algorithms, or testing of existing code components.
  4. Validation – Verification of the reproducibility or validity of results, experiments, or other research outputs.
  5. Formal Analysis – Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize research data.
  6. Investigation – Conducting the research process, experiments, or data/evidence collection.
  7. Resources – Provision of study materials, instrumentation, facilities, samples, computing resources, or other research resources.
  8. Data Curation – Management, organization, annotation, maintenance, and preservation of research data.
  9. Writing – Original Draft – Preparation and creation of the initial manuscript.
  10. Writing – Review & Editing – Critical review, commentary, revision, or editing of the manuscript.
  11. Visualization – Preparation, creation, and presentation of data or research findings in visual forms.
  12. Supervision – Oversight, leadership, and mentorship related to the planning and execution of the research.
  13. Project Administration – Management and coordination of the research activity.
  14. Funding Acquisition – Acquisition of financial support for the research project.

An Author may be assigned more than one CRediT role, and the same role may be assigned to more than one Author where appropriate. Only contributions actually performed should be reported.

CRediT describes who contributed and in what capacity. Assignment of a CRediT role does not, by itself, determine whether an individual qualifies for authorship.

The Author Contributions Statement must be included in the manuscript and will be published as part of the final article.

Example

Author A: Conceptualization, Methodology, and Validation; Author B: Methodology, Formal Analysis, Resources, and Writing – Original Draft; and Author C: Data Curation, Project Administration, and Writing – Review & Editing.

3. Corresponding Author and Authorship Declaration

The Corresponding Author serves as the primary contact between the Author group and Reog throughout submission, peer review, revision, publication, and post-publication communication.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for ensuring that:

  • all listed Authors qualify for authorship;
  • no qualifying Author has been omitted;
  • no inappropriate Author has been included;
  • all Authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript;
  • all Authors have agreed to the Author list and Author order;
  • the Author Contributions Statement accurately represents the contributions of all Authors and has been agreed upon by them; and
  • relevant declarations and information submitted to the journal are complete and accurate.

The role of the Corresponding Author as the primary contact does not prevent another Author from communicating directly with the journal concerning authorship, publication ethics, research integrity, Manuscript Withdrawal, Correction, or another legitimate editorial or post-publication matter.

Where appropriate, the journal may communicate directly with any or all Authors to obtain clarification, confirmation, consent, agreement, or supporting documentation.

Statement of Manuscript Authenticity

As part of the manuscript submission requirements, the Corresponding Author and/or First Author must complete and sign the official Reog Statement of Manuscript Authenticity.

The signed statement must be uploaded as a separate PDF file through the official Open Journal Systems (OJS) together with the manuscript and other required supporting files.

Through this declaration, the signing Author confirms on behalf of all Authors that:

  • the Author list and Author order are correct;
  • all Authors have made accountable contributions to the work;
  • the stated Author Contributions accurately reflect the contributions of the Authors;
  • there is no guest, gift, honorary, ghost, anonymous, purchased, sold, transferred, or otherwise inappropriate authorship;
  • all Authors have been informed of and agree with the relevant declarations; and
  • the signing Author is authorized to submit the declaration on behalf of the Author group.

An unsigned, incomplete, or missing Statement of Manuscript Authenticity may result in the manuscript being returned to the Authors before further editorial processing.

The Editorial Team may request individual confirmation from any co-Author whenever clarification regarding authorship, contribution, consent, or another relevant matter is required.

4. Author Order and Changes in Authorship

The Author list and Author order must be determined and agreed upon by all Authors before manuscript submission. Reog does not determine Author order on behalf of the Authors.

Any request to add or remove an Author, change the Author order, change the Corresponding Author, or make another authorship-related change after submission must be submitted using the journal's official Authorship Change Request Form.

The Authorship Change Request Form is used for requests involving:

  • addition of one or more Authors;
  • removal of one or more Authors;
  • change in Author order;
  • change of Corresponding Author; or
  • another substantive authorship-related change.

The request must include:

  1. a clear explanation and justification for the proposed authorship change;
  2. the current Author list and the proposed Author list;
  3. an updated Author Contributions Statement using CRediT where the proposed change affects the Authors' contributions;
  4. written consent from all Authors, including any Author being added, removed, or reordered; and
  5. a resubmitted Statement of Manuscript Authenticity reflecting the latest Author list and Author order.

The journal may request additional clarification, contribution records, correspondence, institutional confirmation, identification, or other supporting documentation before considering the request.

Submission of an Authorship Change Request Form does not constitute automatic approval. The final decision rests with the Editor in accordance with the journal's editorial policies, publication ethics, available evidence, and protection of the scholarly record.

As a general principle, Reog does not permit authorship changes after a manuscript has been accepted for publication, except where the change is necessary to correct a substantiated authorship error or to address a publication ethics or research-integrity concern.

5. Post-Publication Authorship Changes

Requests to change authorship after publication will be considered only where there is a valid, substantiated, and ethically appropriate reason.

A published Author list must not be changed silently.

Where a post-publication authorship change is approved, the scholarly record will be updated transparently through a Correction or other appropriate post-publication notice in accordance with the Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy.

The journal may require the official Authorship Change Request Form, written agreement from all Authors, an updated Statement of Manuscript Authenticity, updated CRediT information, institutional documentation, or other supporting evidence before approving a post-publication authorship change.

If agreement cannot be obtained because of an authorship dispute, the journal may defer the requested change pending clarification or resolution by the relevant institution, research-integrity office, or another competent body.

6. Non-Author Contributors

Individuals who contributed to the research or manuscript but do not qualify for authorship should not be included in the Author list.

Where appropriate, individuals who made relevant but non-authorship contributions may be acknowledged in the Acknowledgement section, provided that such acknowledgement is accurate and ethically appropriate.

Examples may include individuals who provided technical assistance, language support, administrative support, access to facilities, general supervision, or other assistance that does not independently satisfy the journal's authorship requirements.

7. Inappropriate Authorship Practices

Reog does not permit inappropriate or misleading authorship practices, including:

  • Guest or Gift Authorship – including an individual as an Author despite the absence of a qualifying scholarly contribution;
  • Honorary Authorship – granting authorship primarily because of seniority, academic position, authority, reputation, or institutional relationship rather than genuine scholarly contribution;
  • Ghost Authorship – omitting an individual whose contribution qualifies for authorship or concealing a substantial contribution to the research or manuscript;
  • Purchased or Sold Authorship – buying or selling a position on an Author list;
  • Transferred or Assigned Authorship – transferring an authorship position without a genuine scholarly basis; and
  • any other arrangement that intentionally misrepresents who actually contributed to the scholarly work.

Use of a third party, commercial editing service, contract writing service, paper mill, institutional authority, or other intermediary does not justify authorship unless the individual independently meets the journal's authorship requirements.

Suspected inappropriate authorship may constitute a publication ethics or research-integrity concern and may be investigated in accordance with the journal's Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy.

8. Authorship Disputes

Authors are expected to resolve questions concerning authorship eligibility, Author order, and contributions before submission.

Where an authorship dispute arises during editorial processing, Reog may suspend editorial processing while the matter is clarified.

The journal may request:

  • statements from individual Authors;
  • the Authorship Change Request Form;
  • CRediT contribution information;
  • research or contribution records;
  • relevant correspondence;
  • institutional clarification; or
  • other relevant supporting evidence.

Editors may assess whether the journal's authorship requirements have been followed but are not normally responsible for adjudicating private disputes concerning the relative contribution, ownership, employment relationship, or internal agreement of individual researchers.

Where Authors cannot resolve a substantive authorship dispute, the journal may refer or defer the matter to the relevant institution, research-integrity office, ethics body, or another competent authority.

Editorial or publication processing may remain suspended until sufficient clarification or resolution has been obtained.

9. Authorship Misconduct

Suspected guest, gift, honorary, ghost, purchased, sold, transferred, fabricated, manipulated, or otherwise inappropriate authorship may constitute research or publication misconduct.

Where evidence suggests deliberate misrepresentation of authorship or contribution, the journal may conduct an editorial or research-integrity assessment and may seek clarification from Authors, institutions, or other relevant parties.

Depending on the findings and publication status of the manuscript or article, appropriate action may include:

  • request for clarification or documentation;
  • correction of Author information;
  • rejection of the manuscript;
  • suspension of editorial processing;
  • Correction or Corrigendum;
  • Expression of Concern;
  • Retraction where warranted;
  • referral to the relevant institution or authority; or
  • another proportionate editorial action.

Detailed procedures are provided in the Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy.

10. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Large Language Models (LLMs), chatbots, AI-assisted technologies, and other technological tools cannot be listed as Authors or co-Authors.

Authorship requires human scholarly contribution, responsibility, accountability, approval of the submitted and final manuscript, and the ability to take responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Human Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted to and published by Reog, including content prepared, revised, translated, analyzed, or otherwise developed with assistance from AI or other assistive technologies.

Where AI or AI-assisted technologies are used, their use must be disclosed where required by the journal.

Detailed requirements are provided in the Generative AI Utilization Policy.

11. Relationship with Other Journal Policies

Authorship and contributorship matters may also involve publication ethics, Conflicts of Interest, research integrity, Generative AI, or post-publication changes.

Where applicable, this policy should be read together with:

12. Policy Review

Reog may periodically review and revise this policy in response to changes in publication ethics guidance, authorship and contributorship standards, research-integrity practices, journal requirements, applicable regulations, or other relevant developments in scholarly publishing.

Where a case is not specifically addressed by this policy, the Editor may exercise professional editorial judgment while considering available evidence, applicable journal policies, appropriate external guidance, institutional clarification, and protection of the scholarly record.

Until a revised version is formally adopted, the current approved version remains applicable.

References and Standards