Authorship And Contributorship Guidelines

Purpose and Scope

The Tamil Psychiatry Journal (TPJ) upholds transparency, fairness, and academic integrity in all aspects of scholarly publication.

These guidelines define the journal’s policies on authorship, contributorship, and acknowledgements, ensuring that individuals who make substantial intellectual contributions receive due credit and that responsibility for published work is clearly identified.

Guiding Principles

TPJ adheres to international standards governing ethical authorship and contributorship:

  • COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics): Promotes honesty, transparency, and accountability in assigning authorship and resolving disputes.
  • ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors): Provides specific criteria for authorship in biomedical publications.
  • CSE (Council of Science Editors): Recommends clear documentation of contributor roles and prevention of unethical authorship practices.

Authorship Criteria (ICMJE, 2024)

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four ICMJE criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.
  2. Drafting or critically revising the manuscript 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 address questions related to accuracy or integrity.

Unethical practices such as “honorary,” “guest,” “gift,” or “ghost” authorship are strictly prohibited and violate COPE and CSE standards.

Responsibilities of Authors

All authors share collective responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and completeness of their published work.

Authors must ensure:

  • Prompt correction of errors when identified.
  • Disclosure of conflicts of interest and funding sources.
  • Documentation of ethical approval and patient consent where applicable.

The corresponding author has additional responsibilities to:

  • Verify that all listed authors meet authorship criteria.
  • Coordinate manuscript submission and communication with the journal.
  • Ensure completion and submission of all required declarations and forms.

Contributorship (CSE and CRediT Principles)

TPJ recognizes that not all contributors meet authorship criteria.The journal follows the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy, NISO 2022) to specify individual roles.

Each contributor’s specific role should be clearly stated under the following categories:

Role

Definition

Conceptualization

Formulating the research question or hypothesis

Methodology

Designing study methods or protocols

Data Curation

Managing and maintaining research data

Formal Analysis

Conducting statistical or qualitative analysis

Writing – Original Draft

Preparing the initial manuscript version

Writing –Review& Editing

Revising and editing the manuscript

Supervision

Oversight and leadership responsibility

Funding Acquisition

Securing financial or institutional support

Example Contributor Statement:
 “Dr. Meena: Conceptualization, Writing – Original Draft; Dr. Rajan: Data Curation, Formal Analysis; Dr. Kumar: Review & Editing, Supervision.”

Determination of Author Order

The order of authors should reflect their relative contribution and must be agreed upon by all authors prior to submission.

While TPJ does not prescribe a fixed order, any changes to authorship or sequence after submission require written approval from all authors and a formal explanation to the editor.

Acknowledgement of Non-Author Contributions

Individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet full authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgements section, such as those providing:

  • Technical or statistical support
  • Language editing or administrative assistance
  • Institutional, material, or funding support

Written consent must be obtained from all persons acknowledged.

Group Authorship and Multicentre Studies

Group authorship is permitted when:

  • Each member listed fulfills full authorship criteria, and
  • Specific contributions of individual members or subgroups are identified (in the main text or supplementary appendix).

When a group name is used, at least one author must assume overall responsibility for the integrity of the manuscript.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

In line with COPE and ICMJE (2024) guidance:

  • AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT or similar) cannot be listed as authors.
  • If AI assistance is used, authors must specify:
    • The name and version of the AI tool, and
    • The nature of its use (e.g., language editing, image generation).

Authors remain fully responsible for verifying the accuracy and originality of AI-assisted content.

Author Declarations and Required Forms

At the time of submission, the corresponding author must provide:

  • Author Contribution and Declaration Form signed by all authors.
  • Contributor Role Statement (CRediT table).
  • Conflict of Interest Disclosure (financial and non-financial).
  • Funding Source Statement.
  • Ethics Approval and Patient Consent Statements (for human or clinical studies).

Changes in Authorship (COPE Process)

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors' post-submission must be justified in writing and approved by all authors.

After acceptance or publication, changes are permitted only under exceptional circumstances and require:

  • A signed statement from all authors, and
  • Editorial approval, potentially with institutional verification.

TPJ follows COPE flowcharts for handling authorship disputes and may refer unresolved cases to institutional ethics committees.

Authorship Misconduct

Examples of authorship misconduct include:

  • Inclusion of individuals without significant contribution (“honorary authorship”)
  • Exclusion of legitimate contributors (“ghost authorship”)
  • Misrepresentation of contributor roles or undisclosed conflicts of interest

Possible sanctions include manuscript rejection or retraction, notification of institutions or funders, and restriction of future submissions.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

All authors must disclose:

  • Financial relationships (grants, consultancies, stock ownership, etc.)
  • Non-financial interests (academic, personal, or ideological influences)
  • Funding sources, including the sponsor’s role in study design or publication decisions.

Authorship Dispute Resolution

In the event of a dispute:

  • Written explanations will be requested from all authors.
  • The case will be evaluated in accordance with COPE authorship flowcharts.
  • Unresolved issues will be referred to the authors’ institutions.
  • Depending on the outcome, the journal may issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions.

References and Guiding Documents

  • ICMJE. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (2024).
  • COPE. Discussion Document: How to Handle Authorship Disputes (2023).
  • Council of Science Editors (CSE). White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications (2021).
  • CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). NISO Standard (2022).

Example: Published Contributor Statement

Author Contributions:
 Dr. A. Kumar: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft.
 Dr. L. Meena: Formal Analysis, Review & Editing.
 Dr. R. Varun: Supervision, Funding Acquisition.

All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.