Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) journals adhere to internationally recognized standards and ethical guidelines regarding research authorship and contributorship. These principles aim to foster transparency, accountability, and integrity in scholarly publishing. All prospective authors submitting to UQU journals are expected to comply with the following authorship policies.
Authorship Criteria
UQU journals define authorship as an intellectual entitlement reserved for individuals who have made substantial contributions to the scholarly work. Authorship confers both credit and accountability for published research. The journals base their standards on the criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which require:
· Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
· Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
· Final approval of the version to be published.
· Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to its accuracy and academic integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.
· Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should not be listed as authors; instead, their contributions should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section.
Author Order and Roles
The sequence of authors should reflect the relative contributions of each contributor to the research work. All co-authors must collectively agree upon author order prior to manuscript submission.
The inclusion of a formal author contribution statement is strongly encouraged—particularly for collaborative or interdisciplinary studies—to clearly delineate each listed author’s specific role.
Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author
The corresponding author acts as the primary liaison between the journal and the co-authors. Their responsibilities include:
· Ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript and agreed to its submission.
· Managing all editorial correspondence throughout the peer review and publication processes.
· Coordinating any requested amendments to the author list or associated disclosures.
· Ensuring full adherence to ethical standards, journal policies, and licensing agreements.
Institutional Affiliations
Each author must specify the primary academic or institutional affiliation through which their main contribution to the research was executed. Where applicable, all relevant dual or multiple affiliations must be declared. Affiliations must be current and accurate at the time of submission. All sources of external funding or institutional support must also be fully disclosed.
No modifications or additions to institutional affiliations are permitted once the manuscript has been published.
Disclosures and Declarations
All authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest, including financial, personal, or professional relationships that could inappropriately influence the manuscript's findings or interpretation.
Clear declarations must be provided regarding:
· Any competing interests or conflicts of interest.
· Sources of funding or financial support.
· Research ethics committee (IRB) approval (where applicable).
· Informed consent for studies involving human participants.
· Data availability statements.
These disclosures should be incorporated into the designated manuscript sections or provided during the electronic submission process.
Data Transparency
UQU journals champion open and transparent scholarship, encouraging authors to share underlying research datasets, software code, and relevant supplementary materials whenever feasible.
Authors must provide a dedicated Data Availability Statement detailing:
· Whether the data are accessible and where they can be obtained.
· Any applicable terms or restrictions governing data access.
· The specific repository or database hosting the data (if applicable).
If data sharing is precluded by legal, confidentiality, or ethical constraints, this must be explicitly stated and justified.
Changes to Authorship
Any proposed alteration to the author list (including additions, deletions, or reordering of names) after submission requires a formal request submitted by the corresponding author. The request must include:
· A clear, substantive justification for the proposed modification.
· Written confirmation and explicit consent from all current authors and any individuals affected by the change.
Authorship modifications are strictly prohibited following formal manuscript acceptance.
Deceased or Incapacitated Authors
Should a co-author pass away or become incapacitated during manuscript preparation or peer review, the corresponding author must notify the journal promptly and provide appropriate documentation or confirmation from the remaining co-authors or the deceased author's home institution.
A posthumous note may be appended to the final paper honoring the author's scholarly contribution.
Corporate Authorship and Research Consortia
For manuscripts resulting from large research groups or collaborative consortia:
· The group or consortium name may be cited as an author, provided that individual contributors are clearly identified in a designated footnote or appendix.
· Only individuals who fulfill the established authorship criteria may be formally designated as authors.
· One or more named individuals must assume formal responsibility for the integrity, validity, and reporting of the overall work.
Confidentiality
All submissions to UQU journals are treated as strictly confidential documents. Editors, peer reviewers, and editorial staff are prohibited from sharing or disclosing manuscript content prior to publication without explicit written authorization from the authors.
Authors are likewise obligated to preserve confidentiality throughout the review process, refraining from sharing reviewer reports or engaging with third parties regarding the review without prior journal authorization.
Authorship Malpractice and Disputes
UQU journals investigate all allegations of authorship misconduct with utmost gravity, including ghost authorship, guest or gift authorship, and unresolved authorship disputes. The journals adhere strictly to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and reserve the right to seek official clarification or initiate institutional inquiries in coordination with the researchers' affiliated institutions.